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Oh my goodness... we're under 4000 again. (Isn't the "drop cap" thing just magnificent?). "Sometimes I like to quote myself, but not today."
CSS is just the ginchiest. Not that it's earth-shattering stuff, but I'm going to alter the blog's entire look & feel over the weekend, just to get it prepped for something rather nifty.
I've been warning for a while that the Australian market needed a good kick ("Skwa-yah in the nuhts" as Cartman might say); when the target of 4200 (put out by bill McLaren, who is a bona fide genius) was reached, an apparent throw-over occurred. It became my view that any subsequent pullback would necessarily be proportionate to the over-reach, and would therefore be deeper. I've still only got downside targets of 3800-3750, but the market is so oversold now that a bounce becomes increasingly likely.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 70.10 points (-1.73%), finishing at 3993.20 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4063.30 right at the opening bell, and fell 35 points in the first ten minutes. With 4000 sitting underneath, there seemed little willingness to take the market through that level before lunch. Ordinarily, that would have had some buyers taking a punt long, but it was Friday and the voices in traders' ears would have been like Samuel L Jackson (the coolest man alive)... "Don't make me kick y'all's ass" and the rest of the session (from 2 p.m. onwards) was worse than the usual Friday Fade. The market set its low (3989.9) with five minutes to go.
Total volume traded on the ASX was a pretty solid 1.11 billion units, 18.4% above its 10-day average. Only 51 All Ords index members rose, while 331 fell for the day. Volume in losers was 80.69m units which was a whole whup-ass bunch less than the 559.78m units traded in decliners.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - fell by 68.00 points (-1.67%), finishing at 4014.30 points. 400 better hold for that sucker, or else.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 31.90 points (-1.45%), finishing at 2169.10 points. Within the index members, there was only 1 that rose (telstra, which rose by the 1c bid-ask gap), and 19 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 17.54m while volume in the losers totalled 105.61m units.
Since I already told y'all who ther only gainer was, I won't bother listing it again.
Ok, I will then...
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), +$0.01 (0.2%) to $5.04 on volume of 17.54m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.67 (3.87%) to $16.66 on volume of 35.22m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), -$0.18 (3%) to $5.83 on volume of 9.61m shares;
- Wesfarmers (WES), -$1.12 (2.8%) to $38.83 on volume of 795,000 shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), -$1.14 (2.58%) to $43.11 on volume of 4.81m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWS), -$0.50 (2.27%) to $21.56 on volume of 5.41m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index fell by a rather rectum-clenching 54.60 points (-2.38%), finishing at 2234.80 points. There were stil lsome solid winners major winners in the "pop-guns" - namely
- Dragon Mining (DRA), +$0.02 (11.43%) to $0.20 on volume of 3.33m shares;
- Progen Industries. (PGL), +$0.15 (5.26%) to $3.00 on volume of 50,000 shares;
- Agenix (AGX), +$0.02 (4.41%) to $0.36 on volume of 293,000 shares;
- Antares Energy (AZZ), +$0.02 (3.92%) to $0.53 on volume of 226,000 shares; and
- Emperor Mines (EMP), +$0.01 (2.5%) to $0.41 on volume of 17,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.04 (15.38%) to $0.22 on volume of 358,000 shares;
- Giants Reef Mining (GTM), -$0.004 (10.53%) to $0.03 on volume of 17.75m shares; and
- Sirtex Medical (SRX), -$0.13 (9.29%) to $1.27 on volume of 8,000 shares;
- Multiemedia (MUL), -$0.002 (9.09%) to $0.02 on volume of 25.14m shares; and
- Bendigo Mining (BDG), -$0.09 (7.42%) to $1.06 on volume of 551,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3993.2 | -70.1 | -1.73% | 2172.445 |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2169.1 | -31.9 | -1.45% | 123.15m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 3961.5 | -64.8 | -1.61% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3265.4 | -53.5 | -1.61% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4014.3 | -68 | -1.67% | 563.2m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4011.9 | -68.7 | -1.68% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3902.9 | -64.2 | -1.62% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2234.8 | -54.6 | -2.38% | 211.32m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 51 | 18 | 18 | 1 | 182 |
| Declines | 331 | 167 | 144 | 19 | 812 |
| Advancing Volume | 80.69m | 52.38m | 11.57m | 17.54 | 105.64 |
| Declining Volume | 559.78m | 475.38m | 159.51m | 105.61 | 825.55 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
No sector rose for the day - not a one. The top sector for the day was Telecommunications which was as cose to unchanged as makes no odds (it dropped by just -0.02% to 1787.90 points). Just when you think Telecom NZ it too much of a tiddler to make the index move contrary to the mighty Telstra, it goes and makes you look like a goose. Within the sector, the two component stocks moved as follows:
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.07 (1.25%) to $5.53 on volume of 1.49m shares; and
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), +$0.01 (0.2%) to $5.04 on volume of 17.54m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Property Trusts which lost -0.69% to 1734.50 points. BORING. I'm not listing them. they suck and they lost ground anyhow.
The bronze today ... there was no bronze. Third place was Financials which lost -0.97% to 4765.00 points. I'm not listing them eitehr (think "Banks" and you've got the list).
The worst-performed sector today was Materials which lost 3.10% to 6794.00 points. That's gotta hurt. Of the 37 stocks in the sector, 33 fell while 4 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 55.6:1 (not a typo - fifty-five-point-six-to-one... George Pell has better odds of being Pope!). There were 152.1 million shares traded in losers and a paltry 2.74 million shares traded in gainers. The sector was dragged lower by
- Minara Resources (MRE), -$0.15 (6.84%) to $1.98 on volume of 1.53m shares;
- Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.03 (6.67%) to $0.42 on volume of 1.84m shares; and
- Zinifex (ZFX), -$0.17 (5.45%) to $2.95 on volume of 7.14m shares;
- Nufarm (NUF), -$0.50 (4.88%) to $9.75 on volume of 262,000 shares; and
- Jubilee Mines (JBM), -$0.24 (4.29%) to $5.36 on volume of 1.25m shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Healthcare which lost 3.03% to 4723.20 points. Of the 15 stocks in the sector, 13 fell while 1 managed to hold its head off the block (for those playing along at home, that was Mayne Group MAY, +$0.06 (1.64%) to $3.71 on volume of 4.46m shares). Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.7:1, with 7.52million shares traded in losers while 4.46million shares traded in gainers. The sector was pulled down by
- CSL (CSL), -$2.24 (6.56%) to $31.90 on volume of 1.95m shares;
- Sigma Company. (SIG), -$0.39 (4.58%) to $8.12 on volume of 225,000 shares; and
- Healthscope (HSP), -$0.19 (3.97%) to $4.60 on volume of 267,000 shares;
- Invocare (IVC), -$0.16 (3.89%) to $3.95 on volume of 323,000 shares; and
- Ventracor (VCR), -$0.03 (3.8%) to $0.76 on volume of 1.02m shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1787.9 | -0.4 | -0.02% | 19.03m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1734.5 | -12 | -0.69% | 142.29m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4765 | -46.9 | -0.97% | 200.62m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4826.9 | -51.6 | -1.06% | 61.86m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5459.7 | -69.2 | -1.25% | 42.32m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4642.6 | -78.9 | -1.67% | 4.33m |
| XEJ | Energy | 7907.1 | -136.4 | -1.7% | 25.18m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4916.2 | -104.4 | -2.08% | 45.95m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2158.8 | -47.1 | -2.14% | 46.08m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 357.4 | -9.3 | -2.54% | 7.99m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4723.2 | -147.4 | -3.03% | 12.42m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6794 | -217.2 | -3.1% | 154.83m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 16.66 | -0.67 | -3.87% | 35.22m |
| MCW | Macquarie Countrywide Trust | 1.8 | -0.03 | -1.37% | 21.97m |
| WMR | WMC Resources | 7.89 | -0.05 | -0.63% | 20.5m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 5.04 | 0.01 | 0.2% | 17.54m |
| MPR | Macquarie Prologis Trust | 1.08 | -0.02 | -1.38% | 16.14m |
| HHG | HHG Plc | 1.46 | -0.01 | -0.68% | 14.91m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| TIR | Titan Resources | 0.077 | 0.009 | 13.24% | 16.34m |
| DRA | Dragon Mining | 0.20 | 0.02 | 11.43% | 3.33m |
| PGL | Progen Industries. | 3.00 | 0.15 | 5.26% | 49952 |
| AGX | Agenix | 0.36 | 0.02 | 4.41% | 293100 |
| AZZ | Antares Energy | 0.53 | 0.02 | 3.92% | 226132 |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| LYC | Lynas Corporation | 0.22 | -0.04 | -15.38% | 358499 |
| PLT | Polartechnics | 0.17 | -0.03 | -12.82% | 425535 |
| TMO | Tomato Technologies | 0.54 | -0.07 | -11.48% | 441966 |
| GTM | Giants Reef Mining | 0.034 | -0.004 | -10.53% | 17.75m |
| TRG | Treasury Group | 11.06 | -1.29 | -10.45% | 15337 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 is down a rather nasy 192.48 points (-1.66%) at 11370.69 points as this Rant goes to press. The index opened "gap down" at 11463.15 during the session, but didn't attempt to close the gap even for a minute. It fell as low as 11343.73 points (about half an hour ago) and only some teensy short-covering is preventing a decline right though to the closing bell.
The Kiwi Market declined 30.05 points (-0.99%) to 3010.792. Like the whole region, the index high was set pretty much right at the open, at 3040.839 points. the session low was set just before the close (well, half an hour before) at 3005.732 points. Fortunately the cobination of 3000 support below, and a Friday afternoon lassitude, prevented a further decline in Nuh-Zuh-lin.
A total of 7 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling a pathetic 1.2million units. Decliners numbered 36, and total volume traded in losers was 24million shares. Individual stocks that stank...
- Feltex Carpets Limited (FTX), -NZ$0.05 (6.25%) to NZ$0.75 on volume of 1.01m shares;
- Michael Hill International (MHI), -NZ$0.35 (4.73%) to NZ$7.05 on volume of 10,000 shares;
- APN News & Media (APN), -NZ$0.21 (4.01%) to NZ$5.03 on volume of 2,000 shares;
- Nuplex Industries (NPX), -NZ$0.17 (3.62%) to NZ$4.52 on volume of 151,000 shares; and
- Freightways (FRE), -NZ$0.10 (3.45%) to NZ$2.80 on volume of 103,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 153.41 points (-1.11%). The index hit a high of 13672.74 (yep.. .at the open), re-tested the high at about 11 a.m., Hong Kong time, then gave the hell up. It has been as low as 13589.27points during the session - the low was set just after 11:50 a.m. HK time.
Within the Hang Seng, not a single index components rose, while 33 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled a glorious 0 units, and total volume traded in losers was 161.7million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Lenovo Group (0992), -HK$0.10 (3.81%) to HK$2.53 on volume of 11.46m shares;
- Denway Motors (0203), -HK$0.10 (3.54%) to HK$2.73 on volume of 21.93m shares;
- Cosco Pacific (1199), -HK$0.50 (2.86%) to HK$17.00 on volume of 2.97m shares;
- Henderson Investments (0097), -HK$0.30 (2.7%) to HK$10.80 on volume of 278,000 shares;
- Wheelock (0020), -HK$0.30 (2.6%) to HK$11.25 on volume of 244,000 shares; and
- Esprit Holdings (0330), -HK$1.25 (2.24%) to HK$54.50 on volume of 1.16m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3010.792 | -30.05 | -0.99% | 26.5m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11370.69 | -192.48 | -1.66% | 95375 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 947.22 | -6.7 | -0.7% | 371391 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2152.97 | -15.62 | -0.72% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13618.99 | -153.41 | -1.11% | 161.68m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 878.49 | 1.26 | 0.14% | 0 |
