OzRant: A Suspicious Late-Day "Save"...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

Some time in an ideal future, people would spit on Paul Wolfowitz in the street as he was being taken to the gallows. They would call for the incarceration of Donald Rumsfeld, and gladly deliver Richard Perle and Dick Cheney to the Hague to face War Crimes charges. These "Team B" idiots - whose every pronouncement about the Soviet threat during the Ford administration was utterly, hopelessly wrong - are the root cause of almost 100% of global instability that we're currently being forced to endure.

They - and the ideological swill bucket full of Straussian slop from which they draw their sustenance - should be expunged from history as abruptly as possible. Strauss was a cretin who played on the Humanities Grad Student's sense of superiority - his actual output is complete and utter shit, which is why only journalists and bureaucrats are remotely impressed by it.

The scale of the crimes of these clowns dwarfs even Henry Kissinger - the man who ordered massive tonnage of bombs dropped on Cambodian civilians; the man who declared that the people of South America had no right to choose their own leadership. Even he is no match for the scale of deception and subterfuge perpetrated by Rumsfeld et al, from the 1970s right on through to the present.

Millions dead (mostly civilians), billions... no, trillions of dollars siphoned from the pubic purse to fund the thanatocracy run by the scared shitbags who were stupid enough to fall for Strauss' garbage. People who thought - in 1975 - that because the CIA could find no threat from the USSR, that the Soviets must have had new undetectable technology.

Sound familiar? "Absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence" quoth Rumsfeld about Iraq's WMD, with the OSP (occupied by such luminaries as Israeli spy Franklin) passed him and Cheney fabricated intelligence...

Jesus it makes my blood boil - to think that the world has been deprived of the benefit of trillions of dollars that could otherwise have been invested productively in private enterprise rather than the geopolitical equivalent of a pissing contest.

This is somewhat off-topic, but my brain is about to burst a blood vessel at present... my little bird tells me that things are going to start going "bang" in Iran before June 15th in order to divert attention from a simmering scandal that dates back to the early 1990s.

And now... we return to normal Ranting...

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 3.10 points (0.08%), finishing at 4050.40 points, which was also the high for the day. The index had no strong sense of direction today - it was all over the shop; opened pretty weak, then strengthened until 12:30 p.m. Sydney time, then fell hard until 2:15 (when it hit its intraday low at 4033.10 points) the a closing rally to the high. Really odd behaviour.

Total volume traded on the ASX was just 760 million units. That's only 1.7% below the 10-day average volume, but the 10-day average itself has fallen from over 900million two months ago, to barely 755m today.

Of the 483 stocks in the All Ords, 192 fell while 162 rose. Volume was basically evenly split between gainers and loser - with 182.73million shares traded in losers while 181.40million shares traded in the gainers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - rose by 2.10 points (0.05%), finishing at 4093.20 points.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 7.60 points (0.34%), finishing at 2227.70 points. Within the index members, there were 9 that rose, and 8 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 52.7m units while volume in the losers totalled 30.09m units.

The major winners in the "big guns" were -

• Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.16 (3.03%) to $5.44 on volume of 16.77m shares after it announced that it had gotten 91% of the shares of SRP;
• Woolworths (WOW), +$0.41 (2.63%) to $15.98 on volume of 9.46m shares;
• Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.48 (1.98%) to $24.70 on volume of 1.34m shares;
• AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.10 (1.51%) to $6.72 on volume of 5.79m shares; and
• Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. (CBA), +$0.37 (1%) to $37.45 on volume of 2.87m shares.

The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:

• BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.16 (0.99%) to $16.04 on volume of 18.54m shares;
• Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.32 (0.87%) to $36.67 on volume of 388,000 shares;
• Amcor (AMC), -$0.05 (0.74%) to $6.75 on volume of 1.09m shares;
• Rio Tinto (RIO), -$0.31 (0.73%) to $42.36 on volume of 1.28m shares; and
• Alumina (AWC), -$0.03 (0.54%) to $5.48 on volume of 4.67m shares.

At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index fell by 6.80 points (-0.31%), finishing at 2221.90 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -

• Emperor Mines (EMP), +$0.02 (7.14%) to $0.30 on volume of 23,000 shares;
• Dragon Mining (DRA), +$0.01 (5.88%) to $0.18 on volume of 142,000 shares;
• Petsec Energy (PSA), +$0.05 (4.59%) to $1.14 on volume of 236,000 shares;
• Peptech (PTD), +$0.06 (4.49%) to $1.40 on volume of 974,000 shares; and
• Kimberley Diamond Company. (KIM), +$0.05 (4.41%) to $1.19 on volume of 1.49m shares.

The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):

• Virotec International (VTI), -$0.04 (6.9%) to $0.54 on volume of 15,000 shares;
• Psivida (PSD), -$0.05 (6.1%) to $0.77 on volume of 1.25m shares; and
• Kingsgate Consolidated. (KCN), -$0.13 (4.64%) to $2.67 on volume of 248,000 shares;
• Sally Malay Mining (SMY), -$0.03 (3.61%) to $0.80 on volume of 85,000 shares; and
• Primelife Corporation (PLF), -$0.04 (3.61%) to $0.94 on volume of 186,000 shares.

Index Changes
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	4050.4	3.1	0.08%	498.94m
XTL	S&P/ASX 20	2227.7	7.6	0.34%	95.93m
XFL	S&P/ASX 50	4052.2	4.1	0.1%	0
XTO	S&P/ASX 100	3333.3	2.8	0.08%	0
XJO	S&P/ASX 200	4093.2	2.1	0.05%	408.99m
XKO	S&P/ASX 300	4085.2	2	0.05%	0
XMD	S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50	3935.7	-0.8	-0.02%	0
XSO	S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries	2221.9	-6.8	-0.31%	119.99m

All Ordinaries Market Internals

Market Breadth
	XAO	XJO	XSO	ASX20	Market
Advances	162	73	62	9	454
Declines	192	103	90	8	428
Advancing Volume	181.4m	166.65m	28.69m	52.7	356.27
Declining Volume	182.73m	162.74m	38.75m	30.09	254.25

S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices

The top sector for the day was Consumer Staples which gained 1.75% to 5519.90 points. The sector was helped by

• Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.16 (3.03%) to $5.44 on volume of 16.77m shares;
• Woolworths (WOW), +$0.41 (2.63%) to $15.98 on volume of 9.46m shares;
• Foodland Associated (FOA), +$0.21 (0.82%) to $25.86 on volume of 4.42m shares;
• Ridley Corporation (RIC), +$0.01 (0.76%) to $1.32 on volume of 527,000 shares; and
• Coles Myer Ltd (CML), +$0.05 (0.54%) to $9.26 on volume of 6.12m shares.

Second in the sector leadership stakes was Energy which gained 1.03% to 8276.30 points. The sector leaders were -

• Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.05 (2.56%) to $1.80 on volume of 1.6m shares;
• Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.48 (1.98%) to $24.70 on volume of 1.34m shares;
• Oil Search (OSH), +$0.04 (1.64%) to $2.48 on volume of 10.76m shares;
• Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.03 (1.52%) to $1.68 on volume of 548,000 shares; and
• Santos (STO), +$0.09 (0.91%) to $9.96 on volume of 2.5m shares.

The bronze today went to ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts which gained 0.32% to 5116.50 points. The sector was led by

• Axa Asia Pacific Holdings (AXA), +$0.12 (2.68%) to $4.60 on volume of 2.07m shares;
• Perpetual Trustees Australia (PPT), +$1.31 (2.33%) to $57.42 on volume of 60,000 shares;
• AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.10 (1.51%) to $6.72 on volume of 5.79m shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Of Australia. (CBA), +$0.37 (1%) to $37.45 on volume of 2.87m shares; and
• Adelaide Bank (ADB), +$0.09 (0.82%) to $11.10 on volume of 101,000 shares.

The worst-performed sector today was Materials which lost 0.99% to 6637.90 points. The sector was dragged lower by

• Kingsgate Consolidated (KCN), -$0.13 (4.64%) to $2.67 on volume of 248,000 shares;
• Paperlinx (PPX), -$0.11 (4.31%) to $2.44 on volume of 3.82m shares; and
• Great Southern Plantations (GTP), -$0.12 (3.23%) to $3.59 on volume of 850,000 shares;
• Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.01 (2.99%) to $0.33 on volume of 553,000 shares; and
• James Hardie Industries N.V. (JHX), -$0.16 (2.41%) to $6.47 on volume of 710,000 shares.

Just in front of last place on the sector table was Utilities which lost 0.44% to 4811.00 points. The sector was pulled down by 25

• Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), -$0.10 (0.73%) to $13.68 on volume of 842,000 shares;
• Alinta (ALN), -$0.02 (0.21%) to $9.64 on volume of 636,000 shares;
• Envestra (ENV), -$0.00 (0%) to $1.13 on volume of 420,000 shares;
• Energy Developments (ENE), +$0.01 (0.27%) to $3.72 on volume of 96,000 shares; and
• Pacific Hydro (PHY), +$0.02 (0.4%) to $5.08 on volume of 947,000 shares.

Sector Indices
Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XSJ	Consumer Staples	5519.9	94.9	1.75%	82.84m
XEJ	Energy	8276.3	84	1.03%	20.15m
XXJ	ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts	5116.5	16.2	0.32%	40.92m
XFJ	Financials	4992.9	10.5	0.21%	107.06m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	2171.3	0.4	0.02%	18.91m
XTJ	Telecommunications	1752.2	-1	-0.06%	10.33m
XNJ	Industrials	4911.6	-5	-0.1%	34.16m
XPJ	Property Trusts	1744.6	-3	-0.17%	68.43m
XHJ	Healthcare	4824.8	-13.4	-0.28%	13.96m
XIJ	Information Technology	367	-1.6	-0.43%	3.28m
XUJ	Utilities	4811	-21.4	-0.44%	4.02m
XMJ	Materials	6637.9	-66.3	-0.99%	120.34m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
WMR	WMC Resources	7.83	-0.07	-0.89%	34.17m
SRP	Southcorp	4.26	0	0%	21.87m
BHP	BHP Billiton	16.04	-0.16	-0.99%	18.54m
LHG	Lihir Gold	1.13	0.03	2.26%	16.88m
FGL	Foster's Group	5.44	0.16	3.03%	16.77m
MTS	Metcash Trading	3.67	0.09	2.51%	12.2m

All Ords Percentage Gainers
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
EQM	Equatorial Mining	6.85	2.23	48.27%	21080
CGX	Central Asia Gold	0.65	0.05	8.33%	100800
NVE	Novera Energy	1.40	0.08	6.06%	38826
PSA	Petsec Energy	1.14	0.05	4.59%	235540
PTD	Peptech	1.40	0.06	4.49%	974355

All Ords Percentage Decliners
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
DKS	Danks Holdings	11.00	-0.90	-7.56%	6405
PSD	Psivida	0.77	-0.05	-6.1%	1.25m
RBS	Roberts	7.90	-0.40	-4.82%	9483
KCN	Kingsgate Consolidated.	2.67	-0.13	-4.64%	247636
PPX	Paperlinx	2.44	-0.11	-4.31%	3.82m

Elsewhere in the Region...

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 13.51 points (0.12%) to close at 11027.94 points. The index was very sideways for the whole session, trading in a 69-point range with the bulk of the range below the plimsoll line. Still, the afternoon session showed some modest strength after a pre-lunch breach of 11000 was quickly rebuffed. The index hit a high of 11047.37 ten minutes before the close, after falling to 10978.85 points just after 10 am. Tokyo time.

The Kiwi Market declined a pretty impressive 30.63 points (-1.01%), closing at 3007.344 points (as near to the day's low as makes no odds). The index hit a high of 3037.969 at the open, and from there is was a coast-to-coast decline, with the session low of 3006.688 points set in the last minute of trade.

A total of 7 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 1.3million units. Decliners numbered 31, and total volume traded in losers was 18million shares. Individual stocks experiencing the largest percentage loss for the session included...

• Sky City Entertainment (SKC), -NZ$0.19 (4.3%) to NZ$4.23 on volume of 2.19m shares;
• The Warehouse Group (WHS), -NZ$0.13 (4%) to NZ$3.12 on volume of 609,000 shares;
• Independent Newspapers (INL), -NZ$0.19 (3.06%) to NZ$6.01 on volume of 148,000 shares;
• Ryman Healthcare (RYM), -NZ$0.10 (2.7%) to NZ$3.60 on volume of 53,000 shares; and
• Mainfreight (MFT), -NZ$0.05 (2.08%) to NZ$2.35 on volume of 14,000 shares.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index had advanced 10.01 points (0.07%) to rest at 13572.07 points during the HK lunch interval. Like Japan, the index was  simultaneously all over the place but also in a tight range (less than 40 points). The index hit a high of 13580.9 early in the pre-lunch session, and fell to a pre-lunch low of 13541.77 points.

Within the Hang Seng, 11 index components rose, while 14 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 36.1million units, and total volume traded in losers was 29.1million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the advance included...

• China Resources (0291), +HK$0.11 (1.05%) to HK$10.55 on volume of 438,000 shares;
• China Unicom (0762), +HK$0.05 (0.83%) to HK$6.05 on volume of 1.58m shares;
• Citic Pacific (0267), +HK$0.15 (0.7%) to HK$21.65 on volume of 903,000 shares;
• CNOOC (0883), +HK$0.03 (0.61%) to HK$4.13 on volume of 23.79m shares;
• Esprit Holdings (0330), +HK$0.25 (0.44%) to HK$56.50 on volume of 686,000 shares; and
• HSBC Holdings (0005), +HK$0.50 (0.41%) to HK$123.50 on volume of 2.64m shares.

Regional Indices
Country	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
New Zealand	NZSE50	3007.344	-30.63	-1.01%	21.18m
Japan	Nikkei 225	11027.94	13.51	0.12%	79417
Korea	KOSPI	943.91	2.61	0.28%	259710
Singapore	Straits Times	2149.12	-11.35	-0.53%	0
Hong Kong	Hang Seng	13572.07	10.01	0.07%	83.28m
Malaysia	KLSE Comp	863.01	-7.09	-0.81%	0