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Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 25.70 points (0.63%), finishing at 4126.40 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4129.00 - shortly after 10:30 a.m.; its low was 4100.6 was less than 5 minutes after the open.
202 All Ordinaries stocks rose, compared with 159 that lost ground during the session (122 were unchanged); volume traded was in favour of the winners by a factor of 1.6:1 - hardly a ringing endorsement of the advance.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 0.86 billion units, 25.0% below its 10-day average. That's pretty feeble. There was also a little "pop" right near the close ,as someone with a bit of dough to throw around figured they'd take a punt on tonight's US labour market report.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - rose by 28.40 points (0.69%), finishing at 4138.30 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 18.00 points (0.81%), finishing at 2229.30 points. Within the index members, there were 12 that rose, and 8 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 69.61m while volume in the losers totalled 22.27m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.13 (2.53%) to $5.26 on volume of 9.19m shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.60 (2.47%) to $24.90 on volume of 2.39m shares;
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.42 (2.35%) to $18.29 on volume of 10.66m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.12 (2.04%) to $6.01 on volume of 6.21m shares; and
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.32 (1.98%) to $16.51 on volume of 3.42m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Woolworths (WOW), -$0.15 (0.93%) to $15.90 on volume of 4.71m shares;
- News Corporation (NWSLV), -$0.18 (0.82%) to $21.88 on volume of 1.54m shares;
- Amcor (AMC), -$0.03 (0.42%) to $7.13 on volume of 2.82m shares;
- St George Bank (SGB), -$0.10 (0.41%) to $24.40 on volume of 1.14m shares; and
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), -$0.03 (0.32%) to $9.38 on volume of 4.76m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index rose by 18.20 points (0.78%), finishing at 2343.60 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Genetic Technologies (GTG), +$0.04 (10%) to $0.44 on volume of 613,000 shares;
- Cellestis (CST), +$0.18 (5.96%) to $3.20 on volume of 59,000 shares;
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.10 (5.62%) to $1.88 on volume of 683,000 shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.10 (5.34%) to $1.88 on volume of 3.83m shares; and
- Excel Coal (EXL), +$0.39 (5.2%) to $7.89 on volume of 848,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Antares Energy (AZZ), -$0.04 (7.41%) to $0.50 on volume of 734,000 shares;
- Equigold (EQI), -$0.07 (5.65%) to $1.17 on volume of 1.08m shares; and
- Progen Industries. (PGL), -$0.10 (3.45%) to $2.80 on volume of 33,000 shares;
- Mcpherson's (MCP), -$0.13 (3.27%) to $3.85 on volume of 59,000 shares; and
- Norwood Abbey (NAL), -$0.02 (3.19%) to $0.46 on volume of 38,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4126.4 | 25.7 | 0.63% | 541.45m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2229.3 | 18 | 0.81% | 91.87m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4082.4 | 29.2 | 0.72% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3363.5 | 22.9 | 0.69% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4138.3 | 28.4 | 0.69% | 389.44m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4139.5 | 28.6 | 0.7% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4009.4 | 19 | 0.48% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2343.6 | 18.2 | 0.78% | 154.8m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 202 | 105 | 87 | 12 | 474 |
| Declines | 159 | 64 | 70 | 8 | 377 |
| Advancing Volume | 254.89m | 213.71m | 57.21m | 69.61 | 428.04 |
| Declining Volume | 162.48m | 95.98m | 72.29m | 22.27 | 234.68 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Energy which gained 2.32% to 8342.70 points - think "oil jumped". Ten of the eleven index constituents rose, and volume in advancers was twenty times the volume in the single losing stock (the single loser was Origin (ORG) which fell a cent (0.14%) to $7.12 on volume of 1.05m shares... if a stock falls by the bid-ask spread do you count it as a "decline"?). The biggest gainers for the day were -
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.10 (5.62%) to $1.88 on volume of 683,000 shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.10 (5.34%) to $1.88 on volume of 3.83m shares;
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.09 (5.11%) to $1.85 on volume of 2.01m shares;
- Oil Search (OSH), +$0.11 (4.55%) to $2.53 on volume of 5.46m shares; and
- Roc Oil Company (ROC), +$0.08 (4.44%) to $1.88 on volume of 1.29m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Materials which gained 1.29% to 7229.60 points. 10 of the 37 index members rose, with 13 losers. volume in the gainers was 4.5 times as great as the volume in the losers (4 stocks were unchanged). The sector leaders were -
- Iluka Resources (ILU), +$0.31 (5.46%) to $5.99 on volume of 1.55m shares;
- Excel Coal (EXL), +$0.39 (5.2%) to $7.89 on volume of 848,000 shares;
- Capral Aluminium (CAA), +$0.09 (4.66%) to $2.02 on volume of 274,000 shares;
- Jubilee Mines (JBM), +$0.17 (3.15%) to $5.57 on volume of 638,000 shares; and
- Onesteel (OST), +$0.07 (2.7%) to $2.66 on volume of 1.75m shares.
The bronze today went to Property Trusts which gained 0.90% to 1764.60 points. Boring... I hate property trusts. they should be listed separately and people whould mock them as pseudo-bonds; all you need to value them is NTA and a view on interest rates. Anyhow... the sector was led by
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.32 (1.98%) to $16.51 on volume of 3.42m shares;
- Valad Property Group (VPG), +$0.02 (1.61%) to $1.26 on volume of 637,000 shares;
- Galileo Shopping America Trust (GSA), +$0.02 (1.33%) to $1.15 on volume of 2.89m shares;
- Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust (BWP), +$0.02 (1.18%) to $1.71 on volume of 88,000 shares; and
- Investa Property Group (IPG), +$0.02 (0.96%) to $2.10 on volume of 6.21m shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Information Technology which lost 1.28% to 370.80 points. this sector has been all over the shop lately - it needs to get checked out for bipolar disorder. (Remember when that used to be called "manic depression"? Not any more - it's not new enough for today's manic-depressive). Five of the seven stocks in the sector fell, and volume was tilted in favour of decliners by 3m shares to just 256k shares in advancing issues. The biggest percentage losses in the sector were -
- Computershare (CPU), -$0.09 (1.6%) to $5.52 on volume of 2.48m shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -$0.03 (1%) to $2.97 on volume of 261,000 shares;
- MYOB (MYO), -$0.01 (0.93%) to $1.06 on volume of 242,000 shares;
- Vision Systems. (VSL), -$0.01 (0.85%) to $1.16 on volume of 106,000 shares; and
- IRESS Market Technology (IRE), -$0.01 (0.24%) to $4.24 on volume of 59,000 shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Consumer Discretionary which lost 0.17% to 2280.00 points. 14 stocks in the sector fell, as against 12 that rose - however declining volume trounced volume in advancing stocks by a whopping 18.7m units to just 7.5m in advancing issues. The worst-preformed stock in the sector were -
- APN News & Media (APN), -$0.18 (3.53%) to $4.92 on volume of 1.05m shares;
- Miller's Retail (MRL), -$0.02 (2.17%) to $0.90 on volume of 453,000 shares; and
- David Jones (DJS), -$0.04 (1.76%) to $1.96 on volume of 1.67m shares;
- Ten Network Holdings (TEN), -$0.06 (1.66%) to $3.55 on volume of 5.89m shares; and
- Village Roadshow (VRLPA), -$0.03 (1.28%) to $1.94 on volume of 20,000 shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 8342.7 | 189 | 2.32% | 22.44m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7229.6 | 92.2 | 1.29% | 100.52m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1764.6 | 15.7 | 0.9% | 95.26m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5051.5 | 41.8 | 0.83% | 38.83m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4833.5 | 29 | 0.6% | 138.29m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4892.1 | 25.1 | 0.52% | 46.44m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4876.9 | 22.6 | 0.47% | 7.94m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5560 | 13.9 | 0.25% | 31.11m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1808 | 2.1 | 0.12% | 17.97m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4713.4 | 4.7 | 0.1% | 3.13m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2280 | -3.8 | -0.17% | 30.66m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 370.8 | -4.8 | -1.28% | 6.02m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| RTM | Reefton Mining | 0.13 | 0 | 0% | 31.55m |
| BDG | Bendigo Mining | 1.19 | -0.01 | -0.83% | 31.3m |
| MPR | Macquarie Prologis Trust | 1.08 | -0.01 | -0.46% | 21.48m |
| VBA | Virgin Blue Holdings | 1.9 | -0.01 | -0.52% | 21.16m |
| LHG | Lihir Gold | 1.07 | 0 | 0% | 18.98m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 5.1 | 0.01 | 0.2% | 15.75m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ABI | Ambri | 0.19 | 0.04 | 22.58% | 2.71m |
| GTG | Genetic Technologies | 0.44 | 0.04 | 10% | 613458 |
| MXL | MXL | 0.13 | 0.01 | 8.7% | 899710 |
| ERA | Energy Resources Of Australia | 10.3 | 0.8 | 8.42% | 23841 |
| CBH | CBH Resources | 0.29 | 0.02 | 7.41% | 2.51m |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| MST | Metal Storm | 0.17 | -0.02 | -8.11% | 1.01m |
| AZZ | Antares Energy | 0.5 | -0.04 | -7.41% | 734125 |
| SED | Sedimentary Holdings | 0.23 | -0.02 | -6.25% | 405675 |
| EQI | Equigold | 1.17 | -0.07 | -5.65% | 1.08m |
| TGG | Templeton Global Growth Fund | 1.21 | -0.06 | -4.37% | 128382 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
After dropping to just over 11550 ten minutes after the open, Japan's Nikkei 225 exploded upwards 150 points in a little over 90 minutes, setting its pre-lunch hig at over 11700. Atthe time of writing, the Nikkei had made a new intraday high in the post-lunch period, showing a rise of 54.68 points (0.47%) at 11723.63 points.
The Kiwi Market advanced a feeble 0.83 points (0.03%) at 3039 points. In the opposite track to yesterday (when the NZSE was up 30 points at one stage) today the index was down a little over 20 points within 15 minutes of the opening bell (or buzzer, or "splash screen" or ewhatever gets used nowadays) before getting an upwards tilt for the rest of the session. A total of 25 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 9.4million units. Decliners numbered 18, and total volume traded in losers was 20.8million shares. Individual stocks that were the biggest percentage gainers in the NZSE50 included...
- Ports Of Auckland (POA), +NZ$1.57 (24.34%) to NZ$8.02 on volume of 324,000 shares;
- Port Of Tauranga (POT), +NZ$0.28 (5.69%) to NZ$5.20 on volume of 405,000 shares;
- Independent Newspapers (INL), +NZ$0.20 (3.33%) to NZ$6.20 on volume of 616,000 shares;
- Restaurant Brands (RBD), +NZ$0.04 (3.31%) to NZ$1.25 on volume of 69,000 shares;
- Hallenstein Glass (HLG), +NZ$0.11 (2.78%) to NZ$4.07 on volume of 42,000 shares; and
- Promina Group (PMN), +NZ$0.12 (2.2%) to NZ$5.57 on volume of 543,000 shares.
In contrast to other regional bourses - which, on the whole, opened weak and recovered quite strongly - the Hongkers market opened looking reasonably healthy, then fell in a hole after about ten minutes. As I type this, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is down 68.94 points (-0.51%) at 13447.94 points, having bounced off 13400 prety nicely in the lead-in to the luncheon interval. Within the Hang Seng, 5 index components rose, while 22 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 26million units, and total volume traded in losers was 90.1million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Lenovo Group (0992), -HK$0.13 (4.72%) to HK$2.53 on volume of 18.79m shares;
- Yue Yuen Industries (0551), -HK$0.75 (3.38%) to HK$21.45 on volume of 370,000 shares;
- Denway Motors (0203), -HK$0.08 (2.73%) to HK$2.68 on volume of 16.83m shares;
- Wheelock (0020), -HK$0.20 (1.79%) to HK$11.00 on volume of 433,000 shares;
- China Unicom (0762), -HK$0.10 (1.65%) to HK$5.95 on volume of 6.1m shares; and
- Johnson Electrical H (0179), -HK$0.10 (1.42%) to HK$6.95 on volume of 1.39m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3039.909 | 0.83 | 0.03% | 33.26m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11723.63 | 54.68 | 0.47% | 79412 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 981.9 | 16.22 | 1.68% | 469782 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2146.63 | 5.2 | 0.24% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13447.94 | -68.94 | -0.51% | 164.97m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 875.6 | 4.25 | 0.49% | 0 |
