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Today marked the seventh straight day of declines for the headline Australian indices - that doesn't;t happen very often (tomorrow i will share with you, just how un-often). The most disappointing thing for the bulls (those who have not yet been sacrificed in the recent taurobolium) is that the ASX200 tried desperately to (a) escape above 6000; and (b) get back above 6000... and failed at both.
Today is the first close below 6000 for the ASX200, since late August 2007; in that regard, we join the NZSE 50 and the Nikkei in having formed exceedingly bearish formations (only the Hang Seng remains above its first 'thrust' level off the August interim lows).
The powers that be have slowed the rate of decline of the indices, but it is interesting that even despite the US surge on Monday, the Oz market was incapable of any follow-through from yesterday's rally off the early lows.
Centro's travails continued - CER and CNP came back on after Friday's suspension and promptly got their throats cut. The company's announcement was little more than a table showing the amount of dough that they have to find; it did little or nothing to assuage the market's fears as to their capacity to actualy find the amounts listed in the table. In December CER was at what... $1.50? and CNP was at $6... CEO Andrew Scott fell on his sword today (doubtless with a nice cheque forthcoming to help ease the pain). He has been replaced by the guy who has headed up the US operations... a chap called Rufrano or some such - a company insider. Yeah, that's going to help.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - declined gently, dropping 21.1 points (0.35%), finishing at 6019.8 points. The index hit an intraday high of 6102.1 at 10:10 am, while the low for the day was 6005.2 - set at 3 pm precisely. That's a 97 point intraday range; 80 points of that range were covered in the 80 minutes after the high was set.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.55 billion units, almost bang-on its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1443 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 493 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 470.7 million units. Conversely (or even contrariwise), 654 stocks finished in the red, with aggregate volume traded of 871.9 million shares.
Of the 478 All Ordinaries components that traded, 167 rose while 252 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 2.6:1, with 268.54 million shares traded in gainers while 710.58 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) - fell mildly, losing 20 points (0.33%), closing out the session at 5960 points.
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - slid modestly, falling 0.5 points (0.02%), closing out the session at 3296.5 points.
Among the 20 big guns, 8 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 12 closed lower for the session. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 163.21 million units; 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 44.98 million shares, while the 12 decliners had volume traded totalling 113.23 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), +$0.57 (1.62%) to $35.74 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
- Rio Tinto Limited (RIO), +$1.90 (1.52%) to $126.90 on volume of 993.2 thousand shares;
- Australia And New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), +$0.38 (1.48%) to $26.06 on volume of 8 million shares;
- St George Bank Limited (SGB), +$0.40 (1.32%) to $30.80 on volume of 1.6 million shares; and
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$0.21 (0.82%) to $25.83 on volume of 8.3 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.24 (2.61%) to $8.95 on volume of 11.4 million shares;
- Foster's Group Limited (FGL), -$0.15 (2.35%) to $6.22 on volume of 6 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL), -$1.17 (2.29%) to $49.93 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
- QBE Insurance Group Limited (QBE), -$0.69 (2.19%) to $30.75 on volume of 3.2 million shares; and
- Macquarie Group Limited (MQG), -$1.22 (1.72%) to $69.88 on volume of 1.5 million shares.
At the other end of the market-cap spectrum lie the denizens of the ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) - the place where non-mania excess returns lie. The small end of the market had significantly worse day than its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords registered a loss of 47.2 points (1.31%), closing out the session at 3563.9 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 60 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 118 closed lower for the session.
The 192 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 319.78 million units: volume in the 60 gainers totalling 93.41 million shares, with trade totalling 216 million units in the index's 118 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Resolute Mining Limited (RSG), +$0.17 (8.9%) to $2.08 on volume of 431.1 thousand shares;
- Energy Resources Of Australia Limited (ERA), +$1.55 (8.56%) to $19.65 on volume of 791.4 thousand shares;
- Lynas Corporation Limited (LYC), +$0.10 (8%) to $1.35 on volume of 5.7 million shares;
- Gindalbie Metals Ltd (GBG), +$0.07 (7.6%) to $0.92 on volume of 2.8 million shares; and
- McGuigan Simeon Wines Limited (MGW), +$0.10 (5.88%) to $1.80 on volume of 283.2 thousand shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Centro Retail (CER), -$0.24 (41.03%) to $0.35 on volume of 63.4 million shares;
- MFS Limited (MFS), -$0.77 (19.54%) to $3.17 on volume of 13.7 million shares;
- Reckson New York Property Trust (RNY), -$0.06 (8.73%) to $0.58 on volume of 70 thousand shares;
- Sundance Resources Limited (SDL), -$0.03 (8.47%) to $0.27 on volume of 59.9 million shares; and
- SMS Management & Technology Limited. (SMX), -$0.48 (6.86%) to $6.52 on volume of 150.3 thousand shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 6019.8 | -21.1 | -0.35 | 1002.2m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 5793.9 | -12.5 | -0.22 | 413.4m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 5960 | -20 | -0.33 | 890.9m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 5972.1 | -20.4 | -0.34 | 950.9m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 6108.7 | -14.8 | -0.24 | 217.7m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 3563.9 | -47.2 | -1.31 | 319.8m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 3296.5 | -0.5 | -0.02 | 163.2m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 4823.2 | -10.6 | -0.22 | 631.1m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 8 | 37 | 38 | 166 | 60 | 493 |
| Declines | 12 | 62 | 62 | 252 | 118 | 654 |
| Advancing Volume | 45m | 146.5m | 148.2m | 261m | 93.4m | 470.7 million |
| Declining Volume | 113.2m | 472.1m | 472.1m | 710.6m | 216m | 871.9 million |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, today's market action was dominated by sectoral declines - only one sector managed a gain for the day.
The best performing index was Materials (XMJ), which added 127.8 points (0.88%) to 14667.3 points. The 42 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 181.5 million units; 23 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 91.73 million shares, while the 15 decliners had volume traded totalling 87.37 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Lynas Corporation Limited (LYC), +$0.10 (8%) to $1.35 on volume of 5.7 million shares;
- Kagara Zinc Limited (KZL), +$0.27 (5.07%) to $5.60 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL), +$5.90 (5%) to $124.00 on volume of 358.8 thousand shares;
- Compass Resources NL (CMR), +$0.09 (4.04%) to $2.32 on volume of 465.3 thousand shares; and
- Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG), +$0.26 (3.98%) to $6.79 on volume of 7.5 million shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Property Trusts (XPJ), which dipped 37.5 points (2.04%) to 1804.6 points. The 20 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 334.66 million units; The 19 decliners had volume traded totalling 334.25 million units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Centro Retail (CER), -$0.24 (41.03%) to $0.35 on volume of 63.4 million shares;
- Centro Properties Group (CNP), -$0.27 (30.81%) to $0.60 on volume of 138.4 million shares;
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), -$0.05 (6.08%) to $0.70 on volume of 4.1 million shares;
- DB RREEF Trust (DRT), -$0.09 (5.06%) to $1.60 on volume of 15.1 million shares; and
- Macquarie Office Trust (MOF), -$0.06 (4.7%) to $1.12 on volume of 6.4 million shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Industrials (XNJ), which slid 97 points (1.58%) to 6054.5 points. The 30 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 77.48 million units; The 22 decliners had volume traded totalling 50.43 million units, and 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 27.05 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Transfield Services Limited (TSE), -$0.84 (6.41%) to $12.26 on volume of 635.1 thousand shares;
- Leighton Holdings Limited (LEI), -$2.83 (5.41%) to $49.47 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
- Qantas Airways Limited (QAN), -$0.21 (4.09%) to $4.92 on volume of 11.1 million shares;
- Australian Infrastructure Fund (AIX), -$0.12 (4.07%) to $2.83 on volume of 411.3 thousand shares; and
- Connecteast Group (CEU), -$0.06 (3.9%) to $1.48 on volume of 3 million shares.
Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Consumer Staples (XSJ), which slid 135 points (1.55%) to 8594.9 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 28.05 million units; The 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 24.25 million units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 3.8 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- AWB Limited (AWB), -$0.1 (3.6%) to $2.68 on volume of 802.5 thousand shares;
- Metcash Limited (MTS), -$0.12 (2.78%) to $4.19 on volume of 3.6 million shares;
- Foster's Group Limited (FGL), -$0.15 (2.35%) to $6.22 on volume of 6 million shares;
- Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCL), -$0.2 (2.01%) to $9.73 on volume of 1.8 million shares; and
- Goodman Fielder Limited (GFF), -$0.03 (1.76%) to $1.67 on volume of 4.8 million shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XMJ | Materials | 14667.3 | 127.8 | 0.88 | 182m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 6354.1 | -0.2 | 0 | 18m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 6626.8 | -6.8 | -0.1 | 76m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 9349 | -28.4 | -0.3 | 10m |
| XEJ | Energy | 15017.1 | -63.2 | -0.42 | 40m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 507.7 | -2.5 | -0.49 | 3m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2473.4 | -19.7 | -0.79 | 51m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1625.9 | -14.6 | -0.89 | 72m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 8594.9 | -135 | -1.55 | 28m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 6054.5 | -97 | -1.58 | 77m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1804.6 | -37.5 | -2.04 | 335m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNP | Centro Properties Group | 0.60 | -0.27 | -30.81 | 138.4m |
| CER | Centro Retail | 0.35 | -0.24 | -41.03 | 63.4m |
| SDL | Sundance Resources Limited | 0.27 | -0.03 | -8.47 | 59.9m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation Limited. | 4.57 | -0.05 | -1.08 | 36.5m |
| TLSCA | Telstra (Installment Receipts) | 3.04 | -0.02 | -0.65 | 29.9m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDY | Geodynamics Limited | 1.74 | 0.26 | 17.17 | 1.9m |
| LFE | Life Therapeutics Limited | 0.27 | 0.04 | 14.89 | 4.8k |
| NRT | Novogen Limited | 1.24 | 0.13 | 11.71 | 33.7k |
| RSG | Resolute Mining Limited | 2.08 | 0.17 | 8.9 | 431.1k |
| ERA | Energy Resources Of Australia Limited | 19.65 | 1.55 | 8.56 | 791.4k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CER | Centro Retail | 0.35 | -0.24 | -41.03 | 63.4m |
| CNP | Centro Properties Group | 0.60 | -0.27 | -30.81 | 138.4m |
| MFS | MFS Limited | 3.17 | -0.77 | -19.54 | 13.7m |
| PFG | Prime Financial Group Limited | 0.63 | -0.07 | -10 | 26.7k |
| RNY | Reckson New York Property Trust | 0.58 | -0.06 | -8.73 | 70k |
