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Big deal - a bounce that stuck for the whole session instead of being slapped stupid after half an hour. I've said this before - the nuffnuffs have to have a win occasionally, as it keeps them in the game right up until the point where their account is empty. If it was genuinely the case that they got pwned every single time they stepped up, they would drop out due to the Discouraged Nuffie Effect instead of the Broke Nuffie Effect. Da Boyz prefer that the suckers leave with empty wallets rather than despondent looks on their faces.
Casinos operate on the same principle; everybody who enters knows (or ought to know) that the balance of probabilities says that pretty much everybody who goes through the doors is going to lose money. But by making the process slow and giving the nuffnuff the occasional win, the house encourages Hope. Hope is the corollary to fear. As the Bene Gesserit used to say, Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. They ought to have had the same type of aphorism for Hope... because Hope keeps a nuffnuff in a rigged game until everything is gone.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - surged a whopping 132.9 points (2.37%), finishing at 5748.2 points. The index hit an intraday high of 5752.4 at 3:18 pm, while the low for the day was 5636.3 - set at 10:00 am Sydney time.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.35 billion units, well below its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1385 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 618 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 871.5 million units. Conversely (or even contrariwise), 474 stocks lost ground for the session, with aggregate volume traded of 276.6 million shares.
Of the 478 All Ordinaries components, 283 rose while 138 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 3.5:1, with 658.92 million shares traded in gainers while 189.53 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 142.7 points (2.57%), closing out the session at 5684.8 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 5748.20 | 132.90 (2.4%) |
| ASX 50 | 5503.50 | 145.90 (2.7%) |
| ASX 200 | 5684.80 | 142.70 (2.6%) |
| ASX 300 | 5690.30 | 139.40 (2.5%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 5911.60 | 119.90 (2.1%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 3401.40 | 54.60 (1.6%) |
| ASX 20 | 3121.00 | 91.90 (3.0%) |
| ASX 100 | 4594.60 | 117.30 (2.6%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 91.9 points (3.03%), closing out the session at 3121 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 222.47 million units; 20 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 199.8 million shares, while the sole declining stock traded 22.67 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL), +$2.44 (5.23%) to $49.10 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
- BHP Billiton Limited (BHP), +$1.53 (4.1%) to $38.88 on volume of 16.5 million shares;
- Brambles Limited (BXB), +$0.37 (3.82%) to $10.06 on volume of 6.6 million shares;
- Suncorp-Metway Limited. (SUN), +$0.56 (3.81%) to $15.26 on volume of 2.7 million shares; and
- Rio Tinto Limited (RIO), +$4.78 (3.72%) to $133.39 on volume of 1.7 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), -$0.05 (0.64%) to $7.73 on volume of 22.7 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 significantly underperformed its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords performed solidly, in moving up 54.6 points (1.63%), closing out the session at 3401.4 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 128 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 53 closed lower for the session.
The 192 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 285.1 million units: volume in the 128 gainers totalling 174.12 million shares, with trade totalling 99.42 million units in the index's 53 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- AED Oil Limited (AED), +$0.42 (38.97%) to $1.48 on volume of 6.6 million shares;
- Timbercorp Limited (TIM), +$0.11 (10.19%) to $1.14 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
- Straits Resources Limited (SRL), +$0.63 (9.4%) to $7.33 on volume of 3.1 million shares;
- Arrow Energy NL (AOE), +$0.20 (9.35%) to $2.34 on volume of 5.6 million shares; and
- Deep Yellow Limited (DYL), +$0.03 (9.09%) to $0.30 on volume of 3.9 million shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Record Realty (RRT), -$0.19 (34.91%) to $0.35 on volume of 5.3 million shares;
- Rubicon America Trust (RAT), -$0.05 (14.52%) to $0.27 on volume of 3.1 million shares;
- Boom Logistics Limited (BOL), -$0.12 (12%) to $0.88 on volume of 7.9 million shares;
- Rubicon Japan Trust (RJT), -$0.07 (11.82%) to $0.49 on volume of 2.1 million shares; and
- Centro Retail (CER), -$0.04 (8.54%) to $0.38 on volume of 15.8 million shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 5748.2 | 132.9 | 2.37 | 876.3m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 5503.5 | 145.9 | 2.72 | 360.7m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 5684.8 | 142.7 | 2.57 | 754m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 5690.3 | 139.4 | 2.51 | 842.1m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 5911.6 | 119.9 | 2.07 | 196.3m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 3401.4 | 54.6 | 1.63 | 285.1m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 3121 | 91.9 | 3.03 | 222.5m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 4594.6 | 117.3 | 2.62 | 557m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 20 | 84 | 85 | 282 | 128 | 618 |
| Declines | 1 | 13 | 13 | 138 | 53 | 474 |
| Advancing Volume | 199.8m | 467.8m | 470.8m | 654.6m | 174.1m | 871.5 million |
| Declining Volume | 22.7m | 73.7m | 73.7m | 189.5m | 99.4m | 276.6 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 Information Technology (XIJ), which added 31.9 points (6.61%) to 514.5 points. It was pretty much entirely due to Computershare, which beat profit forecasts before the market open yesterday... so much for market efficiency (as if anybody with half a brain believes in that particular Tooth Fairy anyway).
- Computershare Limited (CPU), +$0.56 (6.75%) to $8.86 on volume of 6.1 million shares; and
- Iress Market Technology Limited (IRE), +$0.01 (0.15%) to $6.57 on volume of 1.2 million shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Materials (XMJ), which gained 523.6 points (3.66%) to 14836.7 points. The 42 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 160.09 million units; 36 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 142.92 million shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 17.17 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Timbercorp Limited (TIM), +$0.11 (10.19%) to $1.14 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
- Alumina Limited (AWC), +$0.41 (8.18%) to $5.42 on volume of 16.3 million shares;
- Kagara Zinc Limited (KZL), +$0.32 (7.88%) to $4.38 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
- Murchison Metals Ltd (MMX), +$0.32 (7.73%) to $4.46 on volume of 3.2 million shares; and
- Iluka Resources Limited (ILU), +$0.30 (7.01%) to $4.58 on volume of 712 thousand shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Energy (XEJ), which climbed 484.3 points (3.47%) to 14454.3 points. The 18 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 57.29 million units; 16 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 54.88 million shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 2.4 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- AED Oil Limited (AED), +$0.42 (38.97%) to $1.48 on volume of 6.6 million shares;
- Paladin Energy Limited (PDN), +$0.74 (13.96%) to $6.04 on volume of 7.1 million shares;
- Straits Resources Limited (SRL), +$0.63 (9.4%) to $7.33 on volume of 3.1 million shares;
- Arrow Energy NL (AOE), +$0.20 (9.35%) to $2.34 on volume of 5.6 million shares; and
- Nexus Energy Limited (NXS), +$0.13 (8.12%) to $1.73 on volume of 4.1 million shares.
As mentioned above, there were no declining sectors today - so we can move on down to the Asian market stuff now.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XIJ | Information Technology | 514.5 | 31.9 | 6.61 | 7m |
| XMJ | Materials | 14836.7 | 523.6 | 3.66 | 160m |
| XEJ | Energy | 14454.3 | 484.3 | 3.47 | 57m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 8003.2 | 232.6 | 2.99 | 33m |
| XXJ | ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts | 5903.6 | 141 | 2.45 | 117m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1682 | 31.8 | 1.93 | 102m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 6074.1 | 110 | 1.84 | 21m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2351.4 | 38.9 | 1.68 | 48m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1828.9 | 27.4 | 1.52 | 110m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 5793.3 | 61.7 | 1.08 | 84m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8755.7 | 67.2 | 0.77 | 13m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLS | Telstra Corporation Limited. | 4.73 | 0.05 | 1.07 | 63.6m |
| TLSCA | Telstra (Installment Receipts) | 3.17 | 0.07 | 2.26 | 30.9m |
| AMP | AMP Limited | 7.73 | -0.05 | -0.64 | 22.7m |
| SDL | Sundance Resources Limited | 0.25 | 0.01 | 2.08 | 20.4m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton Limited | 38.88 | 1.53 | 4.1 | 16.5m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AED | AED Oil Limited | 1.48 | 0.42 | 38.97 | 6.6m |
| NRT | Novogen Limited | 1.30 | 0.19 | 17.12 | 17.8k |
| PDN | Paladin Energy Limited | 6.04 | 0.74 | 13.96 | 7.1m |
| PFG | Prime Financial Group Limited | 0.45 | 0.05 | 12.5 | 12k |
| AEP | Allco Equity Partners Limited. | 2.25 | 0.23 | 11.39 | 305.2k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RRT | Record Realty | 0.35 | -0.19 | -34.91 | 5.3m |
| RAT | Rubicon America Trust | 0.27 | -0.05 | -14.52 | 3.1m |
| CPK | CP1 Limited | 0.38 | -0.06 | -13.64 | 60k |
| BOL | Boom Logistics Limited | 0.88 | -0.12 | -12 | 7.9m |
| RJT | Rubicon Japan Trust | 0.49 | -0.07 | -11.82 | 2.1m |
