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With no guidance forthcoming frrm the US tonight, the market behaved as if it was Friday aready.
In the US tonight it's Thanksgiving, which is when folks celebrate the proclivity of Puritans to spread carnage, disease and death among the Pequot and Wampanoag peoples). The First Thanksgiving was not the 'buckled hat' crowd sitting down like chums with a pack of featherheaded redskins celebrating the harvest.
Not a bit of it... it was a feast of thanks for God helping the newly landed White-folks to uncork a major barrel of death and destruction on the natives. Look it up.
Anyhow... like I said, it was like a Friday; everything happened before midday and from there it just hung on by its toenails.
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries (XAO) - rose by 32.50 points (0.71%), finishing at 4594.90 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4598.50 (4600-ish) just after 2:45 p.m. Sydney time, having already traded above 4595 before 11:30 a.m. following a spurt off the open (which was also the session low, at 4562.4). So you would be correct in declaring that after 11:30 a.m. the index went pretty much of nowhere.
Total volume traded on the ASX was a solid 1.13 billion units, 14.7% above its 10-day average. Of the 487 stocks in the index, 172 rose while 107 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2.3:1, with 419.98million shares traded in gainers while 186.29million 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 (XJO) - rose by 35.70 points (0.77%), finishing at 4652.30 points. There was absolutely no joy on the SPISpy front - not a cracker; not even so much as a hint of a low-probability entry. It would have been easy to jump on the early moonshot, but those suckers have a way of dying the moment they look invincible. Far better to wait for a failure signal - but today none came.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - rose by 22.20 points (0.89%), finishing at 2503.10 points. Within the index members, there were 17 that rose, and 3 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 94.28m shares while volume in the losers totalled 88.91m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.230 (3.06%) to $7.750 on volume of 9.86m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.150 (2.36%) to $6.510 on volume of 4.93m shares;
- St George Bank (SGB), +$0.600 (2.07%) to $29.610 on volume of 2.93m shares;
- Rinker Group (RIN), +$0.300 (1.97%) to $15.500 on volume of 5.72m shares; and
- Rio Tinto (RIO), +$1.190 (1.96%) to $61.890 on volume of 2.39m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.110 (2.74%) to $3.900 on volume of 85.23m shares;
- Macquarie Bank (MBL), -$0.73 (1.06%) to $68.35 on volume of 1.09m shares;
- Suncorp-Metway (SUN), -$0.06 (0.3%) to $19.95 on volume of 2.58m shares;
- Coles Myer Ltd (CML), +$0.04 (0.4%) to $10.03 on volume of 5.76m shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.07 (0.41%) to $17.30 on volume of 6.07m shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index (XSO) rose by 13.10 points (0.51%), finishing at 2597.70 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Emperor Mines (EMP), +$0.045 (10.71%) to $0.465 on volume of 279,000 shares;
- Miller's Retail (MRL), +$0.100 (9.26%) to $1.180 on volume of 6.71m shares; and
- Petsec Energy (PSA), +$0.105 (6.69%) to $1.675 on volume of 332,000 shares; and
- Norwood Abbey (NAL), +$0.030 (6.67%) to $0.480 on volume of 48,000 shares; and
- Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust (BWP), +$0.110 (5.42%) to $2.140 on volume of 634,000 shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.015 (10.71%) to $0.125 on volume of 840,000 shares;
- Mcguigan Simeon Wines (MGW), -$0.240 (7.29%) to $3.050 on volume of 2.27m shares; and
- Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.025 (7.04%) to $0.330 on volume of 4.71m shares; and
- Dragon Mining (DRA), -$0.010 (6.9%) to $0.135 on volume of 508,000 shares; and
- Equigold (EQI), -$0.060 (4.38%) to $1.310 on volume of 66,000 shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4594.9 | 32.5 | 0.71% | 735.02m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2503.1 | 22.2 | 0.89% | 0 |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4557.3 | 37.2 | 0.82% | 342.36m |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3778.8 | 29.3 | 0.78% | 501.69m |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4652.3 | 35.7 | 0.77% | 612.23m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4644 | 34.9 | 0.76% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4671.8 | 25.3 | 0.54% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2597.7 | 13.1 | 0.51% | 157.03m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 17 | 63 | 122 | 172 | 90 | 504 |
| Declines | 3 | 21 | 45 | 107 | 66 | 424 |
| Advancing Volume | 94.28m | 305.43m | 380.01m | 419.98m | 92.3m | 617.14m |
| Declining Volume | 88.91m | 139.53m | 169.76m | 186.29m | 43.67m | 330.66m |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was XUJ Utilities which gained 1.50% to 5525.90 points. The sector was helped by
- Alinta (ALN), +$0.240 (2.19%) to $11.200 on volume of 843,000 shares;
- Diversified Utility And Energy Trusts (DUE), +$0.050 (1.98%) to $2.570 on volume of 1.06m shares;
- Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), +$0.220 (1.37%) to $16.320 on volume of 2.07m shares;
- Envestra (ENV), +$0.010 (0.87%) to $1.165 on volume of 532,000 shares; and
- Australian Pipeline Trust (APA), +$0.030 (0.8%) to $3.800 on volume of 355,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes was XIJ Information Technology which gained 1.48% to 452.70 points. The sector leaders were -
- Computershare (CPU), +$0.140 (2.05%) to $6.980 on volume of 2.27m shares;
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), +$0.005 (0.93%) to $0.540 on volume of 237,000 shares;
- MYOB (MYO), +$0.010 (0.88%) to $1.140 on volume of 282,000 shares;
- Vision Systems (VSL), +$0.015 (0.88%) to $1.710 on volume of 587,000 shares; and
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), +$0.030 (0.88%) to $3.430 on volume of 3.15m shares.
The bronze today went to XMJ Materials which gained 1.34% to 8672.60 points. The sector was led by
- Kimberley Diamond Company (KIM), +$0.070 (5.34%) to $1.380 on volume of 1.23m shares;
- Newcrest Mining (NCM), +$0.680 (3.39%) to $20.720 on volume of 2.24m shares;
- Onesteel (OST), +$0.100 (2.83%) to $3.630 on volume of 3.32m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.150 (2.36%) to $6.510 on volume of 4.93m shares; and
- Portman (PMM), +$0.090 (2.04%) to $4.500 on volume of 292,000 shares.
The worst-performed sector today - the only sector that spilt red ink for the session - was XTJ Telecommunications which lost 2.30% to 1444.70 points, thanks laregly to the swoon in Telstra. The sector's 2 components performed as follows:
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.110 (2.74%) to $3.900 on volume of 85.23m shares; and
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.020 (0.36%) to $5.530 on volume of 6.97m shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XUJ | Utilities | 5525.9 | 81.7 | 1.5% | 5.47m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 452.7 | 6.6 | 1.48% | 7.55m |
| XMJ | Materials | 8672.6 | 114.9 | 1.34% | 112.59m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2272.7 | 25.7 | 1.14% | 56.99m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5728.1 | 51.7 | 0.91% | 73.03m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6007.8 | 52.7 | 0.88% | 34.61m |
| XFJ | Financials | 5539.8 | 44.8 | 0.82% | 193.59m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5281.3 | 25.6 | 0.49% | 75.33m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1874.1 | 8.7 | 0.47% | 125.27m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 6303.7 | 20.4 | 0.32% | 15.58m |
| XEJ | Energy | 10261.1 | 11.5 | 0.11% | 24.17m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1444.7 | -34 | -2.3% | 92.21m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 3.9 | -0.11 | -2.74% | 85.23m |
| PNA | Pan Australian Resources | 0.21 | 0.01 | 5% | 20.83m |
| MCW | Macquarie Countrywide Trust | 2.04 | 0.01 | 0.49% | 17.41m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 21.86 | 0.31 | 1.44% | 16.18m |
| QAN | Qantas Airways | 3.72 | 0.05 | 1.36% | 15.9m |
| MTS | Metcash Trading | 4.5 | 0.13 | 2.97% | 14.89m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMP | Emperor Mines | 0.47 | 0.05 | 10.71% | 279280 |
| MRL | Miller's Retail | 1.18 | 0.1 | 9.26% | 6.71m |
| PSA | Petsec Energy | 1.68 | 0.11 | 6.69% | 331500 |
| BWP | Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust | 2.14 | 0.11 | 5.42% | 633572 |
| KIM | Kimberley Diamond Company | 1.38 | 0.07 | 5.34% | 1.23m |
All Ords Percentage Decliners
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LYC | Lynas Corporation | 0.13 | -0.02 | -10.71% | 840000 |
| BLT | Benitec | 0.17 | -0.02 | -8.33% | 404000 |
| MGW | Mcguigan Simeon Wines | 3.05 | -0.24 | -7.29% | 2.27m |
| CRS | Croesus Mining | 0.33 | -0.03 | -7.04% | 4.71m |
| DRA | Dragon Mining | 0.14 | -0.01 | -6.9% | 508298 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Regional Indices
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3316.69 | 8.72 | 0.26% | 31.45m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 14745.59 | 37.27 | 0.25% | 0 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 1291.71 | 9.69 | 0.76% | 549747 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2300.19 | 3.67 | 0.16% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 15065.25 | 2.9 | 0.02% | 129.54m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 903.42 | 0.52 | 0.06% | 0 |
