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It's Friday, and the Friday Fade wafted through RantCentral like the sirocco... I was enthralled in the wonders of GD - with the promise of significantly streamlining the upcoming RantCharts - if I can get on top of it, the RantCharts will be a thing of beauty and a joy forever (and I will be able to make them far more flexible than I had previously anticipated).
Remember as everyone gets all gooey in the groinal area over the weekend, that the hundreds of thousands that died on both sides of Gallipoli (and the Somme, and all the other bloody nightmares) didn't do so for freedom, or for liberty, or for democracy.
They died because their leaders lied to them (as Kipling famously wrote). They died because their leaders did not give a solitary crap about how many of their young men they lost, so long as they took some useless dirt off the politicians on the other side.
Celebrating it is a travesty; the men who went had no conception of what they were there for, and most were motivated by a racist hatred for the Turk or the Hun, based solely on propaganda that would make even Rumsfeld feel embarrassed. Wars are fought by the economically under-endowed, for the benefit of the political classes and their connections in the arms industry. Write that down and tape it to the fridge.
It has always been thus, and I have no doubt that even in Sparta the shield-makers and the armourers were the biggest agitators for war. It disgusts me, and the poor blokes who died, did so for absolutely nothing of tangible value.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 20.90 points (0.52%), finishing at 4009.60 points. The index opened at its low (3988.70) and rose immediately, hitting its intraday high of 4023.50 after just 15 minutes of trade. Thereafter, the day's range was set in concrete and the market traded in an ever-narrowing range (a nice symmetric triangle, for those playing at home). If the range had got any tighter the market would've disappeared up it's own orifice.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 0.84 billion units, 7.4% below its 10-day average. That's as weak as .. .well, you know what it's as weak as.
Of the 483 stocks in the sector, 222 rose while 147 fell. Volume
was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.8:1, with 283.21 million
shares traded in gainers compared with 154.15 million shares traded in losers
.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - rose by 20.10 points (0.50%), finishing at 4034.10 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 9.00 points (0.42%), finishing at 2177.30 points. Within the index members, there were 14 that rose, and 6 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 60.78 million shares, while volume in the losers totalled 46.71 million units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.14 (2.08%) to $6.88 on volume of 10.42m shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.45 (1.87%) to $24.50 on volume of 788,000 shares;
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.23 (1.53%) to $15.25 on volume of 1.73m shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), +$0.54 (1.51%) to $36.28 on volume of 2.89m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWSLV), +$0.27 (1.32%) to $20.77 on volume of 3.39m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Foster's Group (FGL), -$0.13 (2.4%) to $5.29 on volume of 13.09m shares;
- Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.24 (0.63%) to $37.80 on volume of 1.29m shares;
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.03 (0.61%) to $4.86 on volume of 19.99m shares;
- ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.12 (0.58%) to $20.68 on volume of 4.3m shares; and
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), -$0.04 (0.46%) to $8.74 on volume of 3.64m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index rose by 12.40 points (0.56%), finishing at 2236.00 points. Near as I can figure it,m there are 194 stocks in the index: of these, 103 rose and 59 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.4:1, with 79.85 million shares traded in the day's winners and 57.34 million shares traded in the day's duds.
The major percentage gainers in the "pop-guns" were -
- Novogen (NRT), +$0.35 (7.71%) to $4.89 on volume of 217,000 shares;
- Multiemedia (MUL), +$0.00 (5.26%) to $0.02 on volume of 8.69m shares;
- Croesus Mining (CRS), +$0.02 (4.94%) to $0.43 on volume of 474,000 shares;
- Antares Energy (AZZ), +$0.03 (4.67%) to $0.56 on volume of 37,000 shares; and
- GRD (GRD), +$0.07 (3.76%) to $1.80 on volume of 240,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Pacifica Group (PBB), -$0.47 (23.27%) to $1.55 on volume of 12.49m shares - youch...;
- Citect Corporation (CTL), -$0.17 (14.41%) to $0.98 on volume of 413,000 shares - eep...; and
- Housewares International (HWI), -$0.12 (6.95%) to $1.54 on volume of 204,000 shares;
- Giants Reef Mining (GTM), -$0.00 (6.06%) to $0.03 on volume of 7.08m shares; and
- Fleetwood Corporation (FWD), -$0.41 (5.19%) to $7.49 on volume of 385,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4009.6 | 20.9 | 0.52% | 2182.227 |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2177.3 | 9 | 0.42% | 107.5m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 3983.5 | 19.8 | 0.5% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3283 | 16.2 | 0.5% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4034.1 | 20.1 | 0.5% | 466.05m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4031.7 | 20.1 | 0.5% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3920.3 | 18.3 | 0.47% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2236 | 12.4 | 0.56% | 177.18m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 222 | 122 | 103 | 14 | 534 |
| Declines | 147 | 57 | 59 | 6 | 349 |
| Advancing Volume | 283.21m | 245.64m | 79.85m | 60.78 | 448.02 |
| Declining Volume | 154.15m | 133.41m | 57.34m | 46.71 | 229.01 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Energy which gained 1.18% to 8071.10 points. A bounce in the price of crude will always help this sector (for God's sake - can there be anything more obvious to say about it?). Of the 11 stocks in the sector, 9 rose and just 2 fell (WorleyParsons and Origin Energy). Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 3.8:1, with 12.51 million shares traded in gainers as opposed to the 3.25 million shares traded in losers.
The biggest percentage gainers in the sector for today were -
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.06 (3.57%) to $1.74 on volume of 567,000 shares;
- Oil Search (OSH), +$0.07 (3.07%) to $2.35 on volume of 5.61m shares;
- Caltex Australia (CTX), +$0.31 (2.22%) to $14.28 on volume of 253,000 shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.45 (1.87%) to $24.50 on volume of 788,000 shares; and
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.03 (1.84%) to $1.66 on volume of 1.64m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Information Technology
which gained 0.92% to 363.00 points. Of the 7 stocks in the sector, 3 rose,
2 fell, and 2 failed to trouble the scorer. Volume was tilted in favour of the
losers by a margin of 6.3:1, with 4.42 million shares traded in losers
while a paltry 710k shares traded in gainers.
The sector leaders were -
- Vision Systems. (VSL), +$0.04 (3.14%) to $1.15 on volume of 247,000 shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), +$0.07 (2.39%) to $3.00 on volume of 202,000 shares; and
- IRESS Market Technology (IRE), +$0.07 (1.78%) to $4.00 on volume of 258,000 shares.
The bronze today went to Materials which gained 0.73% to 6863.80 points. This sector (rememebr when it used ot be "Resources"?) contains 37 stocks; today 27 of them rose and the other 10 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 6.6:1, with 76.36 million shares traded in the day's winners as compared with 11.49 million shares traded in the sector's daily losers.
The biggest percentage gainers for the session withing the Materials sector were -
- Croesus Mining (CRS), +$0.02 (4.94%) to $0.43 on volume of 474,000 shares;
- Gunns (GNS), +$0.17 (4.33%) to $4.10 on volume of 309,000 shares;
- Lihir Gold (LHG), +$0.04 (3.96%) to $1.05 on volume of 6.15m shares;
- Kingsgate Consolidated. (KCN), +$0.07 (3.29%) to $2.20 on volume of 273,000 shares; and
- Zinifex (ZFX), +$0.08 (2.69%) to $3.05 on volume of 1.64m shares.
The worst-performed sector today was the two-banger Telecommunications sector, which lost 0.52% to 1739.50 points. Yes, that's right - Telstra fell again. The sector was dragged lower by
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.03 (0.61%) to $4.86 on volume of 19.99m shares; while
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL) was unchanged at $5.65 on volume of 2.06m shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Utilities which lost 0.36% to 4772.40 points. Of the 8 stocks in the sector, 4 fell while 3 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.5:1, with 2.04 million shares traded in advancing stocks while 1.37 million shares traded in losers. The sector was pulled down by
- Gasnet Australia Group (GAS), -$0.03 (1.19%) to $2.50 on volume of 141,000 shares;
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), -$0.15 (1.06%) to $13.94 on volume of 779,000 shares;
- Australian Pipeline Trust (APA), -$0.03 (0.83%) to $3.60 on volume of 146,000 shares; and
- Pacific Hydro (PHY), -$0.03 (0.64%) to $4.67 on volume of 303,000 shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 8071.1 | 94.1 | 1.18% | 15.76m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 363 | 3.3 | 0.92% | 6.15m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6863.8 | 49.5 | 0.73% | 87.86m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2136.1 | 13.3 | 0.63% | 52.26m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1746.4 | 10.8 | 0.62% | 112.74m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4815.6 | 29 | 0.61% | 177.83m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4883.4 | 29.1 | 0.6% | 69.5m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4915.6 | 25.6 | 0.52% | 46.5m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4759.3 | 2.2 | 0.05% | 6.78m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5382.6 | -14.3 | -0.26% | 45.3m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4772.4 | -17.2 | -0.36% | 4.82m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1739.5 | -9.1 | -0.52% | 22.04m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ADY | Admiralty Resources | 0.15 | 0.01 | 3.45% | 23.55m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 4.86 | -0.03 | -0.61% | 19.99m |
| MOF | Macquarie Office Trust | 1.26 | 0.01 | 0.4% | 19.6m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 17.05 | 0.12 | 0.71% | 17.47m |
| FGL | Foster's Group | 5.29 | -0.13 | -2.4% | 13.09m |
| MPR | Macquarie Prologis Trust | 1.09 | 0 | 0% | 12.55m |
[]
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| CNT | Centamin Egypt | 0.40 | 0.07 | 21.21% | 1.15m |
| NRT | Novogen | 4.89 | 0.35 | 7.71% | 217223 |
| MXL | MXL | 0.15 | 0.01 | 7.41% | 4.03m |
| MST | Metal Storm | 0.15 | 0.01 | 7.14% | 1.04m |
| MUL | Multiemedia | 0.02 | 0.001 | 5.26% | 8.69m |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| PBB | Pacifica Group | 1.55 | -0.47 | -23.27% | 12.49m |
| CTL | Citect Corporation | 0.98 | -0.17 | -14.41% | 412632 |
| CMI | Cmi. | 1.42 | -0.14 | -8.97% | 106756 |
| HWI | Housewares International | 1.54 | -0.12 | -6.95% | 204178 |
| GTM | Giants Reef Mining | 0.031 | -0.002 | -6.06% | 7.08m |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 61.56 points (0.56%) at 11045.95 points as this Rant is being ranted - which also happens to be the session low. The index hit a high of 11134.99 shortly after 10 a.m. Tokyo time, and held on to the bulk of the morning's gains until just half an hour ago. At that time it was about 5 points shy of the session high, but it then dropped almost 85 points in less than forty minutes.
The Kiwi Market advanced 9.33 points (0.32%) to close at 2948.404 points. The regional pattern was more or less repeated: the NZ market hit its session high of 2965.383 points at 11 a.m. or thereabouts, and then sagged appreciably. (Now when I say "appreciably", it only amounted to a sag of about 17 index points - the NZSE50 fell to its low print for the session at the close.
A total of 29 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 9.5million units. Decliners numbered 8, and total volume traded in losers was 10.2million shares. Individual stocks that led the percentage gainers included...
- Michael Hill Internaitonal (MHI), +NZ$0.45 (6.08%) to NZ$7.85 on volume of 420,000 shares;
- Fisher & Paykel H (FPH), +NZ$0.08 (2.82%) to NZ$2.92 on volume of 1.76m shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), +NZ$0.20 (2.81%) to NZ$7.31 on volume of 75,000 shares;
- Skellmax Industries (SKX), +NZ$0.03 (2.68%) to NZ$1.15 on volume of 142,000 shares;
- Fisher & Paykel A (FPA), +NZ$0.07 (2.66%) to NZ$2.70 on volume of 639,000 shares; and
- Port Of Tauranga (POT), +NZ$0.11 (2.34%) to NZ$4.81 on volume of 25,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 78.33 points (0.58%) to 13675.64 at the lunch break (it's still at lunch). The index hit a high of 13727.44 - again, at 11 a.m. (HK time this time though), after dipping to its session low of 13649.5 points, just ten minutes after the open.
Within the Hang Seng, 27 index components rose, while 2 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 150.3million units, and total volume traded in losers was 4.3million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the advance included...
- Denway Motors (0203), +HK$0.05 (1.9%) to HK$2.68 on volume of 31.78m shares;
- Cosco Pacific (1199), +HK$0.25 (1.5%) to HK$16.95 on volume of 2.16m shares;
- Henderson Land (0012), +HK$0.50 (1.45%) to HK$35.10 on volume of 3.36m shares;
- Esprit Holdings (0330), +HK$0.75 (1.32%) to HK$57.50 on volume of 2.48m shares;
- Hang Lung Properties (0101), +HK$0.15 (1.31%) to HK$11.60 on volume of 5.8m shares; and
- CNOOC (0883), +HK$0.05 (1.2%) to HK$4.20 on volume of 24.47m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 2948.404 | 9.33 | 0.32% | 22.36m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11045.95 | 61.56 | 0.56% | 82623 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 940.79 | 1.65 | 0.18% | 428097 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2140.64 | 2.91 | 0.14% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13675.64 | 78.33 | 0.58% | 173.54m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 878.14 | 6.23 | 0.71% | 0 |
