Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
How appalling has been the Blair-ised faux-emoting of the elected parasites over the whole "JPII est mort" thing? Honestly, if politicians think there's public kudos to be had by fawning over a death, they will sniff out the nearest corpse and emote their vile lying heads off. At least none of them pretended to cry.
I was particularly impressed by the naked gall of Steve Bracks - they soi-disant Catholic who lied flagrantly to the electorate about the Scoresby freeway.
Like I said over the weekend, no death pleases me, but if I hear another piece of crap about how JPII was the best Pope since Moses, I will spew.
Where was he when hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children were dying as a result of sanctions between 1991 and 2001? When he met her, why didn't he slap Madelene Albright in the face for her comment that their deaths (remember, these are CHILDREN) "was worth it"?
Where was he when the bombs were dropping in the illegal "no fly zone"? Where was he when - in violation of what the Nuremberg tribunal called "the greatest war crime of all" - the US started bombing? The doctrine of "just war" (which is crap - there's no such thing) was promulgated by the Catholics, and he stood silent.
JPII's track record on homosexuality, female ordination, contraception, abortion, and his lack of comment when oppression was being performed by right wing governments, tarnishes the "pop-idol" personality-cult image that Vatican handlers so assiduously attempted to construct.
More concretely, all of his positions were to the detriment of the most downtrodden in the catholic faith, and to the benefit of... church hegemony. (And to put it mildly, the unwinding of Vatican II under JPII is most of the reason that most churches are empty, excpt in the Third World).
Folks will accuse me of bias, because JPII permitted Ratzinger to issue the encyclical "Quaesitum Est" in 1983 - a direct re-statement of the Bull "In Eminenti" of 1738. this happened after some Catholics thought that the new Codex Juris Canonicus had relaxed the prohibition of Freemasonry to Catholics (Ratzinger said absolutely not). I don't think I am biased, though... it would be silly to be biased against a dead guy.
Before my head explodes, let's get to something easy...
... Just a sec. another thing... if those 9 airmen who died recently were part of a DEFENCE force, they would not have been in outside our borders. I'm sorry for their families, but let's put pressure on the vermin in charge and get the DEFENCE forces to DEFEND this island... not to be forced to go playing boyscout around the globe whenever Howard wants to play Statesman. And for Christ's sake - they're not HEROES. They're VICTIMS.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 17.20 points (-0.42%), finishing at 4109.20 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4126.90 at the open (why would it open UP? Simple, silly... it's Monday!). From there, the index fell until it got close enough to 4100 for "da Boyz" to get nervy; that "test of support" took place at 4103 points, just before 10:55 a.m. Sydney time.
Having scribed out its intraday range in the first hour, it spen the rest of the day in the bottom third of that range; Terry Schiavo was more lively - after they took out her feeding tube out. (I know, I know...bad taste... but at least I didn't say anything about the Pope).
Total volume traded on the ASX was a pathetic 770 million units, 33.7% below its 10-day average. Just 103 All Ords index members rose, while 276 fell for the day. Volume in losers was 239.9m units which was greater than the 102.8m units 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 17.50 points (-0.42%), finishing at 4120.80 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 6.20 points (-0.28%), finishing at 2223.10 points. Within the index members, there were 4 that rose, and 14 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 19.04 while volume in the losers totalled 48.98m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.36 (1.45%) to $25.26 on volume of 1.93m shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. (CBA), +$0.08 (0.23%) to $35.15 on volume of 2.29m shares;
- Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.01 (0.19%) to $5.27 on volume of 4.57m shares;
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.02 (0.11%) to $18.31 on volume of 10.25m shares; and
- National Australia Bank (NAB), -$0.00 (0%) to $28.60 on volume of 2.33m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.24 (3.37%) to $6.88 on volume of 5.98m shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), -$0.50 (1.1%) to $45.00 on volume of 1.93m shares;
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.05 (0.98%) to $5.05 on volume of 11.54m shares;
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), -$0.13 (0.87%) to $14.75 on volume of 1.97m shares; and
- Coles Myer Ltd. (CML), -$0.08 (0.85%) to $9.30 on volume of 3.41m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index - the only place where underexploited value exists with any regularity - fell by 16.60 points (-0.71%), finishing at 2327.00 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Antares Energy (AZZ), +$0.04 (8%) to $0.54 on volume of 222,000 shares;
- Petsec Energy (PSA), +$0.06 (5.26%) to $1.20 on volume of 303,000 shares;
- Tower (TWR), +$0.07 (4.29%) to $1.70 on volume of 650,000 shares;
- Orbital Corporation (OEC), +$0.00 (4.26%) to $0.10 on volume of 550,000 shares; and
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.08 (4%) to $1.95 on volume of 4.54m shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Oamps (OMP), -$0.64 (18.55%) to $2.81 on volume of 133,000 shares;
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.04 (6.45%) to $0.58 on volume of 922,000 shares; and
- Macmahon Holdings (MAH), -$0.03 (5.38%) to $0.44 on volume of 395,000 shares;
- SDI (SDI), -$0.06 (5.05%) to $1.04 on volume of 856,000 shares; and
- Perilya (PEM), -$0.05 (5%) to $0.95 on volume of 97,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4109.2 | -17.2 | -0.42% | 2249.846 |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2223.1 | -6.2 | -0.28% | 73.13m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4068 | -14.4 | -0.35% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3350.1 | -13.4 | -0.4% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4120.8 | -17.5 | -0.42% | 347.79m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4121.7 | -17.8 | -0.43% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3982.3 | -27.1 | -0.68% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2327 | -16.6 | -0.71% | 117.65m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 103 | 43 | 45 | 4 | 313 |
| Declines | 276 | 136 | 114 | 14 | 617 |
| Advancing Volume | 102.82m | 94.19m | 31.6m | 19.04 | 267.56 |
| Declining Volume | 239.92m | 222.58m | 59.27m | 48.98 | 391.96 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The only sector which posted a gain for the day was Energy which gained 0.72% to 8402.70 points. The sector was helped by
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.08 (4%) to $1.95 on volume of 4.54m shares;
- Oil Search (OSH), +$0.06 (2.37%) to $2.59 on volume of 7.4m shares;
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.03 (1.6%) to $1.91 on volume of 416,000 shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.36 (1.45%) to $25.26 on volume of 1.93m shares; and
- Santos (STO), +$0.09 (0.97%) to $9.37 on volume of 4.03m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Utilities which lost -0.15% to 4706.40 points. Of the 8 stocks in the sector, 6 fell, and volume in losers was 1.7 times as great as volume in gainers. Since it's our policy not to reward "negative winners", there's no dissection of the best-performed stocks in a declining sector - and there's also no dissection of the worst-performed sector unless it's one of the worst 2 sectors...
The bronze today? Of course, you know there is no bronze if the third-placed sector records a "negative-improvement". For the record, the Consumer Staples sector was the "third-not-worst", but it lost -0.29% to 5543.80 points.
The worst-performed sector today was Information Technology which lost 1.91% to 363.70 points; its bipolr/manic-depressive behaviour continues unabated. Today, every stock in the sector fell (there are 7 stocks in the index), and all the stocks in the sector fell by at least 1%. The biggest drags in percentage terms were...
- Infomedia (IFM), -$0.04 (6.45%) to $0.58 on volume of 922,000 shares;
- ERG (ERG), -$0.01 (3.33%) to $0.29 on volume of 1.85m shares;
- MYOB (MYO), -$0.03 (2.83%) to $1.03 on volume of 143,000 shares;
- Vision Systems. (VSL), -$0.03 (2.59%) to $1.13 on volume of 166,000 shares; and
- IRESS Market Technology (IRE), -$0.09 (2.12%) to $4.15 on volume of 49,000 shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was the 2-stock Telecommunications "sector" which lost 0.92% to 1791.40 points. Both stocks in the sector fell, with the bulk of the damage cause by Telstra.
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.05 (0.98%) to $5.05 on volume of 11.54m shares; and
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.03 (0.54%) to $5.54 on volume of 1.32m shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 8402.7 | 60 | 0.72% | 23.9m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4706.4 | -7 | -0.15% | 4.63m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5543.8 | -16.2 | -0.29% | 27.93m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7200 | -29.6 | -0.41% | 77.27m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4871.1 | -21 | -0.43% | 42.48m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4811.9 | -21.6 | -0.45% | 129.78m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5027.8 | -23.7 | -0.47% | 36.01m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1755.6 | -9 | -0.51% | 93.44m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2267.3 | -12.7 | -0.56% | 26.68m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4849.3 | -27.6 | -0.57% | 11.02m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1791.4 | -16.6 | -0.92% | 12.86m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 363.7 | -7.1 | -1.91% | 4.58m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BJT | Babcock & Brown Japan Property Trust | 1.12 | 0.06 | 5.19% | 46.9m |
| MMX | Murchison Metals | 0.47 | 0.15 | 46.88% | 21.71m |
| RTM | Reefton Mining | 0.12 | -0.01 | -4% | 14.19m |
| CPA | Commonwealth Property Office Fund | 1.25 | -0.01 | -0.4% | 12.01m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 5.05 | -0.05 | -0.98% | 11.54m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 18.31 | 0.02 | 0.11% | 10.25m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BOC | Bougainville Copper | 0.99 | 0.11 | 12.5% | 700232 |
| AZZ | Antares Energy | 0.54 | 0.04 | 8% | 221996 |
| VBA | Virgin Blue Holdings | 2.03 | 0.13 | 6.84% | 3.03m |
| PSA | Petsec Energy | 1.20 | 0.06 | 5.26% | 302728 |
| ERA | Energy Resources Of Australia | 10.80 | 0.50 | 4.85% | 11200 |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| OMP | Oamps | 2.81 | -0.64 | -18.55% | 133104 |
| ABI | Ambri | 0.17 | -0.03 | -13.16% | 446238 |
| OTT | Open Telecommunications | 0.43 | -0.05 | -9.57% | 125100 |
| MXL | MXL | 0.12 | -0.01 | -8% | 1.46m |
| SRL | Straits Resources | 1.81 | -0.14 | -7.18% | 255252 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 56.09 points (-0.48%) to close at 11667.54 points. The index fell to 11652.66 points within twenty minutes of the opening bell, then bounced almost 50 points in the next tweenty minutes, hitting its intraday high of 11701.19 at 9:50 a.m. Tokyo time. It was pretty much sideways either side of lunch, but the index has taken a bit of a sharp dip in the last twenty minutes or so, and is approaching another test of 11650.
The Kiwi Market advanced 6.82 points (0.22%). After what looked like a moderately constructive open, the Kiwi market sagged, dropping to its session low of 3029.92 points just after 12:30 Auckland time. From there, though, the index managed to get some support, and rose pretty much for the entire afternoon (so far, anyway), hitting its intraday high of 3046.73 jsut as am typing this (how exciting... almost like real-time!!).
A total of 22 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 5.8million units. Decliners numbered 19, and total volume traded in losers was 17.8million shares.
Individual stocks that led the percentage gainers list were ...
- Auckland International Airport(AIA), +NZ$0.24 (2.93%) to NZ$8.44 on volume of 713,000 shares;
- Tower Limited Ord (TWR), +NZ$0.05 (2.84%) to NZ$1.81 on volume of 654,000 shares;
- Ryman Healthcare (RYM), +NZ$0.10 (2.7%) to NZ$3.80 on volume of 6,000 shares;
- Sky Network Television (SKY), +NZ$0.17 (2.6%) to NZ$6.72 on volume of 171,000 shares;
- APN News & Media (APN), +NZ$0.13 (2.43%) to NZ$5.47 on volume of 1,000 shares; and
- Cavalier Corporation (CAV), +NZ$0.09 (2.41%) to NZ$3.82 on volume of 54,000 shares.
(Note: this is only among stocks in the NZSE50 - there are a couple of hundred other stocks in the NZ market, which we will commence covering next week).
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 4.18 points (-0.03%). The index posted its session low at 13436.96 about a half-hour into the session, then rose almost 100 points in 100 minutes, to post its intraday high at 13530.27 just prior to the lunch break. It's still at lunch.
Within the Hang Seng, 9 index components rose, while 20 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 70.1million units, and total volume traded in losers was 91.3million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Henderson Investments (0097), -HK$0.25 (2.3%) to HK$10.60 on volume of 121,000 shares;
- Lenovo Group (0992), -HK$0.05 (1.94%) to HK$2.53 on volume of 24.88m shares;
- Yue Yuen Industries (0551), -HK$0.40 (1.86%) to HK$21.10 on volume of 376,000 shares;
- China Unicom (0762), -HK$0.10 (1.67%) to HK$5.90 on volume of 2.62m shares;
- Wheelock (0020), -HK$0.15 (1.35%) to HK$10.95 on volume of 1.36m shares; and
- China Resources (0291), -HK$0.10 (0.93%) to HK$10.65 on volume of 480,000 shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3046.73 | 6.82 | 0.22% | 26.75m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11667.54 | -56.09 | -0.48% | 795.62m |
| Korea | KOSPI | 982.5 | 0.6 | 0.06% | 452.06m |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2151.35 | 7.6 | 0.35% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13487.17 | -4.18 | -0.03% | 165.62m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 866.59 | -9.33 | -1.07% | 0 |
