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Fridays.
Everybody looks forward to them, I guess, but usually they spell
'boredom' in financial markets. The lassitude used to be caused by the
renowned 'Friday Fade', as market participants head down to the boozer
for the standard 13-course Friday lunch (12 pots and a packet of
chips), then head back to the office 'half-scheisen' and talk about the
weekend's footy, or play 'corridor cricket'.
These days though, I guess that the extra layer of bullshit-artists in middle management have probably put the kibosh on that particular aspect of the culture... people probably spend Friday afternoons having random drug tests and tidying up their workstations.... Sucked in.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries
- fell by 21.80 points (-0.52%), finishing at 4203.80 points. The index
opened at its high (4225.60) and had fallen to 4184.3 within the first
20 minutes. At that point, the index was down 83 points from last
Friday's close (4267.30) and was just 4 points above its close from the
Friday of the week before last.
Yesterday (or was it the day before? I forget) I indicated that the market had not fulfilled my expectations for this week, and I sent the market back to do some more falling... indicating that I would not be happy unless the thing fell to 80 points from last week's close. Thankfully, the All Ords decided to stop being insolent, and did the right thing.
Anyhow -
once the market had fulfilled my expectations I no longer gave a crap
what it did for the remainder of the day - I had a sleep, then spent
some time formatting my delightful Commodities database. After I post
this I will go and bleed the brakes on the Morris 1100 RantMobile, preparatory for a breakfast outing tomorrow.
Total volume traded on the ASX was a solid 1.10 billion units, 12.2% above its 10-day average. Of
the 483 stocks in the index, 256 fell and 120 managed to close in the
green. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 3.7:1,
with 521.05 million shares traded in losers while 139.23 million shares
traded in they days gainers. With that sort of tilt, plus Monday's
normal mindless upwards bias, the open on Monday should be a little
'pop' upwards.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200
- fell by 24.30 points (-0.57%), finishing at 4245.60 points. At its
low today, it was also just 4 points above its close from two Friday's
ago, and was down just under 90 points from last week's close (4312).
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - fell by 8.70 points (-0.38%), finishing at 2286.90 points - down 32 points for the week. Within the index members, there were 4 that rose, and 16 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 29.15 while volume in the losers totalled 176.04m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.51 (1.79%) to $29.00 on volume of 11.69m shares;
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.22 (1.38%) to $16.16 on volume of 2.47m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWSLV), +$0.04 (0.18%) to $21.69 on volume of 5.59m shares; and
- News Corporation (NWS), +$0.01 (0.04%) to $22.71 on volume of 9.41m shares; and
- St George Bank (SGB), -$0.01 (0.04%) to $25.79 on volume of 789,000 shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Amcor (AMC), -$0.14 (1.98%) to $6.94 on volume of 6.45m shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), -$0.45 (1.17%) to $37.93 on volume of 10.45m shares; and
- Alumina (AWC), -$0.06 (1.05%) to $5.68 on volume of 9.83m shares; and
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), -$0.20 (1.02%) to $19.46 on volume of 5.5m shares; and
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.04 (0.6%) to $6.60 on volume of 14.2m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index fell by 23.70 points (-1.00%), finishing at 2346.50 points - a fall of just under 46 points for the week. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Sirtex Medical (SRX), +$0.22 (17.2%) to $1.47 on volume of 205,000 shares;
- Progen Industries (PGL), +$0.15 (6.41%) to $2.49 on volume of 323,000 shares; and
- Tap Oil (TAP), +$0.13 (6.05%) to $2.28 on volume of 867,000 shares; and
- Croesus Mining (CRS), +$0.02 (5.97%) to $0.36 on volume of 3.99m shares; and
- Orbital Corporation (OEC), +$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.11 on volume of 356,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Sydney Gas Ltd (SGL), -$0.04 (7.61%) to $0.43 on volume of 7.64m shares;
- Nylex (NLX), -$0.02 (7.02%) to $0.27 on volume of 28.68m shares; and
- Multiemedia (MUL), -$0.00 (6.67%) to $0.01 on volume of 9.12m shares; and
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.01 (6.67%) to $0.14 on volume of 450,000 shares; and
- Thakral Holdings Group (THG), -$0.05 (6.06%) to $0.78 on volume of 168,000 shares.
| Index Changes | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4203.8 | -21.8 | -0.52% | 740.59m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2286.9 | -8.7 | -0.38% | 205.19m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4195.7 | -16.8 | -0.4% | 369.49m |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3451.2 | -18.3 | -0.53% | 513.87m |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4245.6 | -24.3 | -0.57% | 595.91m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4237.2 | -24.4 | -0.57% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4073.5 | -53.6 | -1.3% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2346.5 | -23.7 | -1% | 181.11m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Market Breadth | ||||||
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
| Advances | 4 | 21 | 41 | 120 | 46 | 356 |
| Declines | 16 | 74 | 139 | 256 | 116 | 582 |
| Advancing Volume | 29.15m | 98.52m | 118.98m | 139.23 | 29.09 | 236.78 |
| Declining Volume | 176.04m | 407.33m | 444.55m | 521.05 | 118.03 | 751.2 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was Energy which gained 1.33% to 9348.10 points as oil strengthened again. The sector was helped by
- Tap Oil (TAP), +$0.13 (6.05%) to $2.28 on volume of 867,000 shares;
- Oil Search (OSH), +$0.11 (3.97%) to $2.88 on volume of 16.26m shares; and
- Santos (STO), +$0.31 (2.83%) to $11.26 on volume of 3.06m shares; and
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.05 (2.34%) to $2.19 on volume of 2.78m shares; and
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.51 (1.79%) to $29.00 on volume of 11.69m shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Utilities which gained 1.21% to 4957.30 points. The sector leaders were -
- Australian Pipeline Trust (APA), +$0.08 (2.16%) to $3.79 on volume of 75,000 shares;
- Alinta (ALN), +$0.20 (2.08%) to $9.82 on volume of 1.65m shares;
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), +$0.25 (1.79%) to $14.20 on volume of 3.56m shares;
- Envestra (ENV), +$0.01 (0.44%) to $1.14 on volume of 275,000 shares; and
- Energy Developments (ENE), -$0.00 (0%) to $4.21 on volume of 178,000 shares.
These were the only two sectors that gained today - the third-placed Consumer Staples lost -0.06% to 5607.40 points, but a loss is a loss, so it's members don't get a mention.
The worst-performed sector today was the still-fluff-ridden Information Technology sector which lost 2.21% to 389.90 points. The sector was dragged lower by- ERG (ERG), -$0.01 (3.85%) to $0.25 on volume of 1.62m shares;
- Computershare (CPU), -$0.17 (2.76%) to $5.98 on volume of 3.91m shares;
- MYOB (MYO), -$0.03 (2.7%) to $1.08 on volume of 472,000 shares;
- Vision Systems (VSL), -$0.03 (2.48%) to $1.18 on volume of 578,000 shares; and
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -$0.04 (1.32%) to $2.99 on volume of 447,000 shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was Property Trusts which lost 2.09% to 1787.70 points. The sector was pulled down by
- Thakral Holdings Group (THG), -$0.05 (6.06%) to $0.78 on volume of 168,000 shares;
- Galileo Shopping America Trust (GSA), -$0.08 (5.91%) to $1.20 on volume of 340,000 shares; and
- Macquarie Countrywide Trust (MCW), -$0.11 (5.15%) to $1.94 on volume of 4.24m shares; and
- Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA), -$0.07 (4.91%) to $1.26 on volume of 2.86m shares; and
- Multiplex Group (MXG), -$0.14 (4.9%) to $2.72 on volume of 9.34m shares.
| Sector Indices | |||||
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 9348.1 | 122.8 | 1.33% | 39.71m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4957.3 | 59.1 | 1.21% | 9.92m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5607.4 | -3.2 | -0.06% | 48.37m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7197.6 | -20.5 | -0.28% | 168.96m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 5149.4 | -18.9 | -0.37% | 10.32m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1796.6 | -8.9 | -0.49% | 29.31m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5155.2 | -29.4 | -0.57% | 93.93m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2229.2 | -13.8 | -0.62% | 56.02m |
| XFJ | Financials | 5049.1 | -46.1 | -0.9% | 162.06m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5143.3 | -58.4 | -1.12% | 73.27m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1787.7 | -38.2 | -2.09% | 70.86m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 389.9 | -8.8 | -2.21% | 7.55m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
| All Ords Volume Leaders | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 17.76 | -0.03 | -0.17% | 42.96m |
| NLX | Nylex | 0.27 | -0.02 | -7.02% | 28.68m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 5.08 | -0.02 | -0.39% | 23.54m |
| PMN | Promina Group | 4.76 | -0.1 | -2.06% | 23.41m |
| LHG | Lihir Gold | 1.28 | 0.03 | 2.41% | 20.33m |
| RIO | Rio Tinto | 44.43 | -0.22 | -0.49% | 18.75m |
| All Ords Percentage Gainers | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| SRX | Sirtex Medical | 1.47 | 0.22 | 17.2% | 205153 |
| HLD | Homeleisure | 0.24 | 0.03 | 11.63% | 594000 |
| PGL | Progen Industries | 2.49 | 0.15 | 6.41% | 322797 |
| CLT | Cellnet Group | 1.39 | 0.08 | 6.13% | 72407 |
| TAP | Tap Oil | 2.28 | 0.13 | 6.05% | 867300 |
| All Ords Percentage Decliners | |||||
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| BSO | Bass Strait Oil Trust | 2.04 | -0.46 | -18.4% | 309937 |
| ETW | Evans & Tate | 0.4 | -0.09 | -18.37% | 2.44m |
| SMC | Strategic Minerals Corporation | 0.14 | -0.03 | -15.15% | 749153 |
| SGL | Sydney Gas Ltd | 0.43 | -0.04 | -7.61% | 7.64m |
| NLX | Nylex | 0.27 | -0.02 | -7.02% | 28.68m |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 39.72 points (-0.34%) to close at 11537.03 points - with yet another one of those inexplicable 20-point 'pops' in the last seconds... seems like very market is some corrupt dickheads' plaything. The index opened weak, dipping to 11472.61 points within ten minutes of the open - at which point it was down 104 points from its previous close. From there it bounced back sharply to reconnect with 11500, but it wasn't until after lunch that a surge took it well through 11500 and to its session high of 11537.03 (which was hit at 1:55 p.m., and again right at the close).
The Kiwi Market declined 35.36 points (-1.11%) to 3137.68 (a loss of 43 points for the week) - in a decline that started at the open and continued until about 80 minutes before the close. At that point, limited buying helped to prevent a descent to further lows, but didn't exactly help the index up at all. The index hit a high of 3173.026 right at the open, and fell to 3132.964 points just before 2:40 p.m. NZ time.
A total of 12 stocks within the NZSE50 rose, with volume in advancers totalling 12.6million units. Decliners numbered 29, and total volume traded in losers was 23.2million shares. Individual stocks that were a but suck included...
- Auckland International Airport (AIA), -NZ$0.09 (3.93%) to NZ$2.20 on volume of 1.92m shares;
- Sky City Entertainment (SKC), -NZ$0.17 (3.75%) to NZ$4.36 on volume of 334,000 shares;
- Promina Group (PMN), -NZ$0.17 (3.18%) to NZ$5.18 on volume of 136,000 shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -NZ$0.10 (3.03%) to NZ$3.20 on volume of 17,000 shares; and
- AXA Asia Pacific (AXA), -NZ$0.15 (3%) to NZ$4.85 on volume of 7,000 shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 25.21 points (-0.18%) to 14165.23, but still has almost half a session left before the weekend. So far this week, it's actually up almost 300 points for the week. The index bounced off 10108.39 points right on 11 a.m. after opening down, but rose to hit a high of 14171.86 just before the lunch bell sounded.
Within the Hang Seng, 7 index components rose, while 21 stocks fell. Volume in the gainers in Hong Kong's big-cap index totalled 205.4million units, and total volume traded in losers was 88million shares. Individual stocks that contributed to the decline included...
- Denway Motors (0203), -HK$0.05 (1.72%) to HK$2.85 on volume of 8.61m shares;
- China Resources (0291), -HK$0.15 (1.28%) to HK$11.55 on volume of 997,000 shares;
- PCCW (0008), -HK$0.05 (1.04%) to HK$4.75 on volume of 2.96m shares;
- China Unicom (0762), -HK$0.05 (0.76%) to HK$6.50 on volume of 9.76m shares;
- Cathay Pacific Airways (0293), -HK$0.10 (0.7%) to HK$14.20 on volume of 817,000 shares; and
- Johnson Electrics H (0179), -HK$0.05 (0.7%) to HK$7.10 on volume of 1.44m shares.
| Regional Indices | |||||
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3137.668 | -35.36 | -1.11% | 38.14m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 11537.03 | -39.72 | -0.34% | 0 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 1002.43 | -8.37 | -0.83% | 400342 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2216.68 | -6.77 | -0.3% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 14165.23 | -25.21 | -0.18% | 318.72m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 898.43 | -3.88 | -0.43% | 0 |
