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Aren't double standards wonderful? The Yank media is full of massively hypocritical maundering about China's announcement that it will prevent - by force in required - the independence movement in Taiwan. At least the Chinese haven't invaded pre-emptively (wouldn't it be funny to see the US try to get sanctions against China in the UN? Watch the bond market!!!).
At the same time, the US is using 150,000 of its urban poor - augmented by billions of taxpayers dollars, anabolic steroids and amphetamines out the wahzoo, and a good dose of "kill conditioning" - to prevent the Iraqi independence movement from gaining a foothold. The irony is lost on the US media, however.
Irony, or rank hypocrisy? I favour the latter, since it has historical precedent. Recent pronouncements by Emperor Shrub that the any elections in Lebanon that favoured Syria were not legitimate because... get this... they occurred during a military occupation. This is the same slug who talks about the Iraqi elections as being legitimate (despite the despicable interim constitution written by Paul Bremer... perhaps he is from a famous Iraqi "Bremer" tribe? No, I didn't think so). Is Iraq under a military occupation? Well, it's full of 'roided out, amphetamine-chomping inner-urban American poor who shoot - or otherwise dispatch - a lot of the indigenes... I guess in Shrub's cocaine-fried, alcohol-preserved pseudo brain they must just be honorary Iraqis for the time being.
Oh yes... the markets.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 7.70 points (-0.18%), finishing at 4210.90 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4230.40 (set about twenty minutes after the nuffie-driven "Look! the US went up!" opening orgasm). The low was set at 4210.4 about eighteen seconds before the closing bell - and the index finished within half a point of that low.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - fell by 8.10 points (-0.19%), finishing at 4225.40 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 6.30 points (-0.28%), finishing at 2280.00 points. Within the index members, there were 7 that rose, and 12 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 25.55m units while volume in the losers totalled 52.81m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$0.23 (1.19%) to $19.51 on volume of 4.26m shares;
- St George Bank (SGB), +$0.29 (1.17%) to $24.99 on volume of 596,000 shares;
- Australia And New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.21 (0.98%) to $21.68 on volume of 3.72m shares;
- Amcor (AMC), +$0.06 (0.79%) to $7.62 on volume of 2.68m shares; and
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), +$0.06 (0.61%) to $9.90 on volume of 4.71m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.33 (1.74%) to $18.67 on volume of 19.6m shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), -$0.83 (1.73%) to $47.10 on volume of 7.21m shares;
- Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.57 (1.39%) to $40.51 on volume of 447,000 shares;
- Alumina (AWC), -$0.04 (0.63%) to $6.30 on volume of 4.56m shares; and
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. (CBA), -$0.22 (0.62%) to $35.53 on volume of 2.36m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index - the "value vein" in our market - rose by a teensy 0.10 points (0.00%), finishing at 2423.30 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Progen Industries (PGL), +$0.58 (17.06%) to $3.98 on volume of 433,000 shares;
- Chemeq (CMQ), +$0.19 (15.45%) to $1.42 on volume of 1.05m shares;
- Kimberley Diamond Company (KIM), +$0.06 (5.66%) to $1.12 on volume of 3.09m shares;
- Ridley Corporation (RIC), +$0.08 (5.44%) to $1.55 on volume of 414,000 shares; and
- Coffey International (COF), +$0.11 (5.37%) to $2.16 on volume of 59,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Cellestis (CST), -$0.20 (6.06%) to $3.10 on volume of 98,000 shares;
- Consolidated Minerals (CSM), -$0.22 (5.3%) to $3.93 on volume of 952,000 shares; and
- Globe International (GLB), -$0.02 (4.82%) to $0.40 on volume of 207,000 shares;
- Vision Systems (VSL), -$0.06 (4.8%) to $1.19 on volume of 554,000 shares; and
- Oceana Gold (OGD), -$0.03 (4%) to $0.72 on volume of 959,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4210.9 | -7.7 | -0.18% | 549.2m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2280 | -6.3 | -0.28% | 96.18m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4169.9 | -11.1 | -0.27% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3433.1 | -7 | -0.2% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4225.4 | -8.1 | -0.19% | 355.61m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4230.4 | -7.8 | -0.18% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4075.8 | 7.1 | 0.17% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2423.3 | 0.1 | 0% | 134.5m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 164 | 79 | 74 | 7 | 755 |
| Declines | 200 | 90 | 79 | 12 | 736 |
| Advancing Volume | 275.87m | 153.04m | 76.99m | 25.55 | 527.98 |
| Declining Volume | 168.96m | 135.22m | 37.84m | 52.81 | 444.24 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Healthcare which gained 0.29% to 4867.90 points. The sector was helped by
- Chemeq (CMQ), +$0.19 (15.45%) to $1.42 on volume of 1.05m shares;
- Invocare (IVC), +$0.15 (3.9%) to $4.00 on volume of 242,000 shares;
- Ramsay Health Care (RHC), +$0.27 (3.62%) to $7.72 on volume of 360,000 shares;
- Peptech (PTD), +$0.03 (1.95%) to $1.57 on volume of 1.34m shares; and
- Sonic Healthcare (SHL), +$0.19 (1.64%) to $11.75 on volume of 284,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts which gained 0.26% to 4999.80 points. The sector leaders in index-point contribution were the a couple of the major banks, although NAB anc CBA bot hfell (as did AMP and QBE). The leaders in percentage change terms were-
- Challenger Financial Services Group (CGF), +$0.07 (2.17%) to $3.30 on volume of 2.03m shares;
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$0.23 (1.19%) to $19.51 on volume of 4.26m shares;
- St George Bank (SGB), +$0.29 (1.17%) to $24.99 on volume of 596,000 shares;
- Suncorp-Metway. (SUN), +$0.22 (1.14%) to $19.46 on volume of 478,000 shares; and
- Australia And New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.21 (0.98%) to $21.68 on volume of 3.72m shares.
The bronze today went to Financials which gained 0.20% to 4925.70 points. The sector was led by
- Multiplex Group (MXG), +$0.16 (3.62%) to $4.58 on volume of 4.97m shares;
- Challenger Financial Services Group (CGF), +$0.07 (2.17%) to $3.30 on volume of 2.03m shares;
- Macquarie Ddr Trust (MDT), +$0.02 (1.8%) to $1.13 on volume of 5.15m shares;
- Investa Property Group (IPG), +$0.03 (1.43%) to $2.13 on volume of 2.66m shares; and
- Thakral Holdings Group (THG), +$0.01 (1.33%) to $0.76 on volume of 133,000 shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Information Technology which lost 1.46% to 390.30 points. The sector was dragged lower by
- Vision Systems (VSL), -$0.06 (4.8%) to $1.19 on volume of 554,000 shares;
- Computershare (CPU), -$0.13 (2.15%) to $5.93 on volume of 1m shares;
- MYOB (MYO), -$0.02 (1.63%) to $1.21 on volume of 63,000 shares;
- IRESS Market Technology (IRE), -$0.02 (0.48%) to $4.16 on volume of 78,000 shares; and
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.00 (0%) to $0.63 on volume of 301,000 shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Materials which lost 1.02% to 7503.50 points. The sector was pulled down by
- Minara Resources (MRE), -$0.08 (3.67%) to $2.10 on volume of 1.71m shares;
- Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.02 (3.03%) to $0.48 on volume of 1.03m shares; and
- Jubilee Mines (JBM), -$0.16 (2.68%) to $5.81 on volume of 1.28m shares;
- Gunns (GNS), -$0.09 (2.04%) to $4.32 on volume of 508,000 shares; and
- Excel Coal (EXL), -$0.16 (1.91%) to $8.20 on volume of 2.06m shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4867.9 | 14 | 0.29% | 10.22m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4999.8 | 13.2 | 0.26% | 42.75m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4925.7 | 9.9 | 0.2% | 106.25m |
| XEJ | Energy | 8168.3 | 14.1 | 0.17% | 18.58m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1903.9 | 0.5 | 0.03% | 19.91m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1780.2 | -0.5 | -0.03% | 66.71m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4764.7 | -6.7 | -0.14% | 2.86m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5693.7 | -8.4 | -0.15% | 22.02m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2295.2 | -4.3 | -0.19% | 37.48m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5120.3 | -26.9 | -0.52% | 36.05m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7503.5 | -77.4 | -1.02% | 114.45m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 390.3 | -5.8 | -1.46% | 6.26m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BAS | Bass Strait Oil Company | 0.25 | -0.05 | -16.67% | 24.73m |
| AZR | Aztec Resources | 0.3 | 0 | 0% | 24.29m |
| WMR | WMC Resources | 7.96 | 0.03 | 0.38% | 23.45m |
| PNA | Pan Australian Resources | 0.3 | 0.03 | 11.11% | 19.7m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 18.67 | -0.33 | -1.74% | 19.6m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 5.37 | 0 | 0% | 17.82m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ABI | Ambri | 0.21 | 0.04 | 20.59% | 13.3m |
| PGL | Progen Industries. | 3.98 | 0.58 | 17.06% | 432621 |
| CMQ | Chemeq | 1.42 | 0.19 | 15.45% | 1.05m |
| PNA | Pan Australian Resources | 0.3 | 0.03 | 11.11% | 19.7m |
| TIR | Titan Resources | 0.073 | 0.007 | 10.61% | 49.72m |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| TPX | Tasmanian Perpetual Trustees | 5.42 | -0.81 | -13% | 11002 |
| NVE | Novera Energy | 0.26 | -0.02 | -7.14% | 205200 |
| CST | Cellestis | 3.1 | -0.2 | -6.06% | 97597 |
| CYG | Coventry Group | 6.65 | -0.4 | -5.67% | 15300 |
| CSM | Consolidated Minerals | 3.93 | -0.22 | -5.3% | 952139 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 44.35 points (-0.37%) at 11805.9 points as this was being written.
The Kiwi Market advanced 9.65 points (0.31%). A total of 23 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 12.6million units. Decliners numbered 19, and total volume traded in losers was 3.3million shares. Individual percentage gainers included...
- Kiwi Income Property (KIP), +NZ$0.03 (2.68%) to NZ$1.15 on volume of 3.91m shares;
- Tourism Holdings (THL), +NZ$0.04 (2.11%) to NZ$1.94 on volume of 53,000 shares;
- Lion Nathan (LNN), +NZ$0.15 (1.88%) to NZ$8.15 on volume of 90,000 shares;
- Pumpkin Patch (PPL), +NZ$0.05 (1.47%) to NZ$3.44 on volume of 27,000 shares;
- Air New Zealand (AIR), +NZ$0.02 (1.27%) to NZ$1.60 on volume of 700,000 shares; and
- Tower Limited (TWR), +NZ$0.02 (1.13%) to NZ$1.79 on volume of 625,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 117.47 points (-0.84%). Within the Hang Seng, not a single index component rose (three were unchanged), while 29 stocks fell. That sort of throws the advance-decline numbers into a tailspin, andthe advance-decline volume numbers too, since volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled precisely ZERO units, and total volume traded in losers was 168.5million shares. The biggest percetnage decliners in hongkers included...
- China Unicom (0762), -HK$0.20 (3.08%) to HK$6.30 on volume of 20.77m shares;
- Yue Yuen Industries (0551), -HK$0.40 (1.83%) to HK$21.50 on volume of 1.27m shares;
- Esprit Holdings (0330), -HK$1.00 (1.81%) to HK$54.25 on volume of 2.5m shares;
- Henderson Investments (0097), -HK$0.20 (1.79%) to HK$11.00 on volume of 817,000 shares;
- Citic Pacific (0267), -HK$0.40 (1.72%) to HK$22.80 on volume of 2.67m shares; and
- CNOOC (0883), -HK$0.08 (1.7%) to HK$4.33 on volume of 28.32m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3165.673 | 9.65 | 0.31% | 16.75m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11805.9 | -44.35 | -0.37% | 78778 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 993.13 | -26.56 | -2.6% | 730720 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2167.11 | -1.86 | -0.09% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13789.38 | -117.47 | -0.84% | 188.5m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 899.71 | -1.93 | -0.21% | 0 |
