USRant: The First Hour Gave Hope...

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

The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 1 repurchase operation - a $4.25billion, overnight repurchase, however none of it was in Treasury-backed collateral. The repurchase was split 50-50 between mortgage-backed and agency-backed collateral operations - seeking to provide funds to put a floor under the bond and stock prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

Major US Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 82.29 points (0.76%), closing out the day at 10805.87 points. The index hit an intraday high of 10924.82 (10925-ish) jsut before the end of the first hour of trade, then turned downwasrd savagely, falling throughout the session and trading as low as 10803.87 (10800-ish) in the final minutes of the session. 

Within the blue-chip index, only 2 index components managed a gain for the session - namely, Caterpillar (CAT, +1.19% to $57.78) and 3M (MMM, +0.17% to $78.48), which accounted for 6 Dow points between them. 

Losers in the Dow numbered 27 and were led by General Motors (GM, -4.78% to $21.90... that bounce didn't last long, now did it?) and JPMorganChase (JPM, -1.82% to $38.25), with these two stocks contributing -14 Dow points worth of downward pressure on the index. Volume traded in Dow stocks was tilted in favour of the losers by 322.2m shares to 5.5m.

The broader S&P500 shed 8 points (0.64%), to end the session at 1249.48. Within the index, gainers numbered 164, while 317 S&P500 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 2.1:1 in favour of the losers with 1315.55 million units traded in the losers as compared with 632.26 million traded in the winners .

Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11 points (0%), to close at 2232.82, while larger-cap technology issues fared worse with the Nasdaq100 losing 4.28 points (0.26%), to end at 1672.56 points. Within the tech benchmark, gainers numbered 39, while 56 Nasdaq100 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 1.1:1 in favour of the losers with 362.66 million traded in the losers compared to 319.54 million in the winners .

NYSE Volume was super-chunky, with 2.36 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was chunky, with 1.93 billion shares traded.

Major Market Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	10805.87	-82.29	-0.76%
S&P500	1249.48	-8	-0.64%
Nasdaq Composite	2232.82	0.11	0%
Nasdaq100	1672.56	-4.28	-0.26%
NYSE Volume	2.36bn	-	-
Nasdaq Volume	1.93bn	-	-

Bellwethers

My 9-stock "bellwethers" group fell by an average of 0.77%

• General Electric (GE) -$0.21 (0.58%) to $35.72;
• Citigroup (C) -$0.54 (1.1%) to $48.55;
• Wal Mart (WMT) -$0.45 (0.92%) to $48.56;
• I.B.M. (IBM) -$0.20 (0.22%) to $88.90;
• Intel (INTC) -$0.10 (0.37%) to $26.68;
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +$0.03 (0.17%) to $17.54;
• eBay (EBAY) +$0.31 (0.7%) to $44.81;
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -$1.38 (2.79%) to $48.05; and
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -$1.12 (1.76%) to $62.45.

Market Breadth & Internals

NYSE declining Issues beat out advancers by 1673 to 1630, for a single-day A/D reading of -43; Nasdaq gainers trumped losers by 1770 to 1292. The 10-day moving average of the A/D line fell to 162.3 on the NYSE, while the 10dma of the Nasdaq A/D rose to 50.8.

On the NYSE declining volume was greater than volume in advancing issues by 1504.5 to 838 million shares; Nasdaq advancing volume was greater than volume in decliners by 1045.5 to 803.4 million shares.

104 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 79 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 125 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 47 which fell to fresh 52-week lows.

Market Breadth Statistics
	NYSE	Nasdaq
Advancers	1630	1770
Decliners	1673	1292
Advancing Volume (m)	837.95	1045.47
Declining Volume (m)	1504.52	803.36
New Highs	104	125
New Lows	79	47

Market Sentiment Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
CBOE Volatility Index	12.08	0.21	1.77%
CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index	15.26	-0.13	-0.84%
Equity Put-Call Ratio	0.72	-0.01	-1.37%
10-day PCR	0.58	-0.03	-4.92%
SPX-VIX Ratio	103.4	-2.5	-2.36%

Bond Market Analysis

Bonds fell at the long end, with the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rising 1.3 bps to 4.703%.

The middle of the yield curve was broadly lower: five year yields rose to 4.425%, and ten-year yields rose to 4.5%.

Spreads between short-dated (2-yr) Treasuries and high-grade corporate bonds of similar maturity profiles were 7.0 bps wider at 16.0 basis points; spreads between longer dated Treasuries and their corporate AAA counterparts rose to 62.0 bps for 10-year AAA, and 88.5 bps for 20-years.

Credit spreads (spreads between corporate bonds of the same maturity profile but different creditworthiness) were broadly tighter with the AAA-A spread on 20-years closing by one basis point to 34 basis points and the 10-year AAA-A spread likeiwse 1 bp tighter at 6.0 bps.

Treasury Yields
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
UST 13wk (yld)	3.857	-0.03	-0.77%
UST 2Y (yld)	4.39	0.01	0.23%
UST 5Y (yld)	4.425	0.023	0.52%
UST 10Y (yld)	4.5	0.018	0.4%
UST 30Y (yld)	4.703	0.013	0.28%

The Banks Index lost 1.7 points (1.61%), to 103.62; within the index,

• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) -$1.02 (2.47%) to $40.27;
• Washington Mutual (WM) -$0.95 (2.25%) to $41.19;
• State Street (STT) -$1.27 (2.15%) to $57.69;
• M&T Bank Corp (MTB) -$2.36 (2.13%) to $108.22; and
• Suntrust Banks (STI) -$1.55 (2.09%) to $72.74.

The Broker-dealer Index declined 1.74 points (0.9%), ending the day at 192.51; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -

• Ameritrade (AMTD) -$0.45 (1.89%) to $23.33;
• Merrill Lynch (MER) -$1.10 (1.63%) to $66.42;
• Legg Mason (LM) -$1.73 (1.39%) to $122.65;
• Morgan Stanley (MWD) -$0.77 (1.36%) to $56.03; and
• Lehman Brothers (LEH) -$1.61 (1.26%) to $126.00.

The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index posted a rise of 5.86 points (1.23%), to end the session at 481.64

• Taiwan Semiconductors (TSM) +$0.28 (3.01%) to $9.58;
• Teradyne (TER) +$0.40 (2.81%) to $14.63;
• Novellus Systems (NVLS) +$0.59 (2.45%) to $24.67;
• Micron Technology (MU) +$0.34 (2.44%) to $14.26; and
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +$0.60 (2.35%) to $26.18.

Gold & Silver Markets

Gold fell by $4.60 (0.92%) to close at $494.50 per ounce. The high for the session: $500.00 precisely. Everyone is concentrating too much on $500 as a round number: the much more important number is just above $509, which is a minor top formed about 20 years ago.

The Gold Bugs Index slid 7.96 points (3.17%), to end the session at 243.44

• Golden Star (GSS) -$0.17 (6.97%) to $2.27;
• Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -$0.24 (5.27%) to $4.31;
• Hecla Mining (HL) -$0.19 (5.09%) to $3.54;
• Goldcorp (GG) -$0.99 (4.65%) to $20.32; and
• Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.53 (4.21%) to $12.07.

Silver fell by $0.02 (0.19%) to close at $8.28 per ounce. 

The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) lost 2.85 points (2.43%), at 114.61 points.

• Durban Rooderpoert Deep (DROOY) -$0.11 (7.83%) to $1.33;
• Goldcorp (GG) -$0.99 (4.65%) to $20.32;
• Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.53 (4.21%) to $12.07; and
• Kinross Gold (KGC) -$0.33 (4.19%) to $7.54.

Precious Metals and Indices
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Gold	494.50	-4.60	-0.92%
Silver	8.28	-0.02	-0.19%
PHLX Gold and Silver Index	114.61	-2.85	-2.43%
AMEX Gold BUGS Index	243.44	-7.96	-3.17%

Oil Market

Oil was firmer, rising by $0.82 per barrel, closing at $57.32 per barrel after dropping to below $56 during the ACCESS overnight session. The Energy complex as whole rose strongly following an EIA Pteroleum Status Report that showed a massive 4.2 million barrel drawdown in Crude Oil inventories, and a 3.4 millon barrel drop in Distillate inventories. Refinery capacity was the sole genuinely bright spot, continuing its rebound following the hurricane season.

The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) lost 0.18 points (0.02%), to 972.41

• ConocoPhillips (COP) -$0.78 (1.27%) to $60.51;
• TotalFinaElf S.A. (TOT) -$0.96 (0.76%) to $124.69; and
• Repsol YPF (REP) -$0.22 (0.74%) to $29.52.

The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index advanced 3.3 points (1.89%), ending the day at 177.77

• BJ Services (BJS) +$0.93 (2.6%) to $36.65;
• Smith International (SII) +$0.94 (2.55%) to $37.79; and
• National Oilwells/Varco (NOV) +$1.38 (2.33%) to $60.62.

Energy Complex
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Reuters CRB	332.49	2.46	0.75%
Crude Oil Light Sweet	57.32	0.82	1.45%
Heating Oil	1.6897	0.02	1.06%
Natural Gas	12.587	0.85	7.25%
Unleaded Gas	1.4971	0.04	2.85%
AMEX Oil Index	972.41	-0.18	-0.02%
Oil Service Index	177.77	3.3	1.89%

Currency Markets

USD Exchange Rates
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
US Dollar Index	91.6	-0.05	-0.05%
Euro	1.179	0.0002	0.02%
Yen	119.81	0.165	0.14%
Sterling	1.7294	0.01	0.58%
Australian Dollar	0.7385	0.0001	0.01%
Swiss Franc	1.3152	0.0025	0.19%
Canadian Dollar	0.8579	0.0022	0.26%

SPIRant: Small-lot Frustration, Big-lot Jubilation...

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

I mentioned yesterday that I understood the frustration of small-lot SPISpy-ers, where the Rules of Engagement require early exits from profitable positions; it seems to defy the old maxim 'cut your losses short and let your profits run'. You've got to be careful of maxims, though; many of them sound real snappy but are not applicable to all situations. Taking that 3 SPI points (or 1 S&P point, or 10 Dow points) per contract per day is establishing (mentally) the absolute requirement for disciplined adherence to whatever gameplan is decided upon. The less latitude a novice traders permits themselves, the better.

So the SPISPy short yesterday is currently showing a profit of 80 points per contract for the 'rider' units of anybody who is trading more than 4 contracts. If you're trading one contract, that doesn't mean you missed out on 75 of those points; it means you exited a profitable position yesterday and are looking forward to seeing if that feat can be replicated today. Your equity has increased a couple of percent, and you ought to be looking forward to getting to the stage where you trade your way up the contracts-traded ladder to get yourself to the 4-or-more brigade - at which point you can make a nice living off a few points a day. That's the way to look at it, rather than getting maudlin that you weren't 'on' the ride down.

And what a ride: this was sent out at 5:45 yesterday (with the SPI at 4620) -

If your broker gives you the ability to trade SYCOM (the overnight session), think very seriously about exiting any remaining units straight away.

The market is now pretty deeply oversold, and it would be a shame to waste too much of a 50+ point gain on the last units.

That said, this is very much a "fielder's choice"; personally I am moving exit stops to the point where it locks in 25 points on the final tranche, and trailing that stop point-for-point.

This is the difference between the early part of a trader's development and his later decisions; early on, it is maddening to watch a trade give up half of its gains - you tie yourelf in knots thinking "Bastard... if only I'd taken it off when I was up 50". But again, that misses the point - which is why novices should take a small gain and learn to move on. It's better than taking a small loss and moving on.

Anyhow - in the overnight market the SPI has fallen below 4600: it's at 4594, but has been as low as 4585 - which means that the stop mentioned in the blockquote above is now at 4617, thus now locking in 60 points of gain on the final tranche. The stop is probably going to be hit early today, thus kicking the remaining position out of the trade. Not a bad call.

OzRant: What's That Smell? Frying Bull's Balls...

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

Those who hitched up to the SPISpy have had to endure some sneaky-bastard behaviour from someone who thinks that small-lot newbie SPI traers are easily intimidated; with few exceptions there has been a decent-sized spike in the opposite direction to the SPISpy's advocated direction - before the dominant momentum re-asserts itself and the market goes as required.

Take a look at today's SPI chart for example: I've marked in the points at which SPISpy e-mails were distributed, and you can see that the SPI spiked (on low volume during the thin lunch period... marked 'Bastard' on the chart) more than ten points in a bid to 'shake out' small-lot traders - and then headed in the desired direction (and how!).

Still, the SPISpy gain table gets credited with (5,8,20,56)... that is, the first contract made 5 points, the second made 8, the third tranche made 20 and the 'rider' for those trading more than 4 lots is currently up 56 SPI points (the SPI is at 4621 at the moment, not 4626 as when the chart was drawn). See "SPIRant: The Shenangians Continue" for why that's the case, and how to read the scorecard...

My guess is that the little adverse spikes are deliberate - and it's someone who knows that SPISpy one-lotters are only targetting 3 SPI points a day (per the SPISpy Rules of Engagement). By driving the SPI that far in the 'wrong' direction, it throws a wrench in the risk-return calculation for small-lot holders - effectively forcing them to expect to have to endure a 10-point adverse move in order to scalp a 3-point gain (although today's was explicitly declare to be a 5-point target): those sums stink, and the hope is that small-lotters resign from the game before they get to become 2- or-more-lotters. There's nothing that da Boyz hate more than a successful small-lot trader.

If I was a small-lot SPI trader, I would not sweat it; I know it's annoying to have to take a 3-5 point gain and then watch the bigger kids gobble up money for jam, but it's better to grow a small account slowly than take additional risk. Take an average 3 SPI points a day from the market and you wind up a 2-lot trader within six weeks (or you can start over with one lot, but playing entirely with 'house money').

Major Market Indices

A decent intraday reversal - everything looked so hunky-dory at lunchtime (just as I hit "Send" on the day's first SPISpy missive), but then it fell out of bed in a pretty impressive way. The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries (XAO) - fell by 1.70 points (-0.04%), finishing at 4583.60 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4621.60 (almost could call it 4625-ish) and its low was 4583.5.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.28 billion units, 21.1% above its 10-day average. Of the 487 stocks in the index, 157 rose while 117 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.3:1, with 386.21million shares traded in losers while 305.13million 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 4.20 points (-0.09%), finishing at 4634.80 points - and the SPI continued to drop after the cash market closed.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - fell by 3.80 points (-0.15%), finishing at 2485.50 points. Within the index members, there were 9 that rose, and 11 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 56.79 while volume in the losers totalled 101.16m units.

The major winners in the "big guns" were -

• Australia And New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.210 (0.89%) to $23.910 on volume of 7.19m shares;
• Macquarie Bank (MBL), +$0.520 (0.77%) to $67.820 on volume of 1.33m shares;
• Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.260 (0.75%) to $34.950 on volume of 2.46m shares;
• Rio Tinto (RIO), +$0.410 (0.67%) to $61.760 on volume of 3.32m shares; and
• QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.120 (0.63%) to $19.080 on volume of 3.66m shares.

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

• AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.170 (2.16%) to $7.710 on volume of 10.08m shares;
• Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.69 (1.9%) to $35.54 on volume of 2.03m shares;
• St George Bank (SGB), -$0.46 (1.6%) to $28.30 on volume of 2.3m shares;
• Suncorp-Metway (SUN), -$0.26 (1.3%) to $19.80 on volume of 1.31m shares;
• Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.05 (1.28%) to $3.85 on volume of 48.02m shares.

At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index (XSO) - the only place where underexploited value exists with any regularity - rose by 18.30 points (0.71%), finishing at 2613.50 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -

• Nylex (NLX), +$0.025 (16.67%) to $0.175 on volume of 29.17m shares;
• Lynas Corporation (LYC), +$0.015 (11.11%) to $0.150 on volume of 1.11m shares; and
• Silex Systems (SLX), +$0.195 (10.18%) to $2.110 on volume of 886,000 shares; and
• Psivida (PSD), +$0.045 (7.56%) to $0.640 on volume of 999,000 shares; and
• Portman (PMM), +$0.240 (5.26%) to $4.800 on volume of 226,000 shares.

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

• Iinet (IIN), -$0.470 (19.75%) to $1.910 on volume of 4.28m shares;
• Multiemedia (MUL), -$0.001 (7.69%) to $0.012 on volume of 73.25m shares; and
• Village Life Ltd (VLL), -$0.020 (5.97%) to $0.315 on volume of 228,000 shares; and
• Volante Group (VGL), -$0.035 (4.12%) to $0.815 on volume of 850,000 shares; and
• Virotec International (VTI), -$0.030 (3.45%) to $0.840 on volume of 146,000 shares.

Index Changes

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	4583.6	-1.7	-0.04%	828.11m
XTL	S&P/ASX 20	2485.5	-3.8	-0.15%	0
XFL	S&P/ASX 50	4530	-9.9	-0.22%	326.07m
XTO	S&P/ASX 100	3761.5	-6.2	-0.16%	523.19m
XJO	S&P/ASX 200	4634.8	-4.2	-0.09%	637.47m
XKO	S&P/ASX 300	4627.2	-4	-0.09%	0
XMD	S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50	4689.4	7.2	0.15%	0
XSO	S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries	2613.5	18.3	0.71%	266.39m

All Ordinaries Market Internals

Market Breadth

	ASX20	XTO	XJO	XAO	XSO	Market
Advances	9	37	92	157	85	506
Declines	11	44	72	117	56	436
Advancing Volume	56.79m	177.25m	240.82m	305.13	111.83	589.45
Declining Volume	101.16m	264.33m	294.5m	386.21	111.12	511.25

S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices

The top sector for the day was XIJ Information Technology which gained 0.54% to 450.90 points. The sector was helped by

• Computershare (CPU), +$0.100 (1.45%) to $7.000 on volume of 1.25m shares;
• Vision Systems (VSL), +$0.015 (0.84%) to $1.795 on volume of 512,000 shares;
• ERG (ERG), -$0.000 (0%) to $0.125 on volume of 169,000 shares;
• Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.000 (0%) to $0.530 on volume of 133,000 shares; and
• IRESS Market Technology (IRE), -$0.040 (0.92%) to $4.300 on volume of 245,000 shares.

Second in the sector leadership stakes was XDJ Consumer Discretionary which gained 0.31% to 2239.50 points. The sector leaders were -

• Miller's Retail (MRL), +$0.040 (3.51%) to $1.180 on volume of 744,000 shares;
• Housewares International (HWI), +$0.050 (3.11%) to $1.660 on volume of 648,000 shares;
• Pacifica Group (PBB), +$0.050 (2.62%) to $1.960 on volume of 403,000 shares;
• Village Roadshow (VRLPA), +$0.050 (2.22%) to $2.300 on volume of 521,000 shares; and
• West Australian Newspapers (WAN), +$0.180 (2.2%) to $8.370 on volume of 605,000 shares.

The bronze today went toXPJ Property Trusts which gained 0.23% to 1865.80 points. The sector was led by

• Galileo Shopping America Trust (GSA), +$0.020 (1.71%) to $1.190 on volume of 1.97m shares;
• Centro Properties Group (CNP), +$0.060 (0.96%) to $6.310 on volume of 3.59m shares;
• Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA), +$0.010 (0.8%) to $1.265 on volume of 12.47m shares;
• Valad Property Group (VPG), +$0.010 (0.74%) to $1.370 on volume of 10.4m shares; and
• CFS Gandel Retail Trust (GAN), +$0.010 (0.52%) to $1.925 on volume of 12.36m shares.

The worst-performed sector today was XTJ Telecommunications which lost 1.11% to 1429.10 points. The sector was dragged lower by

• Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.050 (1.28%) to $3.850 on volume of 48.02m shares; and
• Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.020 (0.36%) to $5.520 on volume of 2.42m shares.

Just in front of last place on the sector table was XNJ Industrials which lost 0.32% to 5265.80 points. The sector was pulled down by

• Leighton Holdings (LEI), -$0.350 (2.11%) to $16.220 on volume of 1.21m shares;
• Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.690 (1.9%) to $35.540 on volume of 2.03m shares;
• Transurban Group (TCL), -$0.120 (1.74%) to $6.770 on volume of 3.82m shares;
• Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG), -$0.030 (0.85%) to $3.520 on volume of 5.61m shares; and
• Brambles Industries (BIL), -$0.070 (0.72%) to $9.690 on volume of 35.2m shares.

Sector Indices

Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XIJ	Information Technology	450.9	2.4	0.54%	4.12m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	2239.5	7	0.31%	46.44m
XPJ	Property Trusts	1865.8	4.3	0.23%	132.23m
XHJ	Healthcare	6280.2	11	0.18%	14.88m
XMJ	Materials	8704	4.4	0.05%	147.61m
XUJ	Utilities	5505.7	2.6	0.05%	6.21m
XFJ	Financials	5504.6	-5	-0.09%	202.47m
XEJ	Energy	10454	-11.2	-0.11%	28.42m
XXJ	ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts	5688.6	-10.3	-0.18%	76.54m
XSJ	Consumer Staples	5927.9	-15.7	-0.26%	43.1m
XNJ	Industrials	5265.8	-16.7	-0.32%	85.59m
XTJ	Telecommunications	1429.1	-16	-1.11%	50.44m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
TLS	Telstra Corporation	3.85	-0.05	-1.28%	48.02m
BIL	Brambles Industries	9.69	-0.07	-0.72%	35.2m
DYL	Deep Yellow	0.078	-0.037	-32.17%	33.48m
NLX	Nylex	0.18	0.03	16.67%	29.17m
BHP	BHP Billiton	21.87	0.04	0.18%	17.59m
FCN	Falcon Minerals	0.62	0.12	22.77%	16.47m

All Ords Percentage Gainers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
NLX	Nylex	0.18	0.03	16.67%	29.17m
LYC	Lynas Corporation	0.15	0.02	11.11%	1.11m
SLX	Silex Systems	2.11	0.2	10.18%	886199
PSD	Psivida	0.64	0.05	7.56%	999159
GGN	Gallery Gold	0.38	0.03	7.14%	6.04m

All Ords Percentage Decliners

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
TMO	Tomato Technologies	0.34	-0.03	-8.11%	443104
MUL	Multiemedia	0.012	-0.001	-7.69%	73.25m
VLL	Village Life Ltd	0.32	-0.02	-5.97%	227900
BGF	Ballarat Goldfields	0.34	-0.02	-5.56%	2.75m
BBB	B Digital	0.27	-0.02	-5.36%	888299

Elsewhere in the Region...

Regional Indices

Country	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
New Zealand	NZSE50	3317.768	15.34	0.46%	44.16m
Japan	Nikkei 225	14959.8	32.1	0.22%	0
Korea	KOSPI	1298.8	19.42	1.52%	468185
Singapore	Straits Times	2315.14	12.26	0.53%	0
Hong Kong	Hang Seng	15036.89	8.13	0.05%	98.87m
Malaysia	KLSE Comp	895.23	-3.4	-0.38%	0

SPIRant: The Shenanigans Continue...

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

Yet again the SPISpy-ers were faced with an annoying contra-move that started literally three minutes after the 'entry window'; here's the day's first Spy (sent 1:16 p.m.):

Guten Abend.

Short SPI at or before 1:30 p.m.; targets +5, +8, open.

Regards,



SPISpy.

There was a 14-minute window from the first Spy through until 1:30 p.m., during which the SPI traded between 4675 and 4680 - the most frequently traded price (and also the price right at 1:30 p.m.) was 4677.

And at 3:16 p.m. the call went out:

Despite another highly-suspect uptick three minutes after the 1:30 p.m. entry time declared earlier, the uptick didn't stick and everything worked nicely.

Short Entry between the first e-mail and 1:30 meant an entry price between 4679 and 4675 (the high during the entry window was 4680 but nobody can short a high - highs are achieved by BUYERS hitting the ASK).The most-traded price in that timeframe was 4677 (which was also the price bang on 1:30) so that's the entry price basis.

One-lotters got their 5-points easily (the low thus far is well below the 4672 for those who managed to short the low in the entry window); 2-lotters got +5, +8 likewise.

Those trading 3-or-more are still riding, with a 15-point gain at present on all trailing lots.

The ASX200 (XJO) index is likely to bounce from 4650 (which should coincide roughly with SPI 4660).

Three choices at that point:

• take all off (taking a 17-point gain on all but the first 2 units);
• take off half of remaining units (only an option for the couple of folks who are trading ten-lots) and keep a stop at "Entry +5" for the remainder; or
• impose a stop at the entry price and keep hold of remaining units.

 
I favour the second option if you've got more than 2 contracts left (i.e., if you're trading more than 4).

Not a bad trade.

So after closing Monday's short from 4670 with (3,6,33) on the timed reversal up from 4637 (timed to begin at 11:30 a.m. yesterday, as per yesterday's Spy), which multi-lotters got to ride all the way to 4677 thus pocketing (3,6,40); and as of right now they pocketed a further (5,8, 20, 17) on today's reversal.

The notation (w, x, y [,z]) is SPISpy notation for gains;

• w is the gain on the first lot and also the total gain for a one-lot trader; 
• x is the gain on the second lot (if any); 
• y is the gain on the third tranche (for those trading 3); and 
• z (optional) is the gain on final tranches (if any - when a third tranche is closed but part-position is still in force).

I'm a tad miffed that yet again there was some clear evidence of 'stop-tickling' at pretty much precisely the time indicated for entry. It's happening too often to be coincidence, but it's not anything to worry about - it will be a test of sweaty palms (and a source of teeth-grinding for thinly-funded traders).

USRant: 34 Minutes of Hope...

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

Economic data came thick and fast this session, and all things considered it was better than expected. First the Durable Goods numbers, which showed a headline gain of 3.4% compared with a consensus estimate of 1.8%. However much of that 3.4% was due to 'lumpy' items like aircraft sales thanks to a resolution of a strike at Boeing. As I have said countless times, the most important number in the Durables report is (repeat after me)

Non-Defence Capital Goods ex-Aircraft...

And that wasn't too bad, actually; a gain of 1.3%, partially reversing the 1.7% decline in the prior month.

Apart from that, there was the hugely-unreliable Consumer Confidence (ConCon) number, which at 98.9 was significantly above the consensus estimate of 90; frankly I wouldn't give you spit in exchange for that number - it doesn't bear any relationship to actual economic variables. 

And finally, New Home Sales showed a jump of 13% and blew the consensus estimate out of the water. median new home prices are up only 0.9% year-on-year (however median existing home prices rose 16% over the same period).

Federal Reserve Open Market Operations

The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 1 repurchase operation - a $4.75billion, 6-day repurchase with $2.75billion in T-backed collateral undertaken at a 4.6 basis point discount to the Fed Funds Rate (FFR). The general level of repurchase activity has been low, and the discounts to Fed Funds relatively small, for three months now - however the Fed has been required to monetise a load of debt due to relatively slack 'genuine' demand; the weak bid-to-cover ratio on the latest 4-week bill auction shows that demanders of US government debt are starting to feel a bit like Mr Creosote.

Steven Roach - easily the best of the Street economists - wrote a terrific piece last week about how the US has not experienced a surge in petrodollar recycling from the latest oil shock. The reason: higher-yielding investment destinations within the OPEC area itself (especially the Middle East).

Major US Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed just 2.56 points (0.02%), closing out the day at 10888.16 points, which was as close to the low of the day as makes no odds. The actual low - 10888.07 - was set about thirty seconds before the close. The index hit an intraday high of 10959.79 after 34 minutes of trade; every nuffie on the planet got twitterpated about the Durable Goods headline number and no bugger bothered to check the number that mattered.

Once the ConCon number came out at 10 a.m., the market had already shot its bolt, and although the ConCon index showed a significantly higher-than-consensus reading, the market was unable to develop any further traction. the session high occurred literally three minutes after the release of the Consumer Confidence data.

Within the blue-chip index, 13 stocks rose, the biggest gainers being Merck (MRK, +1.56% to $30.02) and Coca Cola (KO, +1.29% to $43.05), which accounted for 8 Dow points between them. Losers in the Dow numbered 16 and were led by Wal Mart (WMT, -1.98% to $49.01) and American Express (AXP, -1.34% to $52.13), with these two stocks contributing -14 Dow points worth of downward pressure on the index. Volume traded was tilted in favour of the losers by 291.9m shares to 84.3m.

The broader S&P500 rose 0.02 points (0%), to end the session at 1257.48. Within the index, gainers numbered 296, while 180 S&P500 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 1.5:1 in favour of the losers with 1208.40 million units traded in the winners as compared with 798.61 million traded in the losers .

Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite slid 6.66 points (0.3%), to close at 2232.71, while larger-cap technology issues fared worse with the Nasdaq100 losing 7.55 points (0.45%), to end at 1676.84 points. Within the tech benchmark, gainers numbered 49, while 48 Nasdaq100 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 1.6:1 in favour of the losers with 475.43 million traded in the winners compared to 301.84 million in the losers .

NYSE Volume was super-chunky, with 2.23 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was chunky, with 1.75 billion shares traded.

Major Market Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	10888.16	-2.56	-0.02%
S&P500	1257.48	0.02	0%
Nasdaq Composite	2232.71	-6.66	-0.3%
Nasdaq100	1676.84	-7.55	-0.45%
NYSE Volume	2.23bn	-	-
Nasdaq Volume	1.75bn	-	-

Bellwethers

My 9-stock "bellwethers" group fell by an average of 0.53%

• General Electric (GE) -$0.05 (0.14%) to $35.93;
• Citigroup (C) -$0.21 (0.43%) to $49.09;
• Wal Mart (WMT) -$0.99 (1.98%) to $49.01;
• I.B.M. (IBM) -$0.01 (0.01%) to $89.10;
• Intel (INTC) -$0.08 (0.3%) to $26.78;
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +$0.03 (0.17%) to $17.51;
• eBay (EBAY) -$0.87 (1.92%) to $44.50;
• Fannie Mae (FNM) +$0.23 (0.47%) to $49.43; and
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -$0.43 (0.67%) to $63.57.

Market Breadth & Internals

NYSE advancing Issues exceeded decliners by 1956 to 1347 for a single-day A/D reading of 609; Nasdaq gainers trumped losers by 1559 to 1490. The 10-day moving average of the A/D line rose to 207.4 on the NYSE, while the 10dma of the Nasdaq A/D rose to -43.0.

On the NYSE declining volume was greater than volume in advancing issues by 1115.2 to 1035 million shares; On the Nasdaq declining volume exceeded volume in advancing issues by 990.5 to 749.9 million shares.

123 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 98 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 102 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 55 which fell to fresh 52-week lows.

Market Breadth Statistics
	NYSE	Nasdaq
Advancers	1956	1559
Decliners	1347	1490
Advancing Volume (m)	1034.97	749.86
Declining Volume (m)	1115.24	990.54
New Highs	123	102
New Lows	98	55

Market Sentiment Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
CBOE Volatility Index	11.87	0.03	0.25%
CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index	15.39	0.61	4.13%
Equity Put-Call Ratio	0.73	0	0%
10-day PCR	0.61	0	0%
SPX-VIX Ratio	105.9	-0.27	-0.25%

Bond Market Analysis

Bonds fell at the long end, with the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rising 6.3 bps to 4.69%. The 30-year has flirted with 4.75% yield a couple of times recently, but has always backed off before breaching that yield by any significant amount. The yield curve is flatter than Paris Hilton's EEG - that is never a good sign.

The middle of the yield curve was broadly lower: five year yields rose to 4.402%, and ten-year yields rose to 4.482%.

Spreads between short-dated (2-yr) Treasuries and high-grade corporate bonds of similar maturity profiles were 6.0 bps wider at 17.0 basis points; spreads between longer dated Treasuries and their corporate AAA counterparts fell to 61.0 bps for 10-year AAA, and 87.0 bps for 20-years.

Credit spreads (spreads between corporate bonds of the same maturity profile but different creditworthiness) were broadly tighter with the AAA-A spread on 20-years 5.0 bps looser at 35.0 basis points and the 10-year AAA-A spread 3.0 bps looser at7.0 bps.

Treasury Yields
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
UST 13wk (yld)	3.887	0.057	1.49%
UST 2Y (yld)	4.38	0.08	1.86%
UST 5Y (yld)	4.402	0.081	1.87%
UST 10Y (yld)	4.482	0.076	1.72%
UST 30Y (yld)	4.69	0.063	1.36%

The Banks Index slid 0.14 points (0.13%), to 105.32; within the index,

• Golden West Financial (GDW) -$1.50 (2.23%) to $65.81;
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) -$0.86 (2.04%) to $41.29;
• Washington Mutual (WM) -$0.73 (1.7%) to $42.14;
• Regions Financial (RF) -$0.20 (0.58%) to $34.13; and
• PNC Financial Services (PNC) -$0.33 (0.51%) to $64.67.

The Broker-dealer Index added 0.95 points (0.49%), closing at 194.25; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -

• Legg Mason (LM) +$3.46 (2.86%) to $124.38;
• Jeffries Group (JEF) +$1.02 (2.37%) to $44.04;
• Ameritrade (AMTD) +$0.38 (1.62%) to $23.78;
• E*Trade (ET) +$0.11 (0.57%) to $19.27; and
• Morgan Stanley (MWD) +$0.14 (0.25%) to $56.80.

The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index dipped 2.98 points (0.62%), ending the day at 475.78

• Marvell Tech Group (MRVL) -$2.17 (3.81%) to $54.77;
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -$0.91 (3.44%) to $25.58;
• Micron Technology (MU) -$0.46 (3.2%) to $13.92;
• Teradyne (TER) -$0.36 (2.47%) to $14.23; and
• Infineon Tech (IFX) -$0.14 (1.53%) to $9.03.

Gold & Silver Markets

Gold rose $0.80 (0.16%) to close at $499.10 per ounce. The December contract poked its head through $500 (the forwards - Feb06 and April 06 - are already above $500) hitting a session high of $502.30 before getting slammed pretty hard (all the way down to $494.30). 

The Gold Bugs Index lost 2.49 points (0.98%), ending the day at 251.4

• Hecla Mining (HL) -$0.15 (3.87%) to $3.73;
• Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.33 (2.55%) to $12.60;
• Agnico Eagle (AEM) -$0.23 (1.51%) to $15.01;
• Meridian Gold (MDG) -$0.27 (1.34%) to $19.92; and
• Gold Fields (GFI) -$0.19 (1.2%) to $15.59.

Silver fell by $0.05 (0.65%) to close at $8.30 per ounce. 

The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) lost 0.82 points (0.69%), closing at 117.46 points.

• Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.33 (2.55%) to $12.60;
• Agnico Eagle (AEM) -$0.23 (1.51%) to $15.01;
• Meridian Gold (MDG) -$0.27 (1.34%) to $19.92; and
• Gold Fields (GFI) -$0.19 (1.2%) to $15.59.

Precious Metals and Indices
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Gold	499.10	0.80	0.16%
Silver	8.30	-0.05	-0.65%
PHLX Gold and Silver Index	117.46	-0.82	-0.69%
AMEX Gold BUGS Index	251.4	-2.49	-0.98%

Oil Market

Oil lost ground, shedding $0.86 per barrel, closing at $56.50 per barrel. 

The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) advanced 0.29 points (0.03%), closing at 972.59

• Marathon Oil (MRO) +$0.74 (1.28%) to $58.61;
• Occidental Petroleum (OXY) +$0.92 (1.18%) to $79.00; and
• Kerr Mcgee (KMG) +$0.33 (0.39%) to $86.00.

The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index advanced 0.11 points (0.06%), closing at 174.47

• National Oilwells/Varco (NOV) +$0.42 (0.71%) to $59.24;
• Schlumberger (SLB) +$0.64 (0.68%) to $94.45; and
• Cooper Cameron (CAM) +$0.30 (0.39%) to $77.87.

Energy Complex
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Reuters CRB	330.03	-0.99	-0.3%
Crude Oil Light Sweet	56.5	-0.86	-1.5%
Heating Oil	1.672	-0.01	-0.77%
Natural Gas	11.736	0.1	0.88%
Unleaded Gas	1.4556	-0.02	-1.44%
AMEX Oil Index	972.59	0.29	0.03%
Oil Service Index	174.47	0.11	0.06%

Currency Markets

The USD continues to benefit from stupidity and government intervention (anyone who thinks that the Fed is not propping up the dollar through surreptitious intervention, is an idiot). Eurozone manufacturers will be rapt - with the US trying to hold its currency up they are holding the euro-currency artificially low... thus boosting the EU's exports (did you know that Germany is the country that generates the largest volume and value of exports? It's not the country with the largest bilateral trade surplus with the US, but it's got the largest traded-goods sector.)

USD Exchange Rates
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
US Dollar Index	91.65	0.51	0.56%
Euro	1.1788	-0.0053	-0.45%
Yen	119.645	0.78	0.66%
Sterling	1.7194	-0.01	-0.58%
Australian Dollar	0.7384	-0.0034	-0.46%
Swiss Franc	1.3127	0.0066	0.51%
Canadian Dollar	0.8557	-0.0008	-0.09%

NonRant: A Note...

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

Two things:

• if the cinemas decide to distribute Jarhead in Australia, go see it. It gives a very good description of why grunts (in this case, US Marines - but it could be any grunt) are not 'heroes'... they're easily-manipulated near-psychotic (and more-than-a-little homoerotic) pillocks, many of whom are in the military as an alternative to a custodial sentence (about 30% of US enlistees are in this category). Anyone who has gone through any form of military training knows that the dumbest oxen in any Boot Camp are the ones who go to Infantry, and Marines aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer either. Military types will recognise all the barracks behaviour immediately - and as an antiwar statement, Jarhead is subtle but immensely powerful (it makes 'full Metal jacket' look lame-assed, which it was); and...
• notice that I've dispensed with all the links from the blog except for those to the free chart-based bits of RantPRO, and the two Google/Firefox 'bugs'. This is preparatory to providing 'cut-down' or delayed versions of some RantPRO items - for example a range of calendars (Economic, Reporting and IPO), and things like Breadth Analysis and Short Interest Analysis (the blog versions of these last two will be published with a one-week lag).

I note also (for those who are aware of my travails) that you can have all sorts of altercations with the ATO, but so long as you donate large enough slugs of dough to a political party you don't have to worry... you ca nend up on the RBA Board.

OzRant: Gotcha...

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

Well, I think it can now be stated openly that there was a 'nigger in the woodpile', as the saying used to go. I had wondered why it would be that recent SPISpy turning points had been greeted by sudden, inexplicable adverse moves - almost all starting within five minutes after the time indicated by the SPISpy, regardless of the time of day. Was it perhaps a sudden rush of nuffiness into the SPISpy's entrail and vital juices? Couldn't be. But it had been happening since the niddle of last week - and kept happeneing right up until yesterday... yesterday's 3 p.m. SPISpy entry (short from 4670) went nowhere until after 4:10 p.m., when all of a sudden someone went hunting for stops. There was no other explanation for it: someone used the thin, post-market period to drive the SPI up almost 20 points on absolutely no volume, looking for stops.

Then I found it.

Ordinarily, I would not say specifically that stop-ticklers were looking for SPISpy stops since (a) we don't use physical stops anyhow; and (b) 30 folks trading as few as 1 contract and as many as 10 gives an average of less than 150 contracts which is hardly worth chasing.

That said, I happened to 'accidentally' leave one SPISpy subscriber off the list today (whose email address is from a domestic futures broker), and what do you know? No strange 'adverse move' like those which have magically happened - to the minute, pretty much - at the time declared by each SPISpy e-mail since this chap joined. I would rather refund his subscription (which I've done) than have folks exposed to stop-running. And if it doesn't show you the fallacy of having 'hard' stops, I dunno what will... hard stops would have got picked off like fish in a barrel.

Anyhow - the eventual outcome for yesterday's SPISpy was OK, although it had to put up with almost a 25-point after-hours 'negative excursion'... and if you used a physical stop (which is specifically verboten so you only have yourself to blame) you either took the loss or tried to re-enter at a better price (in which case you're pretty good, and  don't need the SPISpy, frankly).

The exit today was sent out at 11:21 a.m., with a very specific indication that the market would reverse up starting at 11:30. Here's the excerpt:

Good morning folks.

Close any remaining positions from yesterday.

Those with more than 2 lots should be holding one or more contracts short from 4670 (yesterday's 3 p.m. entry). One-lotters will be out +3 - a disappointing outcome considering the requirement to 'ride' a position for 25 points of negative excursion - and2-lotters will be out +3, +6 in line with yesterday's SPISpy.

There is likely to be a bounce beginning at 11:30, so it's an opportune time to exit any remaining contracts. SPI currently 4637 (so those with 3 or more contracts averaged about 14 SPI points on this one - 3 for the first contract, 6 for the second, and 33 for the third...).

The low for the session was about three minutes before the e-mail went out, and the actual exit price was 4630-33, not 4637 - so for those trading more than 2 lots the outcome was slightly better than outlined above. The bounce didn't quite catch the low, but it still yielded the required +3 within 7 minutes. If our recently-refunded friend thinks he can re-subscribe with a dodgy e-mail address, I guess we'll then see how good my IP tracking is. 

But I digress.

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the ASX All Ordinaries (XAO) - fell by 24.90 points (-0.54%), finishing at 4585.30 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4610.20 just after the open, and its low was 4570.1 set just before 11:20 a.m. Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was a tad under 940 million units, 3.5% below its 10-day average. Of the 483 stocks in the index, 171 fell while 122 managed a gain. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.1:1, with 227.84million shares traded in gainers while 207.68million 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) - fell by 26.30 points (-0.56%), finishing at 4639.00 points.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - fell by 16.70 points (-0.67%), finishing at 2489.30 points. Within the index members, there were only 4 that rose, and 16 losers. Total volume in rising issues within the ASX20 amounted to 70.06m shares while volume in the losers totalled 52.86m units.

The major winners in the "big guns" were -

• Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$0.220 (0.99%) to $22.400 on volume of 4.72m shares;
• Telstra Corporation (TLS), +$0.020 (0.52%) to $3.900 on volume of 53.77m shares;
• Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.010 (0.18%) to $5.660 on volume of 6.49m shares; and 
• AMP Limited (AMP), +$0.010 (0.13%) to $7.880 on volume of 5.08m shares.

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

• Alumina (AWC), -$0.150 (2.28%) to $6.420 on volume of 2.49m shares;
• Woolworths (WOW), -$0.33 (1.89%) to $17.10 on volume of 3.27m shares;
• Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.66 (1.79%) to $36.23 on volume of 934,000 shares;
• BHP Billiton (BHP), -$0.39 (1.76%) to $21.83 on volume of 14.07m shares;
• Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.61 (1.73%) to $34.69 on volume of 2.27m shares.

At the smaller end of the market's capitalisation scale, the ASX Small Ordinaries Index (XSO) fell by 10.30 points (-0.40%), finishing at 2595.20 points. The major winners in the "pop-guns" were -

• Centennial Coal Company (CEY), +$0.290 (7.65%) to $4.080 on volume of 4.5m shares;
• Perseverance Corporation (PSV), +$0.020 (6.25%) to $0.340 on volume of 3.45m shares; and
• Integrated Group (IWF), +$0.100 (5.88%) to $1.800 on volume of 22,000 shares; and
• Virotec International (VTI), +$0.045 (5.45%) to $0.870 on volume of 70,000 shares; and
• Austereo Group (AEO), +$0.065 (4.21%) to $1.610 on volume of 445,000 shares.

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

• Iinet (IIN), -$0.240 (9.16%) to $2.380 on volume of 182,000 shares;
• Nylex (NLX), -$0.010 (6.25%) to $0.150 on volume of 21.33m shares; and
• Croesus Mining (CRS), -$0.015 (4.62%) to $0.310 on volume of 2.47m shares; and
• Antares Energy (AZZ), -$0.020 (4.21%) to $0.455 on volume of 663,000 shares; and
• Austral Coal (AUO), -$0.040 (3.85%) to $1.000 on volume of 1,000 shares.

Index Changes

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	4585.3	-24.9	-0.54%	527.68m
XTL	S&P/ASX 20	2489.3	-16.7	-0.67%	0
XFL	S&P/ASX 50	4539.9	-26.3	-0.58%	246.71m
XTO	S&P/ASX 100	3767.7	-21.5	-0.57%	342.02m
XJO	S&P/ASX 200	4639	-26.3	-0.56%	410.93m
XKO	S&P/ASX 300	4631.2	-25.6	-0.55%	0
XMD	S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50	4682.2	-24.4	-0.52%	0
XSO	S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries	2595.2	-10.3	-0.4%	139.88m

All Ordinaries Market Internals

Market Breadth

	ASX20	XTO	XJO	XAO	XSO	Market
Advances	4	24	58	122	68	389
Declines	16	65	112	171	81	548
Advancing Volume	70.06m	161.46m	195.91m	227.84	43.21	445.71
Declining Volume	52.86m	141.75m	163.03m	207.68	61.35	371.79

S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices

The top sector for the day - the only sector that recorded a gain - was XTJ Telecommunications which gained 0.45% to 1445.10 points thanks to a bounce in Telstra, although bot hstocks in the sector rose - 

• Telstra Corporation (TLS), +$0.020 (0.52%) to $3.900 on volume of 53.77m shares; and
• Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), +$0.010 (0.18%) to $5.540 on volume of 1.08m shares.

The worst-performed sector today was XUJ Utilities which lost 1.38% to 5503.10 points. The sector was dragged lower by

• Alinta (ALN), -$0.380 (3.31%) to $11.100 on volume of 927,000 shares;
• Gasnet Australia Group (GAS), -$0.030 (1.13%) to $2.620 on volume of 60,000 shares;
• Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), -$0.170 (1.03%) to $16.290 on volume of 547,000 shares;
• Australian Pipeline Trust (APA), -$0.030 (0.76%) to $3.900 on volume of 170,000 shares; and
• Envestra (ENV), -$0.005 (0.44%) to $1.135 on volume of 303,000 shares.

Just in front of last place on the sector table was XIJ Information Technology which lost 1.19% to 448.50 points. The sector was pulled down by

• Computershare (CPU), -$0.150 (2.13%) to $6.900 on volume of 969,000 shares;
• Infomedia Ltd (IFM), -$0.010 (1.85%) to $0.530 on volume of 188,000 shares;
• Vision Systems (VSL), -$0.000 (0%) to $1.780 on volume of 347,000 shares;
• ERG (ERG), -$0.000 (0%) to $0.125 on volume of 751,000 shares; and
• Baycorp Advantage (BCA), +$0.010 (0.3%) to $3.390 on volume of 228,000 shares.

Sector Indices

Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XTJ	Telecommunications	1445.1	6.5	0.45%	54.85m
XNJ	Industrials	5282.5	-4.9	-0.09%	71.06m
XXJ	ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts	5698.9	-17.9	-0.31%	47.45m
XFJ	Financials	5509.6	-20.7	-0.37%	88.89m
XEJ	Energy	10465.2	-57.9	-0.55%	20.54m
XPJ	Property Trusts	1861.5	-11.2	-0.6%	44.24m
XSJ	Consumer Staples	5943.6	-45.8	-0.76%	19.8m
XHJ	Healthcare	6269.2	-51.9	-0.82%	11.65m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	2232.5	-20.3	-0.9%	25.66m
XMJ	Materials	8699.6	-93.3	-1.06%	103.23m
XIJ	Information Technology	448.5	-5.4	-1.19%	5.1m
XUJ	Utilities	5503.1	-76.9	-1.38%	2.66m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
TLS	Telstra Corporation	3.9	0.02	0.52%	53.77m
BIL	Brambles Industries	9.76	0.54	5.86%	37.05m
NLX	Nylex	0.15	-0.01	-6.25%	21.33m
LHG	Lihir Gold	2.35	0.03	1.29%	14.73m
BHP	BHP Billiton	21.83	-0.39	-1.76%	14.07m
CAZ	Cazaly Resources	1.76	0.26	17.33%	10.15m

All Ords Percentage Gainers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
AAT	Autron Corporation	0.099	0.013	15.12%	1.35m
CEY	Centennial Coal Company	4.08	0.29	7.65%	4.5m
PSV	Perseverance Corporation	0.34	0.02	6.25%	3.45m
TRY	Troy Resources	3.18	0.18	6%	68850
BIL	Brambles Industries	9.76	0.54	5.86%	37.05m

All Ords Percentage Decliners

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
IIN	Iinet	2.38	-0.24	-9.16%	182064
ABI	Ambri	0.091	-0.009	-9%	830456
ERA	Energy Resources Of Australia	12.95	-1.05	-7.5%	11222
NLX	Nylex	0.15	-0.01	-6.25%	21.33m
PEP	Peplin	0.66	-0.04	-5.71%	160854

Elsewhere in the Region...

Regional Indices

Country	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
New Zealand	NZSE50	3302.433	-8	-0.24%	27.43m
Japan	Nikkei 225	14911.88	-75.06	-0.5%	0
Korea	KOSPI	1275.5	-18.24	-1.41%	469635
Singapore	Straits Times	2298.88	-9.66	-0.42%	0
Hong Kong	Hang Seng	14980.75	-119.25	-0.79%	104.09m
Malaysia	KLSE Comp	898.32	-1.82	-0.2%	0