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Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 10.70 points (0.26%), finishing at 4107.10 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4109.00 and its low was 4094.6. Although it looks (on the chart below) as if it hit its intraday high twice (once at 11:30 a.m., the next time at 3 p.m.) the second time didn't make it (the 3 p.m. high was 4108.9).
Intraday 5 minute chart
Click on Image to Enlarge
Clearly the market doesn't know how to take the soon-to-dominate-headlines advent of Freedom ("It's not just a sanitary pad... it's a way of life"®) in Iraq. That probably means that the Rendon Group (the US Government's answer to Josef Goebells) has forgotten to send a fax to Canberra... so our government has yet to be told what it's supposed to think about the whole thing...
The Index that runs (and is run by) the SFE's Share Price index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 rose by 8.90 points (0.22%), finishing at 4107.80 points. Its intraday high was 4111.1.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 4.30 points (0.20%), finishing at 2171.90 points. The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Fosters (FGL), +$0.13 (2.56%) to $5.21 on volume of 10.07m shares;
- National Australia Bank (NAB), +$0.44 (1.51%) to $29.63 on volume of 6.02m shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), +$0.22 (0.52%) to $42.90 on volume of 2.44m shares;
- Westfield (WDC), +$0.08 (0.47%) to $17.04 on volume of 5.17m shares; and
- Westpac (WBC), +$0.09 (0.47%) to $19.20 on volume of 3.42m shares.
Meanwhile the following stocks brought up the rear:
- Alumina (AWC), -$0.09 (1.46%) to $6.09 on volume of 4.09m shares;
- Coles Myer (CML), -$0.12 (1.28%) to $9.28 on volume of 4.25m shares;
- Amcor (AMC), -$0.07 (0.98%) to $7.10 on volume of 2.94m shares;
- Woolworths (WOW), -$0.13 (0.88%) to $14.59 on volume of 1.75m shares; and
- QBE Insurance (QBE), -$0.10 (0.65%) to $15.25 on volume of 2.11m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries rose by 21.60 points (0.91%), finishing at 2399.50 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Hills Motorway (HLY), +$2.54 (26.71%) to $12.05 on volume of 960,000 shares;
- Austral (AUO), +$0.09 (10.84%) to $0.92 on volume of 8.11m shares;
- SFE Corp (SFE), +$0.50 (4.95%) to $10.61 on volume of 229,000 shares;
- Worley (WOR), +$0.26 (4.58%) to $5.94 on volume of 413,000 shares; and
- Silex (SLX), +$0.05 (4.35%) to $1.20 on volume of 259,000 shares.
The following stocks brought up the rear of the lightweight-brigade:
- G.U.D. (GUD), -$0.60 (6.95%) to $8.03 on volume of 1.96m shares;
- Virotec (VTI), -$0.03 (5.26%) to $0.54 on volume of 143,000 shares;
- Petsec (PSA), -$0.06 (5.04%) to $1.13 on volume of 81,000 shares;
- Psivida (PSD), -$0.06 (4.96%) to $1.15 on volume of 612,000 shares; and
- Orbital (OEC), -$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.10 on volume of 658,000 shares.
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4107.1 | 10.7 | 0.26% | 503.35m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2171.9 | 4.3 | 0.2% | 94.58m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4020.9 | 2.4 | 0.06% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3333.4 | 5 | 0.15% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4107.8 | 8.9 | 0.22% | 0 |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4114.6 | 8.9 | 0.22% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4124.3 | 27.8 | 0.68% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2399.5 | 21.6 | 0.91% | 119.82m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| XAO | XSO | |
| Advances | 195 | 85 |
| Declines | 176 | 64 |
| Advancing Volume | 198.84m | 50.5m |
| Declining Volume | 238.98m | 36.4m |
Broad Market Internals
| Indicator | Level | +/- | % |
| Advances | 425 | -21 | -4.71 |
| Declines | 433 | -8 | -1.81 |
| Unchanged | 336 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Traded Value | 2686 | -2145 | -44.4 |
| New 52 Week Highs | 71 | 3 | 4.41 |
| New 52 Week Lows | 15 | 1 | 7.14 |
| Equity Call Option Volume | 41763 | -14157 | -25.32 |
| Equity Put Option Volume | 42730 | 2005 | 4.92 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Industrials which gained 2.26% to 5083.70 points. The sector was helped by
- Hills Motorway (HLY), +$2.54 (a massive 26.71%) to $12.05 on volume of 960,000 shares after Transurban's takeover bid, which involves an offer of 1.47 TCL shares per HLY share;
- Transurban (TCL), +$1.49 (22.04%) to $8.25 on volume of 9.02m shares - after launching a takeover bid for Hills (see above)... now how can a takeover be stock-price accretive for both stocks?;
- Australian Infrastructure Fund (AIX), +$0.10 (3.83%) to $2.71 on volume of 920,000 shares;
- United Group (UGL), +$0.25 (3.6%) to $7.20 on volume of 360,000 shares; and
- PMP Ltd (PMP), +$0.06 (2.86%) to $2.16 on volume of 682,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Utilities which gained 0.45% to 4636.90 points. The sector leaders were -
- Pacific Hydro (PHY), +$0.12 (2.7%) to $4.57 on volume of 1.21m shares;
- Energy Developments (ENE), +$0.08 (2.33%) to $3.52 on volume of 188,000 shares;
- Duet (DUE), +$0.01 (0.38%) to $2.61 on volume of 513,000 shares;
- AGL (AGL), +$0.05 (0.36%) to $13.75 on volume of 587,000 shares; and
- Aust Pipeline Trust (APA), +$0.01 (0.28%) to $3.56 on volume of 191,000 shares.
The bronze today went to Information Technology which gained 0.30% to 395.70 points. The sector was led by
- Computershare (CPU), +$0.07 (1.2%) to $5.92 on volume of 721,000 shares;
- Baycorp (BCA), +$0.03 (0.98%) to $3.08 on volume of 284,000 shares;
- ERG Ltd (ERG), -$0.00 (0%) to $0.30 on volume of 748,000 shares;
- Myob (MYO), -$0.01 (0.84%) to $1.18 on volume of 1.14m shares; and
- Infomedia (IFM), -$0.01 (1.43%) to $0.69 on volume of 1.25m shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Telecommunications which lost 0.62% to 1763.60 points. The sector was dragged lower by
- Telecom NZ (TEL), -$0.04 (0.7%) to $5.65 on volume of 4.68m shares; and
- Telstra (TLS), -$0.03 (0.6%) to $4.94 on volume of 20.47m shares.
Just in front of the last place on the sector table was Healthcare which lost 0.40% to 4646.00 points. The sector was pulled down by
- DCA Group (DVC), -$0.07 (2.04%) to $3.36 on volume of 2.04m shares;
- Invocare (IVC), -$0.06 (1.74%) to $3.39 on volume of 252,000 shares;
- Cochlear (COH), -$0.35 (1.33%) to $25.95 on volume of 179,000 shares;
- Sonic Health Care(SHL), -$0.13 (1.16%) to $11.12 on volume of 848,000 shares; and
- CSL (CSL), -$0.23 (0.74%) to $30.95 on volume of 352,000 shares.
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5083.7 | 112.4 | 2.26% | 52.7m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4636.9 | 20.6 | 0.45% | 3.52m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 395.7 | 1.2 | 0.3% | 4.84m |
| XXJ | ASX200 ex Property Trusts | 4935.7 | 12.8 | 0.26% | 52.06m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2346.1 | 5.6 | 0.24% | 31.37m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4916.9 | 5.9 | 0.12% | 110.77m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5403.2 | 5.6 | 0.1% | 30.35m |
| XEJ | Energy | 7327.4 | 3.7 | 0.05% | 17.98m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6904.4 | -7.6 | -0.11% | 90.98m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1848.3 | -6.8 | -0.37% | 63.88m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4646 | -18.5 | -0.4% | 7.1m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1763.6 | -11 | -0.62% | 25.15m |
All Ordinaries Volume Leaders
With TCL's takeover of HLY giving the stock-pimps something to babble about, it's no surprise that LyingBracks Limited (or BracksLies Limited, or "How DARE You Call Yourself a Catholic, You Lying Cur" Limited - take your pick) went up... toll roads were the sexiest thing since DavNet today.
I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on the lying scoundrel - after all, he is so bereft of a moral compass that he became a politician, so expectations need to be lowered relative to what one would expect from a human. Also, at least no children got blown to smithereens as a result of his lying, unlike that perpetrated by Howard the Chimp "Mini-Bush" (apologies to chimpanzees, which have far more moral rectitude than John Howard).
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| CEUCA | Connect East (BracksLies Ltd) | 0.75 | 0.04 | 5.63% | 44.3m |
| VBA | Virgin Blue | 2.11 | 0.03 | 1.44% | 23.57m |
| LHG | Lihir | 1.04 | -0.03 | -2.8% | 23.48m |
| TLS | Telstra | 4.94 | -0.03 | -0.6% | 20.47m |
| HHG | HHG Plc | 1.52 | -0.02 | -1.3% | 12.61m |
| CUE | Cue | 0.33 | 0 | 0% | 11.41m |
All Ordinaries Top Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| HLY | Hills Motorway | 12.05 | 2.54 | 26.71% | 960078 |
| ADA | Adacel Tech | 0.4 | 0.08 | 23.44% | 304861 |
| TCL | Transurban Group | 8.25 | 1.49 | 22.04% | 9.02m |
| SMC | Strategic Minerals | 0.16 | 0.03 | 18.52% | 571820 |
| ERA | Energy Resources | 9.75 | 1.3 | 15.38% | 21356 |
All Ordinaries Top Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| IAS | Intl All Sports | 0.33 | -0.04 | -10.81% | 703362 |
| GUD | G.U.D. Holdings | 8.03 | -0.6 | -6.95% | 1.96m |
| VTI | Virotec | 0.54 | -0.03 | -5.26% | 142610 |
| UNI | Unitract | 0.73 | -0.04 | -5.19% | 356315 |
| PSA | Petsec Energy | 1.13 | -0.06 | -5.04% | 80637 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
After early weakness that saw the Nikkei as low as 11266, the Japanese market got a surge of steam at about 11 a.m. Tokyo time, then surged a full 160 points in a little under 2 hours. Canon helped as it posted good earnings numbers, and the drop in crude oil also gave punters some heart.
Still, the afternoon in the Tokyo market was pretty soft, and as I write the Nikkei is back down 80 points from its high.
The Kiwi Market declined 9.86 points (-0.32%). Individual stocks that were a but suck included...
- Fisher & Paykel A (FPA), -$0.11 (2.69%) to $3.98 on volume of 667,000 shares;
- Fisher & Paykel H (FPH), -$0.08 (2.47%) to $3.16 on volume of 762,000 shares;
- Promina Group (PMN), -$0.11 (1.86%) to $5.80 on volume of 94,000 shares;
- Mainfreight Limited (MFT), -$0.04 (1.6%) to $2.46 on volume of 27,000 shares; and
- Ryman Healthcare (RYM), -$0.05 (1.37%) to $3.60 on volume of 14,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 91.48 points (0.67%). Individual stocks that contributed to the advance included...
- Cosco Pacific (1199), +$0.45 (2.86%) to $16.20 on volume of 2.04m shares;
- Denway Motors (0203), +$0.08 (2.68%) to $2.88 on volume of 48.78m shares;
- China Resources (0291), +$0.30 (2.68%) to $11.50 on volume of 1.09m shares;
- China Unicom (0762), +$0.15 (2.4%) to $6.40 on volume of 16.37m shares;
- Citic Pacific (0267), +$0.45 (2.09%) to $22.00 on volume of 1.77m shares; and
- Henderson Investments (0097), +$0.20 (1.83%) to $11.10 on volume of 544,000 shares.
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3075.585 | -9.86 | -0.32% | 27.39m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11422.7 | 102.12 | 0.9% | 70881 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 932.55 | 10.96 | 1.19% | 423552 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2096.77 | 7.26 | 0.35% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13741.54 | 91.48 | 0.67% | 204.93m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 917.05 | -0.18 | -0.02% | 0 |
Main SFE Futures Contracts
| Code | Instrument | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| SP1 | SPI200 Index SFE | 4085 | 0 | 0% | 15643 |
| IR1 | 90-day Bank Bills SFE | 94.37 | -0.05 | -0.05% | 44680 |
| YT1 | 3-yr Bond SFE | 94.66 | -0.03 | -0.03% | 75886 |
| XT1 | 10-yr Bond SFE | 94.59 | -0.01 | -0.01% | 18795 |
