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For the first time in almost a decade, I'm sufficiently not-fat at this time of the year to feel no need to clipper-off all my hair; usually at this time of year I'm carrying the odd stone of excess adipose baggage which makes any heat extremely unbearable. The solution (in the olden days) was simply to run a number 2 clipper over my skull, removing the winter's fleece and allowing any breeze to soothe my boiling skull.
So at the moment, I flatter myself that I am looking positively de Villepin-esque. By that I mean I'm looking as 'windswept and interesting' as Dominique de Villepin, the former French Foreign Minister. In the eyes of humanity I probably just look like a great smelly hairy barbarian, but dammit a man can dream.
Still, I suppose that's better than looking like a heavyweight version of half the cast of Romper Stomper.
for those of you who are interested in the extent to which major pharmacetical companies subvert goverment, you will already know my view of the War on Drugs (i.e., it is a deliberate attempt to prevent low-cost generic analgesia out of the hands of the masses, requiring them instead to pay monopoly prices for patent prescription analgesics which are more expensive, less efficacious and have nastier side effects).
I've got another example for those who understand why Hemp is illegal (i.e., because du Pont and Big Oil wanted to snaffle profits from Nylon and other patent synthetics derived from hydrocarbons, at the expense of the Hemp industry).,
The new example is called STEVIA and - like that other fake bugaboo (Coca) it's ative to South America. Do a Google search on Stevia and ask yourself why it's not permitted to be marketed as a 'sugar substitute' (although it can be sold as a 'dietary supplement').
A zero-calorie alternative to sugar that can be grown from seeds in one's own home? Can't have that. How would you tax it? How would Big Donors (Big Pharma, Big Agribusiness) make a monopoly profit on it?
Sickening. And given my sweet tooth, very very interesting... I'm trying to get hold of some (it's not illegal here - or anywhere else as far as I'm aware - you're jsut not allwoed to call it a 'sugar substitute' although gram for gram it's apparently 100x sweeter).
Oh... I digress again...
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries (XAO) - fell by 24.90 points (-0.55%), finishing at 4476.30 points (4475-ish). The index hit an intraday high at the opening bell with the index at 4501.20 (4500-ish), and its low was 4465.3 set just after 2 p.m. Sydney time.
The SPISpy exit of the day's short was at 12:47 with the SPI at 4520 - 5 points above the low of the day in the SPI; the 11 a.m. entry (which as I said yesterday, was delayed compared to the 'usual' 10:30 a.m. short-entry timing) didn't help at all - both the 10:30 and 11:00 prints were 4541.
As I explained in the morning SPYSpy e-mail, I expected a 'head fake' pump at 10:30 - specifically to wrong-foot those for whom 10:30 shorting has worked for a few sessions in a row - and that's why the entry timing was for 11 a.m., with an 'open target' (due to the unknown size of the expected bounce).
Well, the bounce at 10:30 didn't happen, but the 11 a.m. entry was jsut as good (it was at pretty much exactly the same price as a 10:30 a.m. entry would have been).
The eventual exit at SPI 4520 - caused by the presence of a CCI divergence on a 15-minute SPI chart - resulted in the snaffling of between 18 and 20 SPI points... or $450-$500 per $2500 contract. (Remember though - the usual target is only 3 points/contract per day).
And yes, shorting the open would have been even better - but don't be greedy.
But enough about the SPI - let's get back to bog-standard equities-land...
Total volume traded on the ASX was 980 million units, 1.7% above its 10-day average. Of the 487 stocks in the All Ords index, 210 fell while 127 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.7:1, with 206.66million shares traded in losers while 122.83million shares traded in the day's gainers ..
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) - fell by 28.40 points (-0.62%), finishing at 4526.10 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - fell by 16.90 points (-0.69%), finishing at 2444.30 points. Within the index members, there were 6 that rose, and 14 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 16.5m shares while volume in the losers totalled 68.63m units.
The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Wesfarmers (WES), +$0.700 (1.99%) to $35.900 on volume of 2.88m shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.090 (0.53%) to $17.120 on volume of 5.43m shares;
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.060 (0.36%) to $16.840 on volume of 2.65m shares;
- Alumina (AWC), +$0.020 (0.33%) to $6.080 on volume of 1.98m shares; and
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.060 (0.32%) to $18.670 on volume of 1.4m shares.
The following stocks made up the biggest percentage losers in the big-guns:
- Rinker Group (RIN), -$0.620 (3.91%) to $15.250 on volume of 6.46m shares;
- National Australia Bank (NAB), -$0.53 (1.58%) to $33.12 on volume of 8.39m shares;
- BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.31 (1.45%) to $21.04 on volume of 16.57m shares;
- Australia And New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.30 (1.29%) to $22.98 on volume of 6.72m shares;
- Macquarie Bank (MBL), -$0.84 (1.23%) to $67.53 on volume of 469,000 shares.
At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index (XSO) fell by 5.50 points (-0.22%), finishing at 2533.10 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -
- Orbital Corporation (OEC), +$0.014 (14.58%) to $0.110 on volume of 1.72m shares;
- Macarthur Coal (MCC), +$0.480 (9.38%) to $5.600 on volume of 2.36m shares; and
- Miller's Retail (MRL), +$0.050 (5.1%) to $1.030 on volume of 1.83m shares; and
- Sai Global (SAI), +$0.130 (4.96%) to $2.750 on volume of 53,000 shares; and
- ERG (ERG), +$0.005 (3.85%) to $0.135 on volume of 2.66m shares.
The losingest-little-guys for the session were (in order of decline):
- PMP (PMP), -$0.125 (8.5%) to $1.345 on volume of 5.26m shares;
- Volante Group (VGL), -$0.095 (6.86%) to $1.290 on volume of 419,000 shares; and
- Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.040 (6.78%) to $0.550 on volume of 257,000 shares; and
- Resolute Mining (RSG), -$0.060 (5.5%) to $1.030 on volume of 620,000 shares; and
- Atlas Group Holdings (AHS), -$0.060 (5.02%) to $1.135 on volume of 297,000 shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 4476.3 | -24.9 | -0.55% | 410.66m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2444.3 | -16.9 | -0.69% | 0 |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 4440.8 | -30.4 | -0.68% | 175.95m |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3676 | -24.2 | -0.65% | 268.08m |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 4526.1 | -28.4 | -0.62% | 331.51m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 4518.6 | -27.9 | -0.61% | 0 |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 4498.5 | -23 | -0.51% | 0 |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2533.1 | -5.5 | -0.22% | 121.74m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 6 | 24 | 52 | 127 | 54 | 385 |
| Declines | 14 | 62 | 113 | 210 | 98 | 527 |
| Advancing Volume | 16.5m | 67.22m | 89.36m | 122.83m | 60.77m | 437.34m |
| Declining Volume | 68.63m | 154.33m | 184.16m | 206.66m | 44.52m | 411.19m |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sector for the day was XIJ Information Technology - the Boulevard of Inflated Valuations and the Garden of Beta - which gained 1.10% to 441.60 points. The sector was helped by
- ERG (ERG), +$0.005 (3.85%) to $0.135 on volume of 2.66m shares;
- Computershare (CPU), +$0.180 (2.72%) to $6.800 on volume of 973,000 shares;
- IRESS Market Technology (IRE), +$0.020 (0.47%) to $4.320 on volume of 53,000 shares;
- Baycorp Advantage (BCA), -$0.000 (0%) to $3.250 on volume of 311,000 shares; and
- MYOB (MYO), -$0.010 (0.9%) to $1.105 on volume of 457,000 shares.
Second in the sector leadership stakes - and the only other sector index that posted a gain - was XNJ Industrials which gained 0.53% to 5081.90 points. The sector leaders were -
- Adsteam Marine (ADZ), +$0.050 (2.79%) to $1.840 on volume of 524,000 shares;
- Wesfarmers (WES), +$0.700 (1.99%) to $35.900 on volume of 2.88m shares;
- Transurban Group (TCL), +$0.120 (1.79%) to $6.840 on volume of 2.96m shares;
- Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG), +$0.060 (1.74%) to $3.510 on volume of 8.35m shares; and
- Patrick Corporation (PRK), +$0.070 (1.02%) to $6.940 on volume of 4.12m shares.
The worst-performed sector today was XMJ Materials which lost 1.41% to 8352.50 points. The sector was dragged lower by
- Rinker Group (RIN), -$0.620 (3.91%) to $15.250 on volume of 6.46m shares;
- Adelaide Brighton (ABC), -$0.075 (3.8%) to $1.900 on volume of 488,000 shares;
- James Hardie Industries N.V. (JHX), -$0.300 (3.41%) to $8.490 on volume of 652,000 shares;
- Wattyl (WYL), -$0.080 (3.14%) to $2.470 on volume of 510,000 shares; and
- Amcor (AMC), -$0.220 (3.13%) to $6.820 on volume of 838,000 shares.
Just in front of last place on the sector table was XDJ Consumer Discretionary which lost 1.07% to 2201.10 points. The sector was pulled down by
- Housewares International (HWI), -$0.075 (5.02%) to $1.420 on volume of 133,000 shares;
- Pacific Brands (PBG), -$0.100 (3.72%) to $2.590 on volume of 2.41m shares;
- Fairfax Holdings (FXJ), -$0.150 (3.5%) to $4.130 on volume of 2.41m shares;
- Austereo Group (AEO), -$0.055 (3.29%) to $1.615 on volume of 417,000 shares; and
- Pacifica Group (PBB), -$0.060 (3.17%) to $1.830 on volume of 887,000 shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XIJ | Information Technology | 441.6 | 4.8 | 1.1% | 5.3m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5081.9 | 26.9 | 0.53% | 44.94m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1840.2 | -0.6 | -0.03% | 77.85m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5875.2 | -22.4 | -0.38% | 20.4m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1522 | -6.9 | -0.45% | 18.7m |
| XFJ | Financials | 5400.5 | -25.9 | -0.48% | 130.29m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5573.1 | -33.6 | -0.6% | 56.29m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 6009.1 | -36.6 | -0.61% | 6.66m |
| XEJ | Energy | 10043 | -77.9 | -0.77% | 9.48m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 5227 | -43.1 | -0.82% | 3.11m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2201.1 | -23.7 | -1.07% | 24.21m |
| XMJ | Materials | 8352.5 | -119.6 | -1.41% | 77.42m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 21.04 | -0.31 | -1.45% | 16.57m |
| NLX | Nylex | 0.24 | 0.01 | 2.13% | 14.14m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation | 4.17 | -0.02 | -0.48% | 11.15m |
| IAG | Insurance Australia Group | 5.26 | 0 | 0% | 10.79m |
| MOF | Macquarie Office Trust | 1.26 | 0.01 | 0.4% | 8.84m |
| GSA | Galileo Shopping America Trust | 1.14 | 0.01 | 0.89% | 8.4m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEC | Orbital Corporation | 0.11 | 0.01 | 14.58% | 1.72m |
| BCL | Betcorp | 0.37 | 0.04 | 10.45% | 400689 |
| MCC | Macarthur Coal | 5.6 | 0.48 | 9.38% | 2.36m |
| AGI | Ainsworth Game Technology | 0.6 | 0.04 | 7.14% | 170859 |
| ERA | Energy Resources Of Australia | 15.62 | 1.02 | 6.99% | 26951 |
All Ords Percentage Decliners
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBT | Prana Biotechnology | 0.25 | -0.03 | -9.09% | 1.15m |
| PMP | PMP | 1.35 | -0.13 | -8.5% | 5.26m |
| VGL | Volante Group | 1.29 | -0.1 | -6.86% | 418610 |
| IFM | Infomedia Ltd | 0.55 | -0.04 | -6.78% | 257265 |
| RSG | Resolute Mining | 1.03 | -0.06 | -5.5% | 619603 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
Regional Indices
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3301.995 | -22.2 | -0.67% | 16.84m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 14123.09 | 86.36 | 0.62% | 0 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 1219.13 | -7.58 | -0.62% | 330326 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2268.1 | -3.89 | -0.17% | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 14603.46 | 200.26 | 1.39% | 181.14m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 904.65 | -4.45 | -0.49% | 0 |
