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Everybody seems to be perfectly happy to play 'pass the ticking parcel'. Well, I say 'everybody', but of course there are millions of poor schlubs out there who have no idea what is being done with their money. Those poor stiffs whose paypackets are raped for 9% every week, who think their money is being handled with the utmost of prudential oversight. They think that the fawning jerkwads on the Colonic Last State ads are an accurate representation of the seriousness with which funds mis-managers approach their jobs.
Poor sods... they pick an 'Imputation Fund' from their little library of selection choices, and never realise that 'Imputation Fund' means about the same as 'Pro-Vitamin B5'... i.e., it's a marketing name, not an indication of the sorts of stocks held in the funds...
Everyone's still chasing market
cap, by the looks - although there was
also some beta-chasing today. I'm still short-term very bearish - these
little opening orgasms are fine if you're silly enough to buy the close
each day and exit after each open (a suicidal methodology), but the
actual underlying market action is pure 'musical chairs'.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries - rose by 32.70 points (0.80%), finishing at 4136.40 points. The index opened at its low (4103.7 points) and rocketed to its intraday high (4148.30) within half an hour. From there, it was an attempt to hold the highs.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 790 million units, 2.6% below its 10-day average. Of the 483 stocks in the index, 232 rose while 134 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2.4:1, with 312.23 million shares traded in gainers while 131.86 million shares traded in the day's losers. Yet again, the advance=decline numbers were strongly skewed to the big-caps; the further removed from the Top 20, the lower the proportion of total issues that rose.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 - rose by 32.90 points (0.79%), finishing at 4180.70 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - rose by 12.00 points (0.53%), finishing at 2268.30 points. Within the index members, there were 15 that rose, and 4 losers (and one of them - Telstra - only fell by a cent). Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 55.38 million shares, while volume in the losers totalled 50.3m units.
Click
link for Today's
Price-Sensitive ASX Announcements...
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$1.07 (4.21%) to $26.48 on volume of 3.11m shares;
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.37 (2.49%) to $15.25 on volume of 1.84m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.11 (1.95%) to $5.74 on volume of 4.54m shares;
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.32 (1.9%) to $17.17 on volume of 16.64m shares; and
- Amcor (AMC), +$0.13 (1.88%) to $7.04 on volume of 2.77m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- National Australia Bank (NAB), -$0.64 (2.01%) to $31.14 on volume of 17.9m shares;
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.04 (0.61%) to $6.52 on volume of 7.34m shares;
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), -$0.06 (0.31%) to $19.36 on volume of 4.81m shares; and
- Telstra Corporation (TLS),
-$0.01 (0.2%) to $5.06 on volume of 20.25m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index rose by 17.50 points (0.77%), finishing at 2284.80 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Virotec International (VTI), +$0.06 (10%) to $0.61 on volume of 143,000 shares;
- Psivida (PSD), +$0.07 (8.43%) to $0.90 on volume of 1.34m shares;
- Miller's Retail (MRL), +$0.06 (6.88%) to $0.86 on volume of 855,000 shares;
- Multiemedia (MUL), +$0.001 (6.67%) to $0.016 on volume of 5.37m shares; and
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.10 (5.71%) to $1.85 on volume of 2.39m shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Ventracor (VCR), -$0.17 (10.82%) to $1.36 on volume of 9.71m shares;
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.01 (5.88%) to $0.16 on volume of 384,000 shares; and
- Perilya (PEM), -$0.04 (5.13%) to $0.74 on volume of 618,000 shares;
- Progen Industries (PGL), -$0.10 (4.76%) to $2.00 on volume of 659,000 shares; and
- Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.02 (4.62%) to $0.31 on volume of 951,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4136.4 | 32.7 | 0.8% | 544.83m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2268.3 | 12 | 0.53% | 110.03m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4135 | 31.2 | 0.76% | 215.71m |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3401.6 | 26.7 | 0.79% | 345.47m |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4180.7 | 32.9 | 0.79% | 459.45m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4171.8 | 32.7 | 0.79% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4017.8 | 38.8 | 0.98% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2284.8 | 17.5 | 0.77% | 194.31m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | ||||||
|
|
XAO | XJO | XSO | ASX20 | Market | XTO |
| Advances | 232 | 128 | 95 | 15 | 527 | 73 |
| Declines | 134 | 46 | 61 | 4 | 385 | 16 |
| Advancing Volume | 312.23m | 278.36m | 108.9m | 55.38 | 484.75 | 230.96 |
| Declining Volume | 131.86m | 119.14m | 49.6m | 50.3 | 202.84 | 77.45 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Energy which gained 2.95% to 8790.20 points. The sector was helped by the huge burst upwards in oil prices (which in turn was partly due to rumours that 'King' Fahd is dead - which is as good a reason as any for Saudi Arabia to descend back to the tribalism that dominated before the betrayal of the Ikhwan by Lawrence's Bosses). Still, it's pretty good for oil stocks.
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.10 (5.71%) to $1.85 on volume of 2.39m shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.10 (5.22%) to $1.92 on volume of 7.88m shares;
- Roc Oil Company (ROC), +$0.08 (4.79%) to $1.75 on volume of 1.56m shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$1.07 (4.21%) to $26.48 on volume of 3.11m shares; and
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.07 (3.75%) to $1.94 on volume of 1.23m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Materials which gained 1.66% to 6949.40 points. The sector leaders were -
- Great Southern Plantations (GTP), +$0.20 (5.48%) to $3.85 on volume of 2.94m shares;
- Paperlinx (PPX), +$0.12 (5.13%) to $2.46 on volume of 6.4m shares;
- Boral (BLD), +$0.23 (3.83%) to $6.23 on volume of 2.42m shares;
- Lion Selection Group (LSG), +$0.07 (3.75%) to $1.80 on volume of 228,000 shares; and
- Oxiana (OXR), +$0.03 (2.89%) to $0.89 on volume of 7.37m shares.
The bronze today went to Utilities which gained 1.28% to 4986.80 points. The sector was led by
- Alinta (ALN), +$0.29 (2.94%) to $10.15 on volume of 875,000 shares;
- Energy Developments (ENE), +$0.05 (1.33%) to $3.82 on volume of 267,000 shares;
- Australian Pipeline Trust (APA), +$0.04 (1.08%) to $3.73 on volume of 138,000 shares;
- Pacific Hydro (PHY), +$0.02 (0.4%) to $5.07 on volume of 248,000 shares; and
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), +$0.02 (0.14%) to $14.13 on volume of 537,000 shares.
There was not a single sector that lost ground today - every sector went up.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 8790.2 | 252.1 | 2.95% | 37.02m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6949.4 | 113.3 | 1.66% | 93.93m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4986.8 | 62.8 | 1.28% | 2.94m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5060.9 | 60.2 | 1.2% | 50.37m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4846.6 | 49.1 | 1.02% | 17.91m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 378.2 | 3.5 | 0.93% | 3.99m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5621.4 | 37.8 | 0.68% | 34.28m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2208.6 | 14.5 | 0.66% | 20.75m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1776 | 9.1 | 0.52% | 115.9m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1800.4 | 3.9 | 0.22% | 21.39m |
| XFJ | Financials | 5025.4 | 10.7 | 0.21% | 176.87m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5133.6 | 6.6 | 0.13% | 65.52m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ABS | A.B.C. Learning Centres | 4.87 | -0.18 | -3.56% | 20.29m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 5.06 | -0.01 | -0.2% | 20.25m |
| MXG | Multiplex Group | 2.74 | 0.06 | 2.24% | 18.85m |
| NAB | National Australia Bank | 31.15 | -0.63 | -1.98% | 17.89m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 17.17 | 0.32 | 1.9% | 16.61m |
| MIG | Macquarie Infrastructure Group | 4.1 | 0.13 | 3.27% | 14.92m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| LOK | Looksmart | 1.02 | 0.10 | 10.27% | 97267 |
| VTI | Virotec International | 0.61 | 0.06 | 10% | 143430 |
| PSD | Psivida | 0.90 | 0.07 | 8.43% | 1.31m |
| TKR | Triako Resources | 0.90 | 0.07 | 8.43% | 97065 |
| ABI | Ambri | 0.15 | 0.01 | 7.14% | 708110 |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| VCR | Ventracor | 1.37 | -0.16 | -10.49% | 9.68m |
| LYC | Lynas Corporation | 0.16 | -0.01 | -5.88% | 383800 |
| PEM | Perilya | 0.74 | -0.04 | -5.13% | 618236 |
| PGL | Progen Industries | 2.00 | -0.10 | -4.76% | 658169 |
| CRS | Croesus Mining | 0.31 | -0.02 | -4.62% | 950632 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 31.65 points (-0.28%) to close at 11298.02 points (again, let's call that 11300-ish). The index hit a high of 11374.69 during the exuberant opening orgasm after the US skyrocket overnight, and then promptly began to sag like a zeppelin with a hole in it.
The Kiwi Market advanced 38.97 points (1.30%) in a coast-to-coast advance, and closed right on the high tick for the day, at 3035.026 points.
A total of 31 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 27.6 million units. Decliners numbered 9, and total volume traded in losers was a feeble 1.5million shares. Individual stocks that advanced most (in percentage terms) were...
- Auckland International Airport (AIA), +NZ$0.08 (4%) to NZ$2.08 on volume of 1.49m shares;
- Fletcher Building (FBU), +NZ$0.25 (3.99%) to NZ$6.52 on volume of 758,000 shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), +NZ$0.12 (3.83%) to NZ$3.25 on volume of 151,000 shares;
- Pumpkin Patch (PPL), +NZ$0.10 (3.77%) to NZ$2.75 on volume of 377,000 shares;
- NGC Holdings (NGC), +NZ$0.10 (3%) to NZ$3.43 on volume of 954,000 shares; and
- Sky City Entertainment (SKC), +NZ$0.12 (2.84%) to NZ$4.35 on volume of 2.53m shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index had declined 6.94 points (-0.05%) to 13866 points by lunchtime. The index hit a high of 13946.01 during its own little US-inspired opening orgasm, sagged almost 100 points before going to lunch just above the gain line.
Within the Hang Seng, 9 index components rose, while 14 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 65.7 million units, and total volume traded in losers was 53.8 million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Esprit Holdings (0330), -HK$1.50 (2.73%) to HK$53.50 on volume of 4.82m shares;
- Cosco Pacific (1199), -HK$0.35 (2.41%) to HK$14.15 on volume of 13.79m shares;
- China Merchant Holdings (0144), -HK$0.25 (1.76%) to HK$13.95 on volume of 5.16m shares;
- China Unicom (0762), -HK$0.10 (1.61%) to HK$6.10 on volume of 2.72m shares;
- Yue Yuen Industries (0551), -HK$0.35 (1.55%) to HK$22.30 on volume of 1.51m shares; and
- Henderson Investments (0097), -HK$0.15 (1.4%) to HK$10.60 on volume of 3.02m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3035.026 | 38.97 | 1.3% | 31.97m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11298.02 | -31.65 | -0.28% | 0 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 970.88 | 1.37 | 0.14% | 305844 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2190.76 | 13.83 | 0.64% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 13866.13 | -6.94 | -0.05% | 164.25m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 860.48 | -1.48 | -0.17% | 0 |
