Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
"Now I see a little better how Nazism overcame Germany. . . It was what most Germans wanted -- or, under pressure of combined reality and illusion, came to want. They wanted it; they got it; and they liked it. I came back home a little afraid for my country, afraid of what it might want, and get, and like, under pressure of combined reality and illusions. I felt -- and feel -- that it was not German Man that I had met, but Man. He happened to be in Germany under certain conditions. He might be here, under certain conditions. He might, under certain conditions, be I."
Martin Mayer "They Thought They Were Free". Just like the Yanks think they're free.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 6.50 points (0.16%), finishing at 4142.80 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4158.80and its low was 4136.3. The Index that runs (and is run by) the SFE's Share Price index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 rose by 6.90 points (0.17%), finishing at 4151.70 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 7.20 points (0.32%), finishing at 2222.80 points. Within the index members, there were 10 that rose, and 10 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 60.45 while volume in the losers totalled 71.49m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.30 (1.75%) to $17.45 on volume of 27.89m shares;
- News Corporation (NWSLV), +$0.31 (1.46%) to $21.55 on volume of 3.87m shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), +$0.61 (1.42%) to $43.69 on volume of 3.1m shares;
- News Corporation (NWS), +$0.23 (1.04%) to $22.34 on volume of 5.4m shares; and
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.06 (1.03%) to $5.91 on volume of 4.68m shares.
The following stocks were the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Amcor (AMC), -$0.08 (1.11%) to $7.12 on volume of 3.17m shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.07 (0.93%) to $7.48 on volume of 10.17m shares;
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.04 (0.75%) to $5.28 on volume of 24.33m shares;
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), -$0.14 (0.72%) to $19.33 on volume of 4.41m shares; and
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), -$0.06 (0.66%) to $9.09 on volume of 6.34m 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 5.30 points (-0.22%), finishing at 2398.30 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Dragon Mining (DRA), +$0.03 (10.64%) to $0.26 on volume of 349,000 shares;
- JB Hi-Fi (JBH), +$0.24 (6.72%) to $3.81 on volume of 2.22m shares;
- Healthscope (HSP), +$0.24 (6%) to $4.24 on volume of 1.68m shares;
- Macquarie Leisure Trust Group (MLE), +$0.10 (5.85%) to $1.81 on volume of 784,000 shares; and
- Excel Coal (EXL), +$0.32 (5.26%) to $6.40 on volume of 421,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Metcash Trading (MTT), -$0.26 (7.88%) to $3.04 on volume of 5.35m shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), -$0.14 (6.7%) to $1.95 on volume of 18.76m shares; and
- Globe International (GLB), -$0.03 (5.75%) to $0.41 on volume of 640,000 shares;
- AV Jennings Homes (AVJ), -$0.08 (5.16%) to $1.47 on volume of 367,000 shares; and
- Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.03 (4.81%) to $0.50 on volume of 2.1m shares.
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4142.8 | 6.5 | 0.16% | 611.11m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2222.8 | 7.2 | 0.32% | 131.93m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4082 | 11.6 | 0.28% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3372.1 | 6.6 | 0.2% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4151.7 | 6.9 | 0.17% | 0 |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4158 | 6.6 | 0.16% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4085.9 | -13.9 | -0.34% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2398.3 | -5.3 | -0.22% | 149.3m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| XAO | XSO | ASX20 | |
| Advances | 167 | 63 | 10 |
| Declines | 206 | 94 | 10 |
| Advancing Volume | 241.5m | 58.08m | 60.45m |
| Declining Volume | 283.91m | 68.66m | 71.49 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Property Trusts which gained 1.15% to 1814.30 points. The sector was helped by
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), +$0.03 (2.7%) to $1.14 on volume of 1.79m shares;
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.13 (2.3%) to $5.78 on volume of 4.47m shares;
- Investa Property Group (IPG), +$0.04 (1.98%) to $2.06 on volume of 7.59m shares;
- CFS Gandel Retail Trust (GAN), +$0.03 (1.94%) to $1.58 on volume of 5.02m shares; and
- Centro Properties Group. (CNP), +$0.10 (1.91%) to $5.34 on volume of 2.33m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Materials which gained 0.85% to 7113.50 points. The sector leaders were -
- Excel Coal (EXL), +$0.32 (5.26%) to $6.40 on volume of 421,000 shares;
- Lion Selection Group (LSG), +$0.05 (2.45%) to $2.09 on volume of 815,000 shares;
- Jubilee Mines (JBM), +$0.11 (2.02%) to $5.55 on volume of 1.03m shares;
- James Hardie Industries N.V. (JHX), +$0.13 (2.02%) to $6.58 on volume of 1.8m shares; and
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.30 (1.75%) to $17.45 on volume of 27.89m shares.
The bronze today went to Information Technology which gained 0.78% to 426.50 points. The sector was led by
- Vision Systems. (VSL), +$0.04 (2.99%) to $1.38 on volume of 156,000 shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), +$0.05 (1.52%) to $3.33 on volume of 536,000 shares;
- MYOB (MYO), +$0.01 (0.87%) to $1.16 on volume of 324,000 shares;
- Computershare. (CPU), +$0.04 (0.62%) to $6.53 on volume of 1.16m shares; and
- ERG (ERG), -$0.00 (0%) to $0.31 on volume of 461,000 shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Energy which lost 2.44% to 7430.50 points. The sector was dragged lower by
- Santos (STO), -$0.80 (8.29%) to $8.85 on volume of 10.34m shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), -$0.14 (6.7%) to $1.95 on volume of 18.76m shares; and
- Worleyparsons (WOR), -$0.17 (2.91%) to $5.67 on volume of 183,000 shares;
- Roc Oil Company (ROC), -$0.05 (2.58%) to $1.89 on volume of 1.41m shares; and
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), -$0.04 (2.34%) to $1.67 on volume of 2.49m shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Telecommunications which lost 0.77% to 1870.50 points. The sector was pulled down by both of the stocks in the "sector" (which is a joke - why not jsut call it the ASX200 Telstra Plus Small Change Index...
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.05 (0.86%) to $5.74 on volume of 2.91m shares; and
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.04 (0.75%) to $5.28 on volume of 24.33m shares.
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1814.3 | 20.6 | 1.15% | 107.97m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7113.5 | 60.1 | 0.85% | 106.77m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 426.5 | 3.3 | 0.78% | 4.54m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2301.7 | 10.2 | 0.45% | 51.97m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4689.5 | 14.3 | 0.31% | 3.67m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4965 | 14 | 0.28% | 153.62m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4763.5 | 9.9 | 0.21% | 8.29m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5024.1 | 2.2 | 0.04% | 53.41m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5384.8 | -4.5 | -0.08% | 43.52m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4984 | -32.6 | -0.65% | 52.75m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1870.5 | -14.5 | -0.77% | 27.24m |
| XEJ | Energy | 7430.5 | -185.6 | -2.44% | 49.52m |
All Ordinaries Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 17.45 | 0.30 | 1.75% | 27.89m |
| CUE | Cue Energy Resources | 0.27 | 0.01 | 1.92% | 24.41m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 5.28 | -0.04 | -0.75% | 24.33m |
| HDR | Hardman Resources | 1.95 | -0.14 | -6.7% | 18.76m |
| FXJ | Fairfax Holdings | 4.39 | -0.05 | -1.13% | 18.47m |
| WMR | WMC Resources | 7.69 | 0.03 | 0.39% | 17.31m |
All Ordinaries Top Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| UNW | Unwired Group | 0.61 | 0.06 | 10.91% | 1.76m |
| DRA | Dragon Mining | 0.26 | 0.03 | 10.64% | 348670 |
| JBH | JB Hi-Fi | 3.81 | 0.24 | 6.72% | 2.22m |
| HSP | Healthscope | 4.24 | 0.24 | 6% | 1.68m |
| ARP | Arb Corporation | 3.94 | 0.22 | 5.91% | 444302 |
All Ordinaries Top Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ILU | Iluka Resources | 5.72 | -0.62 | -9.78% | 5.18m |
| STO | Santos | 8.85 | -0.8 | -8.29% | 10.34m |
| MTT | Metcash Trading | 3.04 | -0.26 | -7.88% | 5.35m |
| NHC | New Hope Corporation | 1.35 | -0.11 | -7.53% | 245373 |
| TIR | Titan Resources | 0.062 | -0.005 | -7.46% | 6.98m |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 46.26 points (-0.40%) to close at 11600.23 points.
The Kiwi Market declined 8.96 points (-0.28%). A total of 21 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 3.7million units. Decliners numbered 20, and total volume traded in losers was 11.3million shares. Individual stocks that had an off day included...
- Tower Limited Ord (TWR), -$0.04 (1.91%) to $2.05 on volume of 740,000 shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.15 (1.8%) to $8.20 on volume of 33,000 shares;
- AON News & Media (APN), -$0.10 (1.77%) to $5.55 on volume of 11,000 shares;
- Contact Energy (CEN), -$0.11 (1.58%) to $6.85 on volume of 266,000 shares; and
- Ryman Healthcare (RYM), -$0.05 (1.34%) to $3.69 on volume of 38,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 11.56 points (0.08%). Within the Hang Seng, 11 index components rose, while 14 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 33.3million units, and total volume traded in losers was 67.5million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the advance included...
- Esprit Holdings (0330), +$1.10 (2.44%) to $46.10 on volume of 1.85m shares;
- China Resources (0291), +$0.20 (1.83%) to $11.15 on volume of 3.72m shares;
- China Unicom (0762), +$0.05 (0.76%) to $6.60 on volume of 3.62m shares;
- CLP Holdings (0002), +$0.30 (0.67%) to $44.80 on volume of 1.49m shares;
- HK Electric (0006), +$0.20 (0.57%) to $35.20 on volume of 1.23m shares; and
- PCCW (0008), +$0.03 (0.55%) to $4.55 on volume of 3.71m shares.
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3158.213 | -8.96 | -0.28% | 16.68m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11600.23 | -46.26 | -0.4% | 69271 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 969.56 | 0.68 | 0.07% | 526503 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2156.46 | -6.93 | -0.32% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 14007.39 | 11.56 | 0.08% | 143.44m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 917.75 | -3.96 | -0.43% | 0 |
