Interdum stultus opportuna loquitur...

Thursday, January 20, 2005

OzRant: Another Down Day...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - didn't bother trying to have a spurt at the open - the post-US market news on eBay was enough to have everybody is the region feeling nervy. There was the odd attempt at rallying during the day, but by the close the All Ords had registered a fall by of 17.20 points (-0.42%), finishing at 4038.50 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4049.90 - as close to 4050 as makes no odds - and its low was 4031.3. The Index that runs (and is run by) the SFE's Share Price index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 fell by -16.60 points (-0.41%), finishing at 4036.00 points. My "short the hell out of the SPI" comment from last week sometime, is playing out OK... I will find out the relevant prices and brag about it later.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 10.60 points (-0.49%), finishing at 2131.50 points. The major winners in the "big guns" - apart from the banks - were very consumption-spending oriented... booze, food and cheap clothes...

  • Commonwealth Bank (CBA), +$0.24 (0.75%) to $32.30 on volume of 2.53m shares;
  • St.George (SGB), +$0.10 (0.41%) to $24.66 on volume of 846,000 shares;
  • Fosters (FGL), +$0.02 (0.38%) to $5.32 on volume of 9.76m shares;
  • Woolworths (WOW), +$0.02 (0.14%) to $14.42 on volume of 1.8m shares; and
  • Coles Myer (CML), -$0.00 (0%) to $9.30 on volume of 4.02m shares.

Meanwhile the stocks that brought up the rear were resource-ish, along with and stocks that resemble bookies (and with the Corpse in the mix... speaking of bookies, the Corpse resembles something that needs a bookies tout to get mugs to bet on it):

  • Woodside (WPL), -$0.34 (1.65%) to $20.30 on volume of 1.77m shares;
  • AMP (AMP), -$0.11 (1.42%) to $7.61 on volume of 6.06m shares;
  • QBE Insurance (QBE), -$0.21 (1.37%) to $15.17 on volume of 1.98m shares;
  • News Corpse A (NWSLV), -$0.30 (1.36%) to $21.77 on volume of 2.72m shares; and
  • BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.21 (1.33%) to $15.60 on volume of 8.31m shares.

The smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale - the ASX Small Ordinaries - actually rose by 0.50 points (0.02%), finishing at 2344.00 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -

  • Tower (TWR), +$0.12 (6.22%) to $2.05 on volume of 2.91m shares;
  • Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.10 (6.06%) to $1.75 on volume of 2.54m shares;
  • Giants Reef Mining (GTM), +$0.004 (5.48%) to $0.077 on volume of 38.71m shares;
  • Consolidated Mining (CSM), +$0.13 (4.98%) to $2.74 on volume of 691,000 shares; and
  • Orbital Engine Corp (OEC), +$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.11 on volume of 147,000 shares.

The following stocks were the worst performed in the Small Ords...

  • Progen (PGL), -$0.30 (6.98%) to $4.00 on volume of 65,000 shares;
  • Sino Gold (SGX), -$0.13 (6.1%) to $2.00 on volume of 96,000 shares;
  • Cellestis (CST), -$0.16 (5.28%) to $2.87 on volume of 184,000 shares;
  • Lynas (LYC), -$0.02 (5.26%) to $0.27 on volume of 335,000 shares; and
  • Minara (MRE), -$0.09 (4.69%) to $1.83 on volume of 1.06m shares.
Code Name Close +/- %
XAO All Ordinaries 4038.5 -17.2 -0.42%
XTL S&P/ASX 20 2131.5 -10.6 -0.49%
XFL S&P/ASX 50 3951.4 -18 -0.45%
XTO S&P/ASX 100 3277.4 -14.8 -0.45%
XJO S&P/ASX 200 4036 -16.6 -0.41%
XKO S&P/ASX 300 4043.2 -16.6 -0.41%
XMD S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 4067.3 -17.2 -0.42%
XSO S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries 2344 0.5 0.02%

All Ordinaries Market Internals

XAOXSO
Advances13571
Declines22385
Advancing Volume161.02m78.04m
Declining Volume264.02m33.85m

Broad Market Internals

IndicatorLevel+/-%
Advances340-45-11.69
Declines49430.61
Unchanged3473310.51
Total Traded Value2490-431-14.76
New 52 Week Highs31-23-42.59
New 52 Week Lows13-5-27.78
Equity Call Option Volume405852950.73
Equity Put Option Volume37237-2061-5.24

S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices

The top sector for the day was Utilities which gained 0.76% to 4593.40 points. The sector was helped by

  • Duet (DUE), +$0.06 (2.32%) to $2.65 on volume of 1.04m shares;
  • Aust Pipeline Trust (APA), +$0.05 (1.44%) to $3.53 on volume of 160,000 shares;
  • Gasnet (GAS), +$0.03 (1.18%) to $2.57 on volume of 96,000 shares;
  • AGL (AGL), +$0.14 (1.03%) to $13.72 on volume of 949,000 shares; and
  • Alinta (ALN), +$0.01 (0.11%) to $8.76 on volume of 394,000 shares;

Second in the sector leadership stakes was Industrials which gained 0.10% to 4911.10 points. The sector leaders were -

  • Aust Infrastructure Trust (AIX), +$0.05 (1.92%) to $2.65 on volume of 481,000 shares;
  • Qantas (QAN), +$0.05 (1.42%) to $3.56 on volume of 11.03m shares;
  • Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG), +$0.04 (1.11%) to $3.65 on volume of 3.87m shares;
  • GWA International (GWT), +$0.03 (0.96%) to $3.15 on volume of 408,000 shares; and
  • Hills Industries (HIL), +$0.04 (0.93%) to $4.35 on volume of 120,000 shares;

The bronze today went to Consumer Staples which gained 0.05% to 5418.30 points. The sector was led by

  • AWB (AWB), +$0.07 (1.48%) to $4.79 on volume of 358,000 shares;
  • Ridley (RIC), +$0.02 (1.43%) to $1.42 on volume of 214,000 shares;
  • Foodland (FOA), +$0.10 (0.42%) to $24.00 on volume of 327,000 shares;
  • Fosters (FGL), +$0.02 (0.38%) to $5.32 on volume of 9.76m shares; and
  • Lion Nathan (LNN), +$0.02 (0.24%) to $8.30 on volume of 385,000 shares;

The worst-performed sector today was Energy which lost 1.32% to 7108.60 points, thanks to the monster intraday reversal in crude last night. The sector was dragged lower by

  • Worley (WOR), -$0.14 (2.45%) to $5.57 on volume of 370,000 shares;
  • Hardman (HDR), -$0.04 (2.35%) to $1.66 on volume of 2.2m shares;
  • Aust World Exploration (AWE), -$0.04 (2.15%) to $1.82 on volume of 937,000 shares;
  • Woodside (WPL), -$0.34 (1.65%) to $20.30 on volume of 1.77m shares; and
  • Roc Oil (ROC), -$0.03 (1.6%) to $1.85 on volume of 401,000 shares;

Just in front of the last place on the sector table was Consumer Discretionary which lost 1.08% to 2328.00 points. The sector was pulled down by

  • Housewares (HWI), -$0.07 (2.79%) to $2.44 on volume of 258,000 shares;
  • Miller's Retail (MRL), -$0.03 (2.73%) to $1.07 on volume of 2.07m shares (at one stage MRL was as low as $1.01, following disclosure that one of its management - its CEO - has no intention of trying a buyout);
  • Repco Corp (RCL), -$0.08 (2.35%) to $3.33 on volume of 284,000 shares;
  • G.U.D. (GUD), -$0.15 (1.72%) to $8.58 on volume of 241,000 shares; and
  • Tabcorp (TAH), -$0.30 (1.7%) to $17.34 on volume of 788,000 shares;
CodeGICS SectorClose+/-%Volume
XUJUtilities4593.434.50.76%3.34m
XNJIndustrials4911.150.1%39.74m
XSJConsumer Staples5418.32.50.05%32.4m
XPJProperty Trusts1843.2-1-0.05%68.99m
XFJFinancials4829.2-5.4-0.11%113.72m
XXJASX200 ex Property Trusts4826.2-6.3-0.13%49.78m
XIJInformation Technology392.6-1.9-0.48%3.54m
XTJTelecommunications1723.9-11.5-0.66%21.14m
XHJHealthcare4675.6-35.7-0.76%9.48m
XMJMaterials6746.8-63.1-0.93%84.72m
XDJConsumer Discretionary2328-25.3-1.08%31.19m
XEJEnergy7108.6-95.2-1.32%16.34m

All Ordinaries Volume Leaders

Code Name Close +/- % Volume
VBA Virgin Blue 1.73 -0.01 -0.57% 21.19m
TLS Telstra Corporation 4.81 -0.03 -0.62% 18.58m
HHG HHG Plc 1.4 -0.01 -0.71% 14.9m
DRT DB Reef Trust 1.3 0.02 1.56% 13.68m
QAN Qantas 3.56 0.05 1.42% 11.03m

All Ordinaries Top Gainers

CodeNameClose+/-%Volume
BOCBougainville0.780.114.71%842938
IAS International All Sports 0.420.0512.16%325161
SELS8 Ltd1.810.1911.73%301868
KSCK&S Corporation3.420.226.88%227972
TWRTower2.050.126.22%2.91m

All Ordinaries Top Losers

I seriously think that I might ditch stocks in the winners & losers tables if their turnover isn't more than a small hill of beans. Take OMI - it gets its silly head in the tables about 30% of the time, and yet its turnover is about $3-5k a day. Frankly, it's not big enough to be worth bothering about.

The All Ordinaries includes the top 487 stocks (no idea why that number in particular - ask the ASX): once you get past the first 300 the market cap of the remaining stocks declines rapidly. I've prepared a little table for the Pro area that gives some idea of the (approximate) daily average turnover for the top 550 stocks, and for an awful lot of them the turnover is lamentably low. What this means is that if you're trying to get set in a stock, you face all sorts of difficulties unless you're prepared to (a) buy the offer; or (b) wait for the market to come to you (praying that it doesn't gap through you). It's yet another reason why stock trading is so difficult.

This issue has also raised its great stupid head in the ongoing development of the All-singing All dancing new site; is it worth bothering even providing data on stocks outside the top 500 (which means stocks with a market cap below about $50 million)? There are loads of resources companies (hole diggers, mostly) with market caps that low, and to be frank buying stock in most of them - unless you're an insider - is the same as sticking a chip on a roulette spot. In other words, fundamental data isn't worth the bytes used in storing the PDF file...

 

CodeNameClose+/-%Volume
IHG Intellect Holdings 0.031-0.003-8.82%859020
BCLBetcorp0.18-0.02-7.89%601355
PGL Progen Industries 4.00 -0.30 -6.98%65459
SGXSino Gold 2.00 -0.13-6.1%96415
OMIOccupational Med1.06-0.06-5.36%2900

 

Elsewhere in the Region...

The Kiwi Market declined 24.43 points (-0.79%). Individual stocks that contributed to the decline were -

  • Fletcher Building (FBU), -$0.17 (2.51%) to $6.60 on volume of 422,000 shares;
  • Feltex Carpets (FTX), -$0.03 (1.85%) to $1.59 on volume of 304,000 shares;
  • Infratil (IFT), -$0.06 (1.79%) to $3.30 on volume of 105,000 shares;
  • AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.15 (1.79%) to $8.25 on volume of 22,000 shares; and
  • Fisher & Paykel (FPA), -$0.07 (1.67%) to $4.11 on volume of 450,000 shares;

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 143.67 points (-1.05%). Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...

  • Li & Fung Limited (0494), -$0.50 (3.85%) to $12.50 on volume of 8.08m shares;
  • Legend Group Limited (0992), -$0.08 (3.53%) to $2.05 on volume of 41.71m shares;
  • Henderson Investments (0097), -$0.35 (3.17%) to $10.70 on volume of 1.97m shares;
  • Yue Yuen Industries (0551), -$0.55 (2.67%) to $20.05 on volume of 5.08m shares;
  • Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016), -$1.50 (2.08%) to $70.50 on volume of 6.67m shares; and
  • MTR Corporation (0066), -$0.25 (2.07%) to $11.85 on volume of 3.18m shares;
CountryNameClose+/-%Volume
New ZealandNZSE503054.209-24.43-0.79%19.87m
JapanNikkei 22511302.06-103.28-0.91%66162
KoreaKOSPI913.27-3-0.33%420560
SingaporeStraits Times2090.92-6.47-0.31%0
Hong KongHang Seng13534.96-143.67-1.05%280.44m
MalaysiaKLSE Comp928.59-6.94-0.74%0

Main SFE Futures Contracts

CodeInstrumentClose+/-%Volume
SP1SPI200 Index SFE4031-16-0.4%13067
IR190-day Bank Bills SFE94.6100%23341
YT13-yr Bond SFE94.840.040.04%34446
XT110-yr Bond SFE94.680.040.04%9990