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Fortunately for the region, the forecastfan-splat was restricted largely to gut-wrenching opening downdrafts throughout the regional bourses. There's clearly a prevailing sentiment that any big dip represents a "buying opportunity" where "investors" are supposed to "bargain hunt". (See how easy it is to slip into the sort of mindless non-analysis that journalists use? Just a little slab of sloganeering, and no brains required; you could generate Reuters commentary in Excel using the index changes as the conditional indicators).
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 13.20 points (-0.33%), finishing at 3988.70 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4001.00 (at the open), and its session low at 3966.3 was set only 45 minutes after the open. From there, the market rallied for the following five hours (although the 2 hours between 12 and 2 were largely sideways).
It's pretty clear that punters still think that any pullback is for buying... they are almost certain to get an expensive lesson over the next little while. Global markets are far too expensive - pretty much across the board - considering the slowing (nay, stationary, once you take out the hedonic falsehoods) global economy.
Total volume traded on the ASX was a fairly tedious 870 million
units, 6.0% below its 10-day average. Of the 483 stocks in the sector, 239 fell
while 133 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin
of 1.8:1, with 274.68 million shares traded in losers compared to the 156.02
million shares traded in the day's winners.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - fell by 9.60 points (-0.24%), finishing at 4014.00 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 3.00 points (-0.14%), finishing at 2168.30 points. Within the index members, there were 6 that rose, and 12 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 22.46 while volume in the losers totalled 88.12m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.18 (2.74%) to $6.74 on volume of 7.05m shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.10 (0.63%) to $15.90 on volume of 3.34m shares;
- Amcor (AMC), +$0.04 (0.59%) to $6.80 on volume of 2.33m shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. (CBA), +$0.20 (0.56%) to $35.74 on volume of 2.57m shares; and
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.03 (0.51%) to $5.88 on volume of 4.08m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.55 (2.24%) to $24.05 on volume of 1.77m shares;
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), -$0.12 (1.35%) to $8.78 on volume of 5.49m shares;
- News Corporation (NWSLV), -$0.25 (1.2%) to $20.50 on volume of 1.25m shares;
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.05 (1.01%) to $4.89 on volume of 38.41m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWS), -$0.15 (0.7%) to $21.40 on volume of 2.26m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index fell by 12.70 points (-0.57%), finishing at 2223.60 points. Of the 194 stocks in the index, 106 fell while 58 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.6:1, with 84.8 million shares traded in losers compared with 52.1 million shares traded in gainers. The biggest percentage gainers in the "pop-guns" were -
- Giants Reef Mining (GTM), +$0.004 (13.79%) to $0.033 on volume of 14.25m shares;
- Orbital Corporation (OEC), +$0.013 (13.4%) to $0.11 on volume of 100,000 shares;
- Prime Infrastructure Group (PIF), +$0.10 (6.48%) to $1.56 on volume of 6.35m shares;
- Aquarius Platinum (AQP), +$0.34 (5.7%) to $6.30 on volume of 43,000 shares; and
- Kimberley Diamond Company. (KIM), +$0.05 (4.63%) to $1.13 on volume of 1.32m shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of percentage decline):
- PMP (PMP), -$0.46 (24.46%) to $1.41 on volume of 26.2m shares;
- Kresta Holdings (KRS), -$0.03 (7.04%) to $0.33 on volume of 445,000 shares; and
- Super Cheap Auto Group (SUL), -$0.16 (5.69%) to $2.65 on volume of 249,000 shares;
- Circadian Technologies (CIR), -$0.08 (5.52%) to $1.37 on volume of 5,000 shares; and
- Pacifica Group (PBB), -$0.11 (5.16%) to $2.02 on volume of 935,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3988.7 | -13.2 | -0.33% | 2171.128 |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2168.3 | -3 | -0.14% | 114.5m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 3963.7 | -6.1 | -0.15% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3266.8 | -7.1 | -0.22% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4014 | -9.6 | -0.24% | 465.29m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4011.6 | -10 | -0.25% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3902 | -22.5 | -0.57% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2223.6 | -12.7 | -0.57% | 167.76m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 133 | 66 | 58 | 6 | 343 |
| Declines | 239 | 106 | 106 | 12 | 553 |
| Advancing Volume | 156.02m | 132.21m | 52.1m | 22.46 | 320.44 |
| Declining Volume | 274.68m | 237.61m | 84.79m | 88.12 | 409.42 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Utilities which gained 0.98% to 4789.60 points. The index has 8 component stocks, of which 6 rose while 1 fell (the loser was Energy Developments (ENE), down 2c to $3.76 on volume of 245k shares). Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 21.5:1, with 5.27 million shares traded in gainers while 245k shares were traded in the loser (ENE). The biggest percentage gainers in the sector were as follows -
- Diversified Utility And Energy Trusts (DUE), +$0.07 (2.97%) to $2.43 on volume of 1.69m shares;
- Envestra (ENV), +$0.02 (1.38%) to $1.11 on volume of 441,000 shares;
- Gasnet Australia Group (GAS), +$0.03 (1.2%) to $2.53 on volume of 287,000 shares;
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), +$0.15 (1.08%) to $14.09 on volume of 1.29m shares; and
- Alinta (ALN), +$0.05 (0.57%) to $8.88 on volume of 409,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Property Trusts which gained 0.27% to 1735.60 points. Boring...
The sector leaders were -
- Thakral Holdings Group (THG), +$0.02 (2.01%) to $0.76 on volume of 219,000 shares;
- ING Industrial Fund (IIF), +$0.03 (1.49%) to $2.04 on volume of 1.06m shares;
- CFS Gandel Retail Trust (GAN), +$0.02 (1.29%) to $1.57 on volume of 3.06m shares;
- Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust (BWP), +$0.02 (1.18%) to $1.71 on volume of 121,000 shares; and
- DB Rreef Trust (DRT), +$0.02 (1.18%) to $1.29 on volume of 3.59m shares.
The bronze today went to Financials which gained a paltry 0.19% to 4786.60 points. Of the 49 stocks in the sector, 23 rose while 18 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.6:1, with 49.51 million shares traded in gainers while 31.47 million shares traded in losers. The sector was led by
- AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.18 (2.74%) to $6.74 on volume of 7.05m shares;
- Thakral Holdings Group (THG), +$0.02 (2.01%) to $0.76 on volume of 219,000 shares;
- FKP Property Group (FKP), +$0.06 (1.75%) to $3.48 on volume of 155,000 shares;
- Suncorp-Metway. (SUN), +$0.30 (1.51%) to $20.15 on volume of 1.44m shares; and
- ING Industrial Fund (IIF), +$0.03 (1.49%) to $2.04 on volume of 1.06m shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Consumer Discretionary which lost 1.09% to 2122.80 points. Of the 29 stocks in the sector, 23 fell while 4 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of a whopping 19:1, with 35.9 million shares traded in losers while just 1.9 million shares were traded in the gainers. The sector was dragged lower by
- Pacifica Group (PBB), -$0.11 (5.16%) to $2.02 on volume of 935,000 shares;
- Repco Corporation (RCL), -$0.11 (3.86%) to $2.74 on volume of 847,000 shares; and
- G.U.D. Holdings (GUD), -$0.23 (3.78%) to $5.85 on volume of 372,000 shares;
- Colorado Group (CDO), -$0.18 (3.23%) to $5.40 on volume of 277,000 shares; and
- Just Group (JST), -$0.07 (2.76%) to $2.47 on volume of 1.25m shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Telecommunications which lost 0.72% to 1748.60 points. The sector was pulled down by its biggest component - Telstra - it is a rare day that the 2-stock index can defy Telstra's market cap...
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.05 (1.01%) to $4.89 on volume of 38.41m shares; and
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), +$0.05 (0.89%) to $5.65 on volume of 4.83m shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4789.6 | 46.4 | 0.98% | 5.66m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1735.6 | 4.6 | 0.27% | 68.56m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4786.6 | 9 | 0.19% | 127.68m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4854.3 | 8.1 | 0.17% | 62.46m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 359.7 | -0.9 | -0.25% | 9.3m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4890 | -19 | -0.39% | 72.87m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6814.3 | -32.2 | -0.47% | 92.06m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5396.9 | -33.4 | -0.62% | 38.46m |
| XEJ | Energy | 7977 | -52.9 | -0.66% | 19.22m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4757.1 | -32.8 | -0.68% | 7.69m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1748.6 | -12.6 | -0.72% | 43.24m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2122.8 | -23.3 | -1.09% | 46.99m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 4.89 | -0.05 | -1.01% | 38.41m |
| PMP | PMP | 1.41 | -0.46 | -24.46% | 26.2m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 16.93 | -0.09 | -0.53% | 19.6m |
| WMR | WMC Resources | 7.95 | 0.07 | 0.89% | 13.91m |
| ADY | Admiralty Resources. | 0.15 | 0.02 | 16% | 13.04m |
| FXJ | Fairfax Holdings | 3.94 | -0.01 | -0.25% | 9.16m |
[]
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| DOM | Dominion Mining | 0.33 | 0.08 | 30% | 1.83m |
| GTM | Giants Reef Mining | 0.033 | 0.004 | 13.79% | 14.25m |
| NVE | Novera Energy | 0.31 | 0.02 | 6.9% | 1.53m |
| PIF | Prime Infrastructure Group | 1.56 | 0.1 | 6.48% | 6.35m |
| AQP | Aquarius Platinum | 6.30 | 0.34 | 5.7% | 42544 |
[]
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| PMP | PMP | 1.41 | -0.46 | -24.46% | 26.2m |
| GAP | Gale Pacific | 1.53 | -0.47 | -23.5% | 3.19m |
| LCL | Lighting Corporation | 0.69 | -0.07 | -9.21% | 118287 |
| UNI | Unilife Medical Solutions | 0.55 | -0.05 | -8.33% | 112160 |
| KRS | Kresta Holdings | 0.33 | -0.03 | -7.04% | 444881 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 104.19 points (-0.94%) at 10984.39 points as I typed this sentence. Although that looks pretty horrendous, an examination of the intraday chart reveals the biggest comeback since Lazarus. The Japanese market opened with a gap down of over 100 points, and fell as low as 10770.58 (shortly after 10 a.m. Tokyo time). At that point it was down 318 points (just under 3%). From there, the thing rallied right through until about half an hour ago, eventually even getting back above 11,000 - setting its session high (so far) at 11001.31 at 2:50p.m. Tokyo time.
The Kiwi Market waited until late afternoon before trying its intraday rally - after setting its session high at 2958.489 points less than ten minutes into the session, the NZ market declined consistently right through the morning session, hitting a low of 2925.06 points at 2 p.m. precisely - at which point it bounced almost 15 points in the last two hours to post a closing loss of 19.42 points (-0.66%) at 2939.07 points.
A total of 11 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 14.1million units. Decliners numbered 28, and total volume traded in losers was 13.2million shares. Individual stocks that suffered the lash today included...
- Auckland International Airport (AIA), -NZ$0.08 (3.96%) to NZ$1.94 on volume of 1.55m shares;
- Fisher & Paykel A (FPA), -NZ$0.10 (3.66%) to NZ$2.63 on volume of 902,000 shares;
- Pumpkin Patch (PPL), -NZ$0.10 (3.33%) to NZ$2.90 on volume of 234,000 shares;
- Tourism Holdings (THL), -NZ$0.05 (2.96%) to NZ$1.64 on volume of 96,000 shares; and
- Freightways Limited (FRE), -NZ$0.06 (2.22%) to NZ$2.64 on volume of 101,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index had declined 37.38 points (-0.28%) to sit at 13464.25 points at the lunch break (it's still at lunch). The index opened at its low (13401.86 points), and rallied to hit a high of 13466.2 five minutes before the start of the lunch break.
Within the Hang Seng, 3 index components rose, while 21 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled just 3.9 million units, and total volume traded in losers was 58.2 million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Citic Pacific (0267), -HK$0.35 (1.53%) to HK$22.50 on volume of 3.7m shares;
- Johnson Electric H (0179), -HK$0.10 (1.43%) to HK$6.90 on volume of 1.58m shares;
- Cosco Pacific (1199), -HK$0.20 (1.21%) to HK$16.35 on volume of 1.1m shares;
- Wharf Holdings (0004), -HK$0.25 (1.01%) to HK$24.55 on volume of 1.04m shares;
- Denway Motors (0203), -HK$0.03 (0.95%) to HK$2.60 on volume of 9.73m shares; and
- Henderson Investments (0097), -HK$0.10 (0.94%) to HK$10.50 on volume of 276,000 shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 2939.072 | -19.42 | -0.66% | 29.16m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 10984.39 | -104.19 | -0.94% | 102233 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 939.14 | 1.78 | 0.19% | 435407 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2132.59 | 3.34 | 0.16% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13464.25 | -37.38 | -0.28% | 122.92m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 871.91 | 4.14 | 0.48% | 0 |
