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Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 11.00 points (-0.27%), finishing at 4106.20 points. The opened with a hiss and a roar, rallying non-stop for the first hour... then hitting a wall. The index hit its intraday high of 4138.40 at 11 a.m., and its low was 4098.5, half an hour before the close of play. Again, some fancy foot work was required to ensure a close above 4100 on a daily basis.
Total volume traded on the ASX was a lacklustre 0.91 billion units, 10.8% below its 10-day average. 174 All Ords index members rose, while 199 fell for the day. Volume in losers was 237.12 units which was just exceeded by the 245.15units traded in advancing stocks.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - fell by 13.50 points (-0.33%), finishing at 4118.90 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 7.10 points (-0.32%), finishing at 2222.50 points. Within the index members, there were 10 that rose, and 10 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 38.05m units while volume in the losers totalled 58.17m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.08 (1.52%) to $5.36 on volume of 7.66m shares;
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.20 (1.24%) to $16.33 on volume of 3.66m shares;
- Amcor (AMC), +$0.06 (0.83%) to $7.25 on volume of 3.16m shares;
- News Corporation (NWSLV), +$0.15 (0.69%) to $21.82 on volume of 1.99m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWS), +$0.13 (0.58%) to $22.60 on volume of 1.4m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.42 (2.3%) to $17.84 on volume of 16.27m shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.25 (0.97%) to $25.60 on volume of 2.95m shares;
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), -$0.11 (0.73%) to $14.88 on volume of 3.19m shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.11 (0.68%) to $16.14 on volume of 3.44m shares; and
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), -$0.10 (0.52%) to $19.00 on volume of 4.81m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index fell by 3.60 points (-0.15%), finishing at 2326.50 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Bendigo Mining (BDG), +$0.09 (7.56%) to $1.28 on volume of 794,000 shares;
- Macmahon Holdings (MAH), +$0.03 (7.14%) to $0.45 on volume of 842,000 shares;
- Agenix (AGX), +$0.03 (6.76%) to $0.40 on volume of 12,000 shares;
- Platinum Capital (PMC), +$0.13 (6.63%) to $2.09 on volume of 125,000 shares; and
- Dragon Mining (DRA), +$0.01 (5%) to $0.21 on volume of 358,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Genetic Technologies (GTG), -$0.03 (6.1%) to $0.39 on volume of 202,000 shares;
- Virotec International (VTI), -$0.03 (5.08%) to $0.56 on volume of 107,000 shares; and
- Kresta Holdings (KRS), -$0.02 (4.88%) to $0.39 on volume of 147,000 shares;
- Volante Group (VGL), -$0.07 (4.69%) to $1.32 on volume of 113,000 shares; and
- G.U.D. Holdings (GUD), -$0.28 (4.27%) to $6.27 on volume of 352,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4106.2 | -11 | -0.27% | 2254.748 |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2222.5 | -7.1 | -0.32% | 96.21m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4066.7 | -14 | -0.34% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3348.5 | -11.1 | -0.33% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4118.9 | -13.5 | -0.33% | 462.13m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4119.9 | -12.9 | -0.31% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3977.3 | -10.1 | -0.25% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2326.5 | -3.6 | -0.15% | 136.35m |
Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 174 | 69 | 74 | 10 | 412 |
| Declines | 199 | 107 | 85 | 10 | 485 |
| Advancing Volume | 237.12m | 197.52m | 63.35m | 38.05 | 411.91 |
| Declining Volume | 245.15m | 223.79m | 44.12m | 58.17 | 372.4 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Consumer Staples which gained 0.74% to 5630.00 points. Of the 15 stocks in the sector, 10 rose while 4 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 7.3:1, with 33.16million shares traded in gainers while 4.52million shares traded in losers. The biggest percentage gainers in the sector were
- Burns, Philp & Company (BPC), +$0.02 (1.52%) to $1.00 on volume of 5.31m shares;
- Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.08 (1.52%) to $5.36 on volume of 7.66m shares;
- National Foods (NFD), +$0.08 (1.25%) to $6.48 on volume of 7.08m shares;
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.20 (1.24%) to $16.33 on volume of 3.66m shares; and
- Southcorp (SRP), +$0.04 (0.94%) to $4.28 on volume of 802,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Information Technology which gained 0.52% to 368.40 points. Of the 7 stocks in the sector, 4 fell while 3 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 4.2:1, with 7.36million shares traded in gainers while 1.74million shares traded in losers . The sector leaders (on a percentage basis) were -
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), +$0.01 (1.82%) to $0.56 on volume of 1.02m shares;
- ERG (ERG), +$0.01 (1.69%) to $0.30 on volume of 4.57m shares;
- Computershare. (CPU), +$0.06 (1.1%) to $5.50 on volume of 1.77m shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -$0.01 (0.34%) to $2.90 on volume of 374,000 shares; and
- Vision Systems. (VSL), -$0.01 (0.41%) to $1.20 on volume of 513,000 shares.
The bronze today went to Industrials which gained 0.29% to 5079.50 points. Of the 25 stocks in the sector, 13 rose while 9 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2.3:1, with 33.55million shares traded in gainers while 14.67million shares traded in losers . The sector was led by
- United Group (UGL), +$0.25 (3.21%) to $8.05 on volume of 828,000 shares;
- Prime Infrastructure Group (PIF), +$0.05 (3.09%) to $1.50 on volume of 1.02m shares;
- Transurban Group (TCL), +$0.10 (1.39%) to $7.30 on volume of 2.51m shares;
- Adsteam Marine (ADZ), +$0.03 (1.37%) to $1.85 on volume of 518,000 shares; and
- Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG), +$0.04 (1.09%) to $3.72 on volume of 9.18m shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Energy which lost 1.31% to 8414.50 points, thanks largely to the recent (well-spotted) weakness in the Energy complex. All 11 stocks in the sector fell, with the average fall a rather impressive 1.89%. Since there was no volume in gainers, the "tilt" in volume is undefined mathematically (don't you just hate it when that happens). Volume in the sector was 17.57million shares traded, all in losers. The biggest percentage declines in the sector were as follows:
- Roc Oil Company (ROC), -$0.08 (4.19%) to $1.83 on volume of 551,000 shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), -$0.06 (3.08%) to $1.89 on volume of 917,000 shares; and
- Arc Energy (ARQ), -$0.06 (2.95%) to $1.81 on volume of 285,000 shares;
- Oil Search (OSH), -$0.06 (2.3%) to $2.55 on volume of 4.85m shares; and
- Caltex Australia (CTX), -$0.35 (2.3%) to $14.90 on volume of 419,000 shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Materials which lost 1.21% to 7094.70 points. The sector has 37 stocks in it; of these, 19 fell and 15 rose. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.9:1, with 81.3million shares traded in losers while 43.7million shares traded in gainers. The worst-performed sector components were -
- Great Southern Plantations (GTP), -$0.15 (4.2%) to $3.42 on volume of 3.67m shares;
- Oxiana (OXR), -$0.04 (3.57%) to $0.95 on volume of 27.96m shares; and
- Timbercorp (TIM), -$0.06 (2.82%) to $2.07 on volume of 423,000 shares;
- Orica (ORI), -$0.50 (2.69%) to $18.12 on volume of 1.6m shares; and
- Excel Coal (EXL), -$0.20 (2.63%) to $7.40 on volume of 564,000 shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5630 | 41.3 | 0.74% | 38.1m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 368.4 | 1.9 | 0.52% | 9.11m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5079.5 | 14.8 | 0.29% | 50.27m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2268.4 | -1.7 | -0.07% | 40.01m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1787.7 | -3.1 | -0.17% | 23.42m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1739.5 | -3.2 | -0.18% | 95.52m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4812 | -8.9 | -0.18% | 145.99m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4884.2 | -9.1 | -0.19% | 53.9m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4718 | -12.1 | -0.26% | 7.95m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4912.1 | -28.6 | -0.58% | 10.08m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7094.7 | -86.6 | -1.21% | 127.39m |
| XEJ | Energy | 8414.5 | -111.3 | -1.31% | 17.57m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| OXR | Oxiana | 0.95 | -0.04 | -3.57% | 27.96m |
| BGF | Ballarat Goldfields | 0.25 | 0.03 | 11.11% | 19.2m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 5.02 | -0.02 | -0.4% | 18.95m |
| BJT | Babcock & Brown Japan Property Trust | 1.18 | 0.01 | 0.85% | 17.09m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 17.84 | -0.42 | -2.3% | 16.27m |
| MPR | Macquarie Prologis Trust | 1.08 | 0.01 | 0.47% | 15.11m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| EPT | Epitan | 0.58 | 0.09 | 18.37% | 1.54m |
| BGF | Ballarat Goldfields | 0.25 | 0.03 | 11.11% | 19.2m |
| BDG | Bendigo Mining | 1.28 | 0.09 | 7.56% | 793746 |
| UNI | Unilife Medical Solutions | 0.73 | 0.05 | 7.35% | 75500 |
| MAH | Macmahon Holdings | 0.45 | 0.03 | 7.14% | 842461 |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BOC | Bougainville Copper | 1.1 | -0.25 | -18.52% | 892071 |
| TAW | Tawana Resources | 1.07 | -0.1 | -8.55% | 102357 |
| GTG | Genetic Technologies | 0.39 | -0.03 | -6.1% | 202058 |
| EOS | Electro Optic Systems Holdings | 3.95 | -0.25 | -5.95% | 122110 |
| ABI | Ambri | 0.16 | -0.01 | -5.88% | 712800 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 52.85 points (0.45%) to 11827.16 points at the time of writing. After a teensy dip at the open, where the index fell to its session low of 11760.71, the Nikkei moved into rally mode for the remainder of the morning session, setting its intraday high (so far) at 11841.25, in the minute before the lunch-bell. The afternoon session so far has been tedious - sideways with absolutely no clear direction.
The Kiwi Market has had a text-book 5-wave intraday rally - it opened at its low (3048.63 points), and the pullbacks between advancing surges have been shallow, never retracing more than half of the move upward. Once the fifth wave finished, with the index having set its intraday peak at 3068.38 (at 2:30 p.m.), the market softened, giving back pretty much all of the Wave 5 advance. That said, all this "wave" stuff is overstating the advance a tad - at its best the market was only up 20 points or so. As I write, the market is up 15.12 points (0.50%) at 3063.44 and looks pretty weak into the close..
A total of 25 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 21.7million units. Decliners numbered 14, and total volume traded in losers was 8.4million shares. Individual percentage gainers were...
- The Warehouse Group (WHS), +NZ$0.15 (4%) to NZ$3.90 on volume of 324,000 shares;
- Pumpkin Patch Limited (PPL), +NZ$0.12 (3.75%) to NZ$3.32 on volume of 139,000 shares;
- Tourism Holdings (THL), +NZ$0.05 (2.82%) to NZ$1.82 on volume of 506,000 shares;
- Independent Newspapers (INL), +NZ$0.12 (1.93%) to NZ$6.35 on volume of 429,000 shares;
- Cavalier Corporation (CAV), +NZ$0.07 (1.84%) to NZ$3.87 on volume of 19,000 shares; and
- Contact Energy (CEN), +NZ$0.12 (1.83%) to NZ$6.67 on volume of 455,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped towards 12500 early in the session, setting its low at 13505.78 points about ten minutes in. it then rallied over 100 points in forty minutes, setting its intraday high at 13612.04 at about 10:50 a.m.. From there the index went into a bit of a holding pattern, although it did pull back to the mid 13560's prior to lunch (it's at lunch now). The lunchtime interval arrived with the index having advanced 86.14 points (0.64%) to 13599.55 points, which is as close as you can get to 13600 points, as makes no odds.
Within the Hang Seng, 20 index components rose, while 8 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 103.6million units, and total volume traded in losers was 24.4million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the advance included...
- China Unicom (0762), +HK$0.25 (4.2%) to HK$6.20 on volume of 15.92m shares;
- Denway Motors (0203), +HK$0.10 (3.7%) to HK$2.80 on volume of 19.62m shares;
- Yue Yuen Industries (0551), +HK$0.40 (1.9%) to HK$21.50 on volume of 976,000 shares;
- China Mobile (0941), +HK$0.45 (1.78%) to HK$25.75 on volume of 12.4m shares;
- MTR Corporation (0066), +HK$0.20 (1.67%) to HK$12.20 on volume of 2.84m shares; and
- Cheung Kong (0001), +HK$1.00 (1.43%) to HK$71.00 on volume of 4.66m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3063.744 | 15.12 | 0.5% | 31.86m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11827.16 | 52.85 | 0.45% | 72343 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 988 | 5.5 | 0.56% | 465739 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2157.14 | -0.67 | -0.03% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13599.55 | 86.14 | 0.64% | 192.45m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 861.63 | -8.18 | -0.94% | 0 |
