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Well!! Although to the naked eye it appears that your beloved OzRant just turns up fresh and steaming like a new shiny turd each afternoon, in reality this one is more like a duck.
By that I don't mean that it's a witch, or that it weighs the same as a small rock or some other thing that floats. I mean that for all the apparent grace and ease of movement, under the waterline there is a frenzy of rather chaotic and inelegant thrashing about.
The first take of the USRant this morning was written partly out of genuine distaste for the Sovietising of the US, and partly out of a deeper personal chagrin as I was despondent at having discovered that none of my RantScripts was working. The DNS propagation of the new webhosting for the site formerly known as RantPro happened without notification in mid-afternoon (I was performing the changeover anyhow); what I did not know was that the new host had not yet installed the latest versions of PHP and mySQL.
What's that? you say... latest whatsamahoosit and thingummyjig? So what?
Well I'll tell you so what. So anything that used fputcsv() or file_put_contents() died in the bum *thanks to only having a 4.x version of PHP), as did things that made mysql_query() calls that used LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE and employed an @ 'dummy' variable (and a SET statement to turn the dummy into the variable of interest)... that last is down to mySQL being too old.
So each of the (as it turns out) 29 scripts that use file_put_contents, each of the 16 scripts that use fputcsv, and each of the 17 that use LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE had to be changed, starting at about 9:37 p.m. French time. Thanks to overlap, a total of 24 files had to be doctored.
To top it off, I had no idea which scripts included those calls, although it's easy enough to do a global search in Quanta+.
But then - get this - I could not simply do a replace. I wrote functions to replace the ones that were missing using if(!function_exists()) and naming my functions the same as the PHP 5 functions, so that when PHP5 is installed the scripts will work almost as quick as before, since they will ignore the bulk of the if statement. Clever, no?
And and and and and and...and then the six jobs that prepare the OzRant stool sample had to be put into the crontab (and I could not find the backed up version of the crontab, and the cron runtimes had to be changed to Canadian time).
And it all worked this morning without the slightest hitch.
Oddly enough, none of that is why OzRant is a tad late today... today it's all about having overslept.
But on to things of a more distinctly financial bent... if there be any doubt as to the ability of punters to have exited the long from two sessions ago with a 100% gain on the traditional (for the Rant) one-strike-OOM leveraged index instrument, I present today's closing numbers...
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - surged a whopping 160.2 points (2.94%), finishing at 5605.8 points. According to the data sources, the index closed at its intraday high (one day in ten the nuffies surge at the open pays off... it keeps them in the game), while the low for the day was 5445-ish at the open (but the 'traded low' - the session low after all stocks were open - was 5524-ish, at 10:50 a.m.).
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.63 billion units, within a hair of its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1438 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 760 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 1.17 billion units. Conversely, 459 stocks were dragged to a loss, with aggregate volume traded of 316.3 million shares. What a difference two sessions makes - it was only two days ago that was had massively tilted volume in the other direction, giving us the much sought after volume surge that marked the nuffnuffs exiting at the low
Of the 478 All Ordinaries components, 288 rose while 147 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 4.9:1, with 876.39 million shares traded in gainers while 177.37 million 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) - hurtled skyward to the tune of 168.1 points (3.11%), closing out the session at 5580.4 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 99 points (3.30%), closing out the session at 3096.7 points.
Among the 20 big guns, things were relatively upbeat: only one index component sought to rain on the bull's parade. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 218.73 million units; 20 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 214.76 million shares, while the sole declining stock traded 3.97 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Macquarie Group Limited (MQG), +$5.25 (8.9%) to $64.21 on volume of 3.9 million shares;
- QBE Insurance Group Limited (QBE), +$2.19 (8.17%) to $28.99 on volume of 4.8 million shares;
- Telstra (Installment Receipts) (TLSCA), +$0.19 (6.88%) to $2.95 on volume of 46.2 million shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$1.17 (6.88%) to $18.17 on volume of 8.8 million shares; and
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.46 (6.67%) to $7.36 on volume of 10 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, was poor old Woolies - Woolworths Limited (WOW), -$0.37 (1.23%) to $29.73 on volume of 4 million shares.
At the other end of the market-cap spectrum - the ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO). The small end of the market significantly underperformed its large-cap counterpart, but still had a pretty good session. The Small Ords piled on 72.5 points (2.31%), closing out the session at 3214.7 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 115 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 63 closed lower for the session.
The 192 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 345.56 million units: volume in the 115 gainers totalling 241.5 million shares, with trade totalling 70.97 million units in the index's 63 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Centro Retail (CER), +$0.10 (38.78%) to $0.34 on volume of 22.3 million shares;
- Rubicon Europe Trust Group (REU), +$0.09 (28.33%) to $0.39 on volume of 4.2 million shares;
- Midwest Corporation Limited (MIS), +$0.94 (23.74%) to $4.90 on volume of 2.2 million shares;
- Petsec Energy Limited (PSA), +$0.18 (16%) to $1.31 on volume of 381.8 thousand shares; and
- Murchison Metals Ltd (MMX), +$0.38 (14.29%) to $3.04 on volume of 3.6 million shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Rubicon Japan Trust (RJT), -$0.04 (7.41%) to $0.50 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Progen Industries (PGL), -$0.15 (7.32%) to $1.90 on volume of 127.8 thousand shares;
- Perilya Limited (PEM), -$0.08 (5.41%) to $1.40 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
- Transpacific Industries (TPI), -$0.37 (4.68%) to $7.53 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
- Mirvac Industrial Trust (MIX), -$0.03 (4.62%) to $0.62 on volume of 14.2 million shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 5605.8 | 160.2 | 2.94 | 1123m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 5449.7 | 175.8 | 3.33 | 423.2m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 5580.4 | 168.1 | 3.11 | 878.7m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 5583.9 | 168.3 | 3.11 | 1034.2m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 5685.2 | 137.3 | 2.47 | 265.5m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 3214.7 | 72.5 | 2.31 | 345.6m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 3096.7 | 99 | 3.3 | 218.7m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 4529.4 | 140.6 | 3.2 | 688.7m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 20 | 80 | 80 | 288 | 115 | 760 |
| Declines | 1 | 17 | 18 | 146 | 63 | 459 |
| Advancing Volume | 214.8m | 591.1m | 591.1m | 876.4m | 241.5m | 1.17 billion |
| Declining Volume | 4m | 80.3m | 82m | 172.8m | 71m | 316.3 million |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, it was green across the board, as every sector managed to keep its head above water.
The best performing index was Property Trusts (XPJ), which added 114.7 points (6.78%) to 1806.6 points. The 20 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 229.63 million units; 20 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 229.63 million shares, while sole declining stock traded 0 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Centro Retail (CER), +$0.10 (38.78%) to $0.34 on volume of 22.3 million shares;
- Centro Properties Group (CNP), +$0.13 (36.62%) to $0.49 on volume of 72.4 million shares;
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), +$0.07 (11.48%) to $0.68 on volume of 1.8 million shares;
- Tishman Speyer Office Fund (TSO), +$0.14 (10.63%) to $1.41 on volume of 770.5 thousand shares; and
- GPT Group (GPT), +$0.26 (7.58%) to $3.69 on volume of 10.7 million shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Telecommunications (XTJ), which gained 80.4 points (5.3%) to 1597.8 points. The 4 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 104.17 million units; 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 104.17 million shares, while sole declining stock traded 0 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Telstra (Installment Receipts) (TLSCA), +$0.19 (6.88%) to $2.95 on volume of 46.2 million shares;
- Singapore Telecommunications Limited. (SGT), +$0.18 (6.27%) to $3.05 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
- Telstra Corporation Limited. (TLS), +$0.19 (4.41%) to $4.50 on volume of 55.3 million shares; and
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand Limited (TEL), +$0.01 (0.28%) to $3.54 on volume of 943.6 thousand shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which climbed 230.3 points (3.8%) to 6294.7 points. The 28 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 117.28 million units; 23 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 109.11 million shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 0.41 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Allco Finance Group Limited (AFG), +$0.60 (27.15%) to $2.81 on volume of 15.4 million shares;
- Babcock & Brown Limited (BNB), +$3.46 (21.44%) to $19.60 on volume of 8.9 million shares;
- ASX Limited (ASX), +$7.08 (16.55%) to $49.85 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
- AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (AXA), +$0.54 (9.63%) to $6.15 on volume of 4.9 million shares; and
- Macquarie Group Limited (MQG), +$5.25 (8.9%) to $64.21 on volume of 3.9 million shares.
As mentioned above, there were no declining sectors today - so we can move on down to the Asian market stuff now. (Tricked you - still haven't reinserted the Aisan markets (will do that tomorrow).
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1806.6 | 114.7 | 6.78 | 230m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1597.8 | 80.4 | 5.3 | 104m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 6294.7 | 230.3 | 3.8 | 117m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2348.3 | 63.5 | 2.78 | 46m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 462.4 | 11.4 | 2.53 | 2m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5727.8 | 131.7 | 2.35 | 74m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 9058 | 193.9 | 2.19 | 13m |
| XMJ | Materials | 13174.5 | 273.1 | 2.12 | 158m |
| XEJ | Energy | 13130.2 | 216.2 | 1.67 | 48m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 8044.5 | 122.5 | 1.55 | 28m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 5872.4 | 70.6 | 1.22 | 57m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNP | Centro Properties Group | 0.49 | 0.13 | 36.62 | 72.4m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation Limited. | 4.50 | 0.19 | 4.41 | 55.3m |
| TLSCA | Telstra (Installment Receipts) | 2.95 | 0.19 | 6.88 | 46.2m |
| BBC | Babcock & Brown Communities Group | 0.58 | 0.03 | 4.5 | 26.1m |
| BBI | Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group | 1.22 | -0.02 | -1.22 | 24.4m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CER | Centro Retail | 0.34 | 0.10 | 38.78 | 22.3m |
| CNP | Centro Properties Group | 0.49 | 0.13 | 36.62 | 72.4m |
| REU | Rubicon Europe Trust Group | 0.39 | 0.09 | 28.33 | 4.2m |
| AFG | Allco Finance Group Limited | 2.81 | 0.60 | 27.15 | 15.4m |
| BGD | Boulder Steel Limited | 0.25 | 0.05 | 25 | 10.7k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXQ | Allco Max Securities And Mortgage Trust | 0.20 | -0.07 | -25.93 | 1.1m |
| CFU | Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited | 0.48 | -0.06 | -11.11 | 247.4k |
| MFT | MFS Diversified Group | 0.60 | -0.07 | -10.45 | 1.4m |
| SHV | Select Harvests Limited | 7.32 | -0.67 | -8.39 | 13.9k |
| TGP | Trafalgar Corporate Group | 1.75 | -0.15 | -7.89 | 36.1k |
