Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
Maybe somebody was listening this morning, when I ranted my expose regarding the hopelessly, transparently bogus US Payrolls numbers. (Yes, I agree... unlikely). More likely that everyone is just repositioning prior to the upcoming Statement of Socialist Principles - or "What We Do With Your Money" - from the parasitic vermin that blight our lives from Canberra (of course the State and Local parasites do just as much damage - but they get less press coverage).
Still, there was quite a decent trading range in today's activity; the Oz market trading range was about 37 points. The day started out with a hiss and a roar - always a good sign the dumb money is being put to work (i.e., is being sent to the money abbatoir). Every bourse we track here at the RantCave hit its intraday high within twenty minutes of the open... and once the nuffies were set (banking on continued strength after a US late-day bounce), the rug got yanked.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - fell by 7.70 points (-0.19%), finishing at 3949.10 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3973.90 ten minutes after the open, and its low was 3936.7.points just after 2:30 in the afternoon. The 13-point bounce from there to the close, seemed to me to be more concenned about 'punters' hoping that the Budget will contain enough Good NEws to generate a bounce of the SPI up into what will certainly be a raft of small-trader stops above 4000.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 720 million units, 18.9% below its 10-day average. That's pretty feeble, and reinforces the idea that there was little pre-Budget interest in stocks. Still, as always there are some interesting vignettes.
Of the 483 stocks in the index, 184 fell while 183 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.4:1, with 278.37 million shares traded in losers comapred with 202.36 million shares traded in stocks that rose.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - fell by 7.00 points (-0.18%), finishing at 3992.20 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 6.30 points (-0.29%), finishing at 2181.70 points. Within the index members, there were 7 that rose, and 13 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 31.48 million shares while volume in the losers totalled 84.72m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.40 (1.7%) to $23.95 on volume of 2.12m shares;
- Coles Myer (CML), +$0.14 (1.64%) to $8.68 on volume of 5.32m shares;
- National Australia Bank (NAB), +$0.47 (1.59%) to $29.99 on volume of 7.68m shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.14 (0.86%) to $16.45 on volume of 5.63m shares; and
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.06 (0.4%) to $15.20 on volume of 1.94m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Amcor (AMC), -$0.32 (4.72%) to $6.46 on volume of 6.98m shares;
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.12 (2.43%) to $4.82 on volume of 24.43m shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.10 (1.52%) to $6.46 on volume of 7.99m shares;
- News Corporation (NWS), -$0.32 (1.51%) to $20.88 on volume of 2.78m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWSLV), -$0.27 (1.32%) to $20.20 on volume of 1.76m shares.
| Of the 194 stocks in the index, 79 rose while 76 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.4:1, with 74.32million shares traded in gainers while 53.59million shares traded in losers . |
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 - rose by 3.60 points (0.17%), finishing at 2138.30 points. Of the 194 stocks in the index, 79 rose while 76 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.4:1, with 74.32 million shares traded in gainers while 53.59 million shares traded in losers The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Petsec Energy (PSA), +$0.13 (13.59%) to $1.05 on volume of 713,000 shares;
- Ventracor (VCR), +$0.11 (12.5%) to $0.95 on volume of 2.54m shares;
- Psivida (PSD), +$0.07 (12.04%) to $0.61 on volume of 1.08m shares;
- Miller's Retail (MRL), +$0.06 (7.97%) to $0.75 on volume of 723,000 shares; and
- Integrated Group (IWF), +$0.12 (7.5%) to $1.72 on volume of 35,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Village Life Ltd (VLL), -$0.09 (12.41%) to $0.60 on volume of 10.07m shares;
- SDI (SDI), -$0.10 (11.11%) to $0.80 on volume of 147,000 shares; and
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.02 (9.38%) to $0.15 on volume of 282,000 shares;
- Virotec International (VTI), -$0.04 (6.35%) to $0.59 on volume of 81,000 shares; and
- Skilled Group (SKE), -$0.11 (4.76%) to $2.20 on volume of 50,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3949.1 | -7.7 | -0.19% | 579.71m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2181.7 | -6.3 | -0.29% | 116.2m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 3965 | -10 | -0.25% | 0 |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3256.1 | -6.8 | -0.21% | 0 |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 3992.2 | -7 | -0.18% | 490.54m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 3985.3 | -7 | -0.18% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3807 | 1.8 | 0.05% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2138.3 | 3.6 | 0.17% | 175.33m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | |||||
| XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | |
| Advances | 183 | 84 | 79 | 7 | 434 |
| Declines | 184 | 94 | 76 | 13 | 427 |
| Advancing Volume | 202.36m | 184.26m | 74.32m | 31.48 | 276.39 |
| Declining Volume | 278.37m | 256.45m | 53.59m | 84.72 | 353.02 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Energy which gained 0.85% to 8220.80 points. The sector was helped by
- Worleyparsons (WOR), +$0.24 (3.42%) to $7.25 on volume of 847,000 shares;
- Tap Oil (TAP), +$0.06 (3.05%) to $2.03 on volume of 2.61m shares;
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.04 (2.44%) to $1.68 on volume of 1.05m shares;
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.04 (2.31%) to $1.77 on volume of 358,000 shares; and
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.40 (1.7%) to $23.95 on volume of 2.12m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Property Trusts which gained 0.79% to 1726.10 points. The sector leaders were -
- Centro Properties Group. (CNP), +$0.20 (3.88%) to $5.35 on volume of 1.83m shares;
- Multiplex Group (MXG), +$0.08 (2.24%) to $3.65 on volume of 3.39m shares;
- General Property Trust (GPT), +$0.06 (1.71%) to $3.57 on volume of 4.08m shares;
- Ing Industrial Fund (IIF), +$0.02 (0.96%) to $2.11 on volume of 1.61m shares; and
- Macquarie Prologis Trust (MPR), +$0.01 (0.92%) to $1.10 on volume of 6.9m shares.
The bronze today went to Utilities which gained 0.52% to 4826.50 points. The sector was led by
- Gasnet Australia Group (GAS), +$0.03 (1.27%) to $2.40 on volume of 231,000 shares;
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), +$0.13 (0.94%) to $13.89 on volume of 1.77m shares;
- Alinta (ALN), +$0.05 (0.53%) to $9.45 on volume of 1.25m shares;
- Pacific Hydro (PHY), +$0.02 (0.39%) to $5.17 on volume of 509,000 shares; and
- Envestra (ENV), -$0.01 (0.45%) to $1.11 on volume of 543,000 shares.
The worst-performed sector today was Telecommunications which lost 2.30% to 1721.10 points due largely to a 12-cent fall in Telstra...
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), -$0.12 (2.43%) to $4.82 on volume of 24.43m shares; and
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.09 (1.6%) to $5.52 on volume of 3.29m shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Consumer Discretionary which lost 0.73% to 2066.10 points. The sector was pulled down by
- Housewares International (HWI), -$0.05 (3.5%) to $1.38 on volume of 1.56m shares;
- Pacific Brands (PBG), -$0.05 (2.3%) to $2.12 on volume of 3.46m shares; and
- G.U.D. Holdings (GUD), -$0.13 (2.2%) to $5.77 on volume of 328,000 shares;
- Unitab (UTB), -$0.22 (1.86%) to $11.58 on volume of 447,000 shares; and
- West Australian Newspapers (WAN), -$0.12 (1.67%) to $7.08 on volume of 1.33m shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 8220.8 | 69 | 0.85% | 24.29m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1726.1 | 13.6 | 0.79% | 128.9m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4826.5 | 24.8 | 0.52% | 5.21m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4768.3 | 19.9 | 0.42% | 11.86m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4830.8 | 8.1 | 0.17% | 182.31m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5280.5 | 1 | 0.02% | 49.9m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 4919.6 | -0.3 | -0.01% | 59.04m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 338.4 | -0.5 | -0.15% | 4.61m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6732 | -33.3 | -0.49% | 109.96m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4676.8 | -26.2 | -0.56% | 50.81m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2066.1 | -15.1 | -0.73% | 38.81m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1721.1 | -40.6 | -2.3% | 27.72m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 4.82 | -0.12 | -2.43% | 24.43m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 16.7 | -0.14 | -0.83% | 19.41m |
| LHG | Lihir Gold | 1.01 | -0.04 | -3.81% | 17.16m |
| BPC | Burns, Philp & Company | 0.86 | 0.02 | 1.79% | 17.09m |
| GSA | Galileo Shopping America Trust | 1.13 | -0.01 | -0.44% | 13.67m |
| CPA | Commonwealth Property Office Fund | 1.22 | -0.01 | -0.81% | 13.55m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| PSA | Petsec Energy | 1.05 | 0.13 | 13.59% | 712619 |
| VCR | Ventracor | 0.95 | 0.11 | 12.5% | 2.54m |
| PSD | Psivida | 0.61 | 0.07 | 12.04% | 1.08m |
| RCT | Reef Casino Trust | 3.18 | 0.24 | 8.16% | 687972 |
| MRL | Miller's Retail | 0.75 | 0.06 | 7.97% | 722670 |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| VLL | Village Life Ltd | 0.6 | -0.09 | -12.41% | 10.07m |
| SDI | SDI | 0.8 | -0.1 | -11.11% | 146565 |
| EPT | Epitan | 0.51 | -0.04 | -7.27% | 235180 |
| AGI | Ainsworth Game Technology | 0.51 | -0.04 | -6.42% | 141864 |
| SKE | Skilled Group | 2.2 | -0.11 | -4.76% | 49900 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 11.86 points (-0.11%) to close at 11159.46 points. The index hit a high of 11211.36 during the session, and fell to 11125points during the session.
The Kiwi Market advanced 0.87 points (0.03%). The index hit a high of 2914.557 during the session, and fell to 2899.111points during the session.
A total of 20 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 9.4million units. Decliners numbered 22, and total volume traded in losers was 11million shares. Individual stocks that dud well included...
- Fletcher Building (FBU), +NZ$0.28 (4.86%) to NZ$6.04 on volume of 2.03m shares;
- Hellaby Holdings (HBY), +NZ$0.18 (3.55%) to NZ$5.25 on volume of 67,000 shares;
- Pumpkin Patch (PPL), +NZ$0.08 (3.27%) to NZ$2.53 on volume of 93,000 shares;
- Axa Asia Pacific (AXA), +NZ$0.11 (2.56%) to NZ$4.41 on volume of 21,000 shares;
- Fisher & Paykel A (FPA), +NZ$0.06 (2.26%) to NZ$2.71 on volume of 148,000 shares; and
- Sanford Limited (SAN), +NZ$0.08 (1.98%) to NZ$4.13 on volume of 4,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 22.32 points (-0.16%). The index hit a high of 14112.61 during the session, and fell to 14035.78 points during the session.
Within the Hang Seng, 14 index components rose, while 12 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 65.1million units, and total volume traded in losers was 30.3 million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Denway Motors (0203), -HK$0.05 (1.83%) to HK$2.68 on volume of 5.3m shares;
- Esprit Holdings (0330), -HK$0.75 (1.27%) to HK$58.50 on volume of 1.09m shares;
- PCCW (0008), -HK$0.05 (1.04%) to HK$4.78 on volume of 4.28m shares;
- Lenovo Group (0992), -HK$0.03 (0.98%) to HK$2.53 on volume of 4.45m shares;
- Cosco Pacific (1199), -HK$0.15 (0.9%) to HK$16.50 on volume of 2.48m shares; and
- Citic Pacific (0267), -HK$0.15 (0.67%) to HK$22.10 on volume of 1.5m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 2901.641 | 0.87 | 0.03% | 23.71m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11159.46 | -11.86 | -0.11% | 85117 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 934.28 | -0.92 | -0.1% | 347689 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2169.97 | 3.68 | 0.17% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 14062.77 | -22.32 | -0.16% | 112.5m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 901.52 | 0.23 | 0.03% | 0 |
