OzRant: Fluffier and Fluffier...

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

Fervent belief is a dangerous thing; people currently believe quite fervently that the headlines are reality - whether it's Iraq 'settling down' ('more violence means that the insurgents are getting desperate' is my favourite), the US economy is going to save us all from recession (by printing money and fraudulent economic statistics... you cant' eat either of those), and other such stuff. They also believe that we should be glad of all those armed bureaucrats at our airports, on our roads, and we ought to be especially proud of any of our chaps who happen to blow away half a village of darkies in Afghanistan. They're making us safe, you see... it must appeal to the SUV-driving soccer-mom view of the world (wherein an SUV - the unsafest passenger vehicle there is - is purchased because it makes soccer-mom feel 'secure' to be in a behemoth that she can't park, can't manouevre, and which brakes like a truck and rolls if it hits a 20¢ piece).

People also fervently believe that all the money being raped from wage-earners, simply must lead to higher stock prices. They are of a view that somehow, where governments all through history have failed, our little shaved chimpanzee Howard has hit upon the perfect schema to make everyone rich at the same time. Balderdash.

Still, people believe in all sorts of conspiracy theories - hell, some even believe one of the most convoluted conspiracy theories ever. You've probably heard it before: that a crazed Arab was able to co-ordinate - from a hole in a mountain - 20 other crazed Arabs to conduct the hijacking of 4 passenger jets, elude air defences, and plant those aforementioned jets into buildings with breathtaking precision. This also saw an unprecedented event happen three times in a single day - steel-framed skyscrapers fall as a result of fire (it's never happened before, or since). The fire was powerful enough to melt steel columns, but one of the hijackers' passports was found only slightly singed at the crash site. They should write a book about it.

Nobody in the mainstream media can spell "Reichstag Fire"... but that's another story...

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 14.20 points (0.34%), finishing at 4203.80 points, which was also its intraday high. The index hit an intraday low of 4184.7 just after 10:30 a.m. Sydney time. Since mid-May the All Ords has stacked on over 300 points, without stopping for breath. Some might call it impressive - but would you say the same thing if you saw a guy on PCP put his hand through a plate-glass window? No - you would say that the chap was behaving irrationally.

Total volume traded on the ASX was a solid 890 million units, 6.6% above its 10-day average. Of the 483 stocks in the All Ordinaries, 207 rose and 153 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin just under 2:1, with 280.91 million shares traded in gainers while 140.86million shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - rose by 17.70 points (0.42%), finishing at 4246.50 points. That's just 20 points (0.49%) shy of its record set back in March - whereas the All Ords is more than 50 points (1.15%) away from its record high set on the same date.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 7.70 points (0.34%), finishing at 2285.70 points. Within the index members, there were 12 that rose, and 8 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 53.49 while volume in the losers totalled 43.37m units.

The major winners in the "big guns" were -

• Wesfarmers (WES), +$1.06 (2.8%) to $38.86 on volume of 1.29m shares;
• QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.32 (2.08%) to $15.72 on volume of 1.81m shares; and
• Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$0.28 (1.44%) to $19.70 on volume of 4.76m shares; and
• Australia And New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.31 (1.42%) to $22.07 on volume of 4.33m shares; and
• Rio Tinto (RIO), +$0.60 (1.39%) to $43.90 on volume of 2.15m shares.

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

• News Corporation (NWSLV), -$0.30 (1.37%) to $21.60 on volume of 3.12m shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), -$0.35 (0.91%) to $37.95 on volume of 4.24m shares; and
• Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.03 (0.58%) to $5.14 on volume of 19.83m shares; and
• Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.16 (0.58%) to $27.59 on volume of 1.11m shares; and
• Alumina (AWC), -$0.03 (0.53%) to $5.61 on volume of 6.9m shares.

At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index rose by 8.30 points (0.35%), finishing at 2357.40 points. That's still 82 points or 3.3% from its all-time high... notice the pattern? The further you move from the XJO, the farther still to go to break the highs... it's called 'circling the wagons'.

The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -

• SDI (SDI), +$0.12 (17.16%) to $0.79 on volume of 795,000 shares;
• Schaffer Corporation (SFC), +$0.51 (9.83%) to $5.70 on volume of 50,000 shares; and
• AAV (AVV), +$0.09 (8.49%) to $1.15 on volume of 495,000 shares; and
• Pacifica Group (PBB), +$0.12 (6.27%) to $1.95 on volume of 609,000 shares; and
• Orbital Corporation (OEC), +$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.11 on volume of 3.46m shares.

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

• Emperor Mines (EMP), -$0.03 (10.34%) to $0.26 on volume of 15,000 shares;
• Multiemedia (MUL), -$0.00 (5.88%) to $0.02 on volume of 5.5m shares; and
• Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.01 (5.88%) to $0.16 on volume of 342,000 shares; and
• Progen Industries (PGL), -$0.10 (4.55%) to $2.10 on volume of 200,000 shares; and
• FKP Property Group (FKP), -$0.14 (4.39%) to $3.05 on volume of 447,000 shares.

Index Changes
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	4203.8	14.2	0.34%	542.81m
XTL	S&P/ASX 20	2285.7	7.7	0.34%	96.86m
XFL	S&P/ASX 50	4191.8	17.9	0.43%	213.56m
XTO	S&P/ASX 100	3450.9	14.6	0.42%	339.2m
XJO	S&P/ASX 200	4246.5	17.7	0.42%	432.08m
XKO	S&P/ASX 300	4238.7	17.6	0.42%	0
XMD	S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50	4093.7	15.7	0.38%	0
XSO	S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries	2357.4	8.3	0.35%	154.41m

All Ordinaries Market Internals

Market Breadth
	ASX20	XTO	XJO	XAO	XSO	Market
Advances	12	65	115	207	86	461
Declines	8	26	54	153	69	451
Advancing Volume	53.49m	218.39m	257.58m	280.91	65.66	469.25
Declining Volume	43.37m	76.93m	99.38m	140.86	44.65	279.84

S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices

The top sector for the day was Industrials which gained 1.09% to 5143.90 points. The sector was helped by

• Wesfarmers (WES), +$1.06 (2.8%) to $38.86 on volume of 1.29m shares;
• GWA International (GWT), +$0.08 (2.67%) to $3.08 on volume of 543,000 shares; and
• Coates Hire (COA), +$0.11 (2.51%) to $4.49 on volume of 222,000 shares; and
• Qantas Airways (QAN), +$0.07 (2.14%) to $3.34 on volume of 15.44m shares; and
• Corporate Express Australia (CXP), +$0.12 (2.13%) to $5.76 on volume of 524,000 shares.

Second in the sector leadership stakes was Materials which gained 0.94% to 7097.90 points. The sector leaders were -

• Paperlinx (PPX), +$0.10 (3.82%) to $2.72 on volume of 9.02m shares;
• Great Southern Plantations (GTP), +$0.15 (3.61%) to $4.30 on volume of 1.51m shares; and
• Croesus Mining (CRS), +$0.01 (3.45%) to $0.30 on volume of 5.6m shares; and
• James Hardie Industries N.V. (JHX), +$0.22 (3.06%) to $7.42 on volume of 3.76m shares; and
• Adelaide Brighton (ABC), +$0.06 (3.01%) to $1.88 on volume of 700,000 shares.

The bronze today went to Information Technology which gained 0.88% to 389.80 points. The sector was led by

• IRESS Market Technology (IRE), +$0.05 (1.15%) to $4.40 on volume of 105,000 shares;
• Computershare (CPU), +$0.06 (1.01%) to $5.99 on volume of 2.38m shares; and
• Baycorp Advantage (BCA), +$0.03 (0.99%) to $3.05 on volume of 904,000 shares; and
• Infomedia Ltd (IFM), +$0.01 (0.93%) to $0.54 on volume of 586,000 shares; and
• MYOB (MYO), -$0.00 (0%) to $1.07 on volume of 371,000 shares.

The worst-performed sector today was Telecommunications which lost 0.41% to 1823.90 points (in other words, Telstra fell). 

• Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.03 (0.58%) to $5.14 on volume of 19.83m shares; and
• Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), +$0.03 (0.53%) to $5.65 on volume of 1.69m shares.

Just in front of last place on the sector table was Energy which lost 0.17% to 9043.50 points. The sector was pulled down by

• Worleyparsons (WOR), -$0.12 (1.66%) to $7.13 on volume of 194,000 shares;
• Caltex Australia (CTX), -$0.11 (0.69%) to $15.84 on volume of 591,000 shares;
• Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.16 (0.58%) to $27.59 on volume of 1.11m shares;
• Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), -$0.01 (0.5%) to $1.98 on volume of 823,000 shares; and
• Tap Oil (TAP), -$0.01 (0.48%) to $2.09 on volume of 202,000 shares.

Sector Indices
Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XNJ	Industrials	5143.9	55.3	1.09%	53.13m
XMJ	Materials	7097.9	65.8	0.94%	86.52m
XIJ	Information Technology	389.8	3.4	0.88%	8.18m
XSJ	Consumer Staples	5576.1	26.3	0.47%	40.39m
XPJ	Property Trusts	1828.3	5.3	0.29%	117.23m
XFJ	Financials	5090.9	14.5	0.29%	172.49m
XXJ	ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts	5176.9	14.7	0.28%	58.16m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	2252.2	3.6	0.16%	29m
XHJ	Healthcare	5090	6.5	0.13%	13.61m
XUJ	Utilities	5019.6	-5.4	-0.11%	7.28m
XEJ	Energy	9043.5	-15.3	-0.17%	14.08m
XTJ	Telecommunications	1823.9	-7.6	-0.41%	21.52m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
TLS	Telstra Corporation	5.14	-0.03	-0.58%	19.83m
QAN	Qantas Airways	3.34	0.07	2.14%	15.44m
DRT	DB Rreef Trust	1.43	0.01	0.35%	15.34m
BHP	BHP Billiton	17.46	0.12	0.69%	11.3m
SGT	Singapore Telecommunications	2.04	-0.01	-0.49%	9.91m
MGR	Mirvac Group	3.76	0.03	0.8%	9.7m

All Ords Percentage Gainers
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
SDI	SDI	0.79	0.12	17.16%	794545
IHG	Intellect Holdings	0.026	0.003	13.04%	2.94m
ARA	Ariadne Australia	0.36	0.04	10.94%	147000
SFC	Schaffer Corporation	5.7	0.51	9.83%	50285
AVV	AAV	1.15	0.09	8.49%	495415

All Ords Percentage Decliners
Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
CMP	Compumedics	0.23	-0.02	-8%	269600
MUL	Multiemedia	0.016	-0.001	-5.88%	5.5m
LYC	Lynas Corporation	0.16	-0.01	-5.88%	341965
TIR	Titan Resources	0.055	-0.003	-5.17%	2.03m
HTA	Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia)	0.28	-0.02	-5.08%	694789

Elsewhere in the Region...

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 79.96 points (0.71%) to close at 11415.88 points. The opened with a weensy dip to 11355.85 points, but after 10 minutes started a drive upwards and hit 11400 just before the 20-minute mark of the session. From there it was a wishy-washy sideways-to-down market either side of lunch, with 11400 providing the resistance. Just after 1:30 p.m. Tokyo time that resistance fell ,and the index wafted to its of 11429.93 just minutes before the close.

The Kiwi Market advanced 22.97 points (0.74%) to close at 3139.202 points in a coast-to-coast rise; the open was the low (3116.229 points) and the day's high (3143.93) was registered minutes before the closing bell.

A total of 36 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 19.8million units. Decliners numbered 8, and total volume traded in losers was 9million shares. Individual stocks that dud well included...

• Restaurant Brands (RBD), +NZ$0.32 (25%) to NZ$1.60 on volume of 2.51m shares;
• Feltex Carpets  (FTX), +NZ$0.03 (4.41%) to NZ$0.71 on volume of 231,000 shares;
• Hallenstein Glass (HLG), +NZ$0.15 (3.9%) to NZ$4.00 on volume of 21,000 shares;
• Mainfreight Limited (MFT), +NZ$0.09 (3.53%) to NZ$2.64 on volume of 319,000 shares;
• Port Of Tauranga (POT), +NZ$0.13 (2.91%) to NZ$4.60 on volume of 151,000 shares; and
• Trustpower Limited (TPW), +NZ$0.15 (2.75%) to NZ$5.60 on volume of 10,000 shares.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 9.73 points (-0.07%). The index opened near the day's high, hitting 13953.03 in the first ten minutes. From there it has been a choppy pre-lunch session with a downward bias, and the low of  13877.85points was posted at exactly 11:3- a.m. HK time.

Within the Hang Seng, 7 index components rose, while 15 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 60.7million units, and total volume traded in losers was 40.6million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...

• Esprit Holdings (0330), -HK$1.75 (3.33%) to HK$50.75 on volume of 5.89m shares;
• Denway Motors (0203), -HK$0.08 (2.61%) to HK$2.80 on volume of 5.79m shares;
• China Unicom (0762), -HK$0.10 (1.57%) to HK$6.25 on volume of 1.81m shares;
• Li & Fung (0494), -HK$0.20 (1.36%) to HK$14.55 on volume of 1.75m shares;
• Cosco Pacific (1199), -HK$0.15 (1.02%) to HK$14.55 on volume of 1.16m shares; and
• MTR Corporation (0066), -HK$0.10 (0.7%) to HK$14.15 on volume of 2.18m shares.

Regional Indices
Country	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
New Zealand	NZSE50	3139.202	22.97	0.74%	30.85m
Japan	Nikkei 225	11415.88	79.96	0.71%	0
Korea	KOSPI	1001.94	18.19	1.85%	395204
Singapore	Straits Times	2193.74	-8.45	-0.38%	0
Hong Kong	Hang Seng	13895.08	-9.73	-0.07%	130.85m
Malaysia	KLSE Comp	895.62	2.98	0.33%	0