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The Ruddock-Lati frisson gives us some indication as to why spies get to stay longer than they ought to, and why they get to leave quietly. Now Ruddock ought to be castigated and fired, if only because his daughter has such manifestly poor judgement.
Now all we need is an explanation as to why Pru Goward got a plum job within the Howard mal-administration. As I understand it, it's not just because her name rhymes with that of the Prime Minister. (That said, the bilateral bad taste involved in that rumour makes my skin crawl even more than the Gareth Evans/Cheryl Kernot matter).
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 3.30 points (-0.08%), finishing at 4151.70 points. The index hit an intraday low at 4141.7 shortly before 11 a.m., and rallied to a high of 4156.40 just before everybody set off for a late Friday lunch. A 15-point intraday range... typically Friday. And the afternoon was even more typical - the market traded at an absolutely glacial pace, with the range contracting to less than 5 points for the entire afternoon.
The cash basis for the SFE's Share Price index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - fell by 3.40 points (-0.08%), finishing at 4163.50 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 1.80 points (-0.08%), finishing at 2230.90 points. Within the index members, there were 13 that rose, and 7 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 62.56 while volume in the losers totalled 32.91m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), +$0.15 (1.61%) to $9.44 on volume of 3.18m shares;
- Amcor (AMC), +$0.05 (0.71%) to $7.08 on volume of 3.8m shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), +$0.31 (0.71%) to $44.14 on volume of 2.99m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.04 (0.67%) to $5.99 on volume of 6.17m shares; and
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.07 (0.47%) to $14.87 on volume of 1.54m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), -$0.35 (2.2%) to $15.55 on volume of 3.32m shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.13 (1.73%) to $7.38 on volume of 11.68m shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.29 (1.69%) to $16.91 on volume of 5.41m shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.30 (1.38%) to $21.50 on volume of 1.36m shares; and
- Foster's Group (FGL), -$0.03 (0.56%) to $5.28 on volume of 5.58m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index - the only place where underexploited value exists with any regularity - fell by 6.90 points (-0.29%), finishing at 2390.90 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Kagara Zinc (KZL), +$0.08 (6.9%) to $1.24 on volume of 1.45m shares;
- Beach Petroleum (BPT), +$0.02 (4.17%) to $0.50 on volume of 2.95m shares;
- Macmahon Holdings (MAH), +$0.02 (3.85%) to $0.54 on volume of 1.49m shares;
- Coates Hire (COA), +$0.16 (3.69%) to $4.50 on volume of 936,000 shares; and
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.06 (3.64%) to $1.71 on volume of 1.81m shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Vision Systems. (VSL), -$0.10 (7.14%) to $1.30 on volume of 628,000 shares;
- Tower (TWR), -$0.11 (6.01%) to $1.72 on volume of 668,000 shares; and
- Genetic Technologies (GTG), -$0.03 (5.56%) to $0.51 on volume of 844,000 shares;
- Orbital Corporation (OEC), -$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.10 on volume of 262,000 shares; and
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.03 (4.76%) to $0.60 on volume of 3.24m shares.
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4151.7 | -3.3 | -0.08% | 562.65m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2230.9 | -1.8 | -0.08% | 95.47m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4100.4 | -1.7 | -0.04% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3383.2 | -2.2 | -0.06% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4163.5 | -3.4 | -0.08% | 0 |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4169.3 | -3.6 | -0.09% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4069.4 | -8.5 | -0.21% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2390.9 | -6.9 | -0.29% | 143.67m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| XAO | XSO | ASX20 | |
| Advances | 168 | 58 | 13 |
| Declines | 198 | 98 | 7 |
| Advancing Volume | 239.61m | 53.95m | 62.56m |
| Declining Volume | 250.8m | 69.68m | 32.91 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Utilities which gained 0.75% to 4687.50 points. The sector was helped by
- Australian Pipeline Trust (APA), +$0.06 (1.62%) to $3.76 on volume of 273,000 shares;
- Energy Developments (ENE), +$0.05 (1.39%) to $3.65 on volume of 212,000 shares;
- Pacific Hydro (PHY), +$0.06 (1.36%) to $4.46 on volume of 1.26m shares;
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), +$0.18 (1.29%) to $14.10 on volume of 863,000 shares; and
- Gasnet Australia Group (GAS), +$0.01 (0.4%) to $2.53 on volume of 223,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Healthcare which gained 0.33% to 4792.90 points. The sector leaders were -
- Sonic Healthcare (SHL), +$0.47 (4.01%) to $12.19 on volume of 954,000 shares;
- Cochlear (COH), +$0.46 (1.62%) to $28.82 on volume of 224,000 shares;
- DCA Group (DVC), +$0.04 (1.21%) to $3.35 on volume of 1.6m shares;
- Ventracor (VCR), +$0.01 (0.78%) to $1.30 on volume of 422,000 shares; and
- Chemeq (CMQ), +$0.01 (0.68%) to $1.49 on volume of 203,000 shares.
The bronze today went to Energy which gained 0.23% to 7462.50 points. The sector was led by
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.06 (3.64%) to $1.71 on volume of 1.81m shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.06 (3.11%) to $1.99 on volume of 5.09m shares;
- Worleyparsons (WOR), +$0.15 (2.65%) to $5.80 on volume of 182,000 shares;
- Origin Energy (ORG), +$0.12 (1.78%) to $6.87 on volume of 1.41m shares; and
- Roc Oil Company (ROC), +$0.03 (1.59%) to $1.92 on volume of 751,000 shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Property Trusts which lost 1.28% to 1818.10 points. The sector was dragged lower by
- Macquarie Countrywide Trust (MCW), -$0.21 (9.91%) to $1.91 on volume of 12.99m shares;
- Centro Properties Group. (CNP), -$0.16 (2.98%) to $5.21 on volume of 764,000 shares; and
- Mirvac Group (MGR), -$0.10 (2.15%) to $4.56 on volume of 3.09m shares;
- Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust (BWP), -$0.03 (1.72%) to $1.71 on volume of 258,000 shares; and
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.29 (1.69%) to $16.91 on volume of 5.41m shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Information Technology which lost 1.20% to 396.70 points. The sector was pulled down by
- Vision Systems (VSL), -$0.10 (7.14%) to $1.30 on volume of 628,000 shares;
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.03 (4.76%) to $0.60 on volume of 3.24m shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -$0.04 (1.29%) to $3.06 on volume of 3.02m shares;
- MYOB (MYO), -$0.01 (0.86%) to $1.15 on volume of 714,000 shares; and
- Computershare. (CPU), -$0.05 (0.83%) to $6.01 on volume of 2.62m shares.
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4687.5 | 34.9 | 0.75% | 5.08m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4792.9 | 15.8 | 0.33% | 8.21m |
| XEJ | Energy | 7462.5 | 17.1 | 0.23% | 20.53m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5433.8 | 11.2 | 0.21% | 31.5m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7214.4 | 11.5 | 0.16% | 107.36m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1880 | 2.5 | 0.13% | 15.64m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2299.9 | -0.3 | -0.01% | 27.32m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5008.6 | -3.6 | -0.07% | 58.18m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4994.6 | -4.7 | -0.09% | 69.07m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4955.2 | -16.8 | -0.34% | 148.33m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 396.7 | -4.8 | -1.2% | 11.7m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1818.1 | -23.5 | -1.28% | 95.55m |
All Ordinaries Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| QAN | Qantas Airways | 3.58 | -0.08 | -2.23% | 36.13m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 17.94 | 0.01 | 0.06% | 17.3m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 5.31 | 0.01 | 0.19% | 14m |
| MCW | Macquarie Countrywide Trust | 1.91 | -0.21 | -9.91% | 12.99m |
| WMR | WMC Resources | 7.76 | 0.12 | 1.57% | 12.95m |
| GPT | General Property Trust | 3.88 | 0.01 | 0.26% | 12.35m |
All Ordinaries Top Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| SSS | Sam's Seafood Holdings | 1.65 | 0.27 | 19.57% | 157528 |
| CAG | Cape Range Wireless | 0.052 | 0.006 | 13.04% | 6.17m |
| CBH | CBH Resources | 0.29 | 0.03 | 11.76% | 7.13m |
| UNI | Unilife Medical Solutions | 0.87 | 0.09 | 11.54% | 170761 |
| PWT | Powertel | 1.6 | 0.15 | 10.34% | 460348 |
All Ordinaries Top Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BLT | Benitec | 0.38 | -0.05 | -11.63% | 281760 |
| BOC | Bougainville Copper | 0.55 | -0.07 | -11.29% | 234500 |
| MCW | Macquarie Countrywide Trust | 1.91 | -0.21 | -9.91% | 12.99m |
| MST | Metal Storm | 0.21 | -0.02 | -8.89% | 1.52m |
| VSL | Vision Systems. | 1.3 | -0.1 | -7.14% | 627985 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 63.16 points (0.55%) to close at 11645.88 points.
The Kiwi Market declined 6.86 points (-0.22%), in trade that was split almost 50-50 between gainers and losers.. A total of 18 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 4.9million units. Decliners numbered 19, and total volume traded in losers was 7.7million shares. Individual stocks that were a but suck included...
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -$0.16 (4.66%) to $3.27 on volume of 263,000 shares;
- Tower Limited (TWR), -$0.09 (4.43%) to $1.94 on volume of 327,000 shares;
- Fisher & Paykel A (FPA), -$0.08 (2.44%) to $3.20 on volume of 744,000 shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.17 (2.07%) to $8.03 on volume of 303,000 shares; and
- Guinness Peat Group (GPG), -$0.04 (1.69%) to $2.33 on volume of 1.11m shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 20.11 points (0.14%). Within the Hang Seng, 20 index components rose, while 9 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 89.4million units, and total volume traded in losers was 19.3million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the advance included...
- Cosco Pacific Lim (1199), +$0.35 (2.2%) to $16.25 on volume of 3.41m shares;
- Yue Yuen Industri (0551), +$0.45 (2.19%) to $21.00 on volume of 3.35m shares;
- Johnson Electric (0179), +$0.15 (2.01%) to $7.60 on volume of 9.53m shares;
- China Unicom Ltd (0762), +$0.10 (1.55%) to $6.55 on volume of 6.76m shares;
- Henderson Land De (0012), +$0.50 (1.38%) to $36.80 on volume of 1.14m shares; and
- Li & Fung Limited (0494), +$0.15 (1.15%) to $13.15 on volume of 4.29m shares.
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3157.147 | -6.86 | -0.22% | 13.99m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11645.88 | 63.16 | 0.55% | 59631 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 980.96 | 8.4 | 0.86% | 489823 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2169.05 | 4.85 | 0.22% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13987.93 | 20.11 | 0.14% | 149.46m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 908.55 | -4.07 | -0.45% | 0 |
