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The flagrant attempt by US regulators to manipulate global share markets has worked for now; there are clearly enough people who believe that the very folks who got the world finanacial system into this mess, are capable of getting it out of the mess without any longer-term dislocation.
That sort of faith is touching when you see it in a little child: nobody wants to be the first to destroy the pleasant fiction that a fairy gives you fifty cents for each tooth, or that a fat bearded guy gives pressies to every good kid on the planet. But here goes.
Global investors have decided to believe - for one day, at least - in the Cancer Fairy.
Now we should not be surprised that a bunch of political hacks - who are all concerned about their political paymasters' chances in November - have decided to try and get taxpayers to bail out a failed enterprise in which a load of other political hacks were dumb enough to put other people's money. But if the US wants to retain even the slightest pretence to being a capitalist economy, they ought to have let the two toxic waste dumps fail.
It's bad enough that US economic statistics are now so flagrantly falsified that it's beyond funny - that the only way that growth was able to be finagled in the GDP data was by the use of a GDP deflator that was at a 10-year low, when CPI and PPI inflation are at decade highs. It's Bushism writ large: they just don't give a shit if we believe them or not.
This Fannie-Freddie bailout is going to cost ten times the initial stake ($200 billion) before it's all over. US T-bonds at the moment ought to be trading at the same discount to face value, as Zimbabwean government bonds.
One last thing for USSPy subscribers: How good was the call on Oil on Friday? It's a second bite at teh same cheery, although those who chose to ride the fall from $121 won't be too happy. For those who don't subscribe... the latest entry was below $106 (Crude was at $105.70 when the e-mail alert went out: it's now just above $108). Paulson and his corrupt cronies can't keep things away from their price attractor forever, folks.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - surged a whopping 176.8 points (3.57%), finishing at 5126.3 points. The index hit an intraday high of 5140.6 at 12:23 pm, while the low for the day was 4949.5 - set at 10:00 am Sydney time.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.14bn units, 4.6% below its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1284 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 629 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 758.8m units; decliners numbered 412 counters, and between them they traded aggregate declining volume of 268.5m shares.
Of the 491 All Ordinaries components, 310 rose while 124 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 3.8:1, with 655.88m shares traded in gainers while 172.75m 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 190.4 points (3.90%), closing out the session at 5067.5 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 5126.30 | 176.80 (3.6%) |
| ASX 20 | 2878.60 | 109.00 (3.9%) |
| ASX 50 | 4966.30 | 190.00 (4.0%) |
| ASX 100 | 4111.60 | 157.30 (4.0%) |
| ASX 200 | 5067.50 | 190.40 (3.9%) |
| ASX 300 | 5060.70 | 187.60 (3.8%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 5038.10 | 192.30 (4.0%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 2857.70 | 74.70 (2.7%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 109 points (3.94%), closing out the session at 2878.6 points.
The 20 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 183.54m units; 19 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 145.12m shares. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Macquarie Group Limited (MQG), +$6.31 (15.02%) to $48.31 on volume of 4.9 million shares;
- Australia And New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), +$1.34 (8.24%) to $17.60 on volume of 25.5 million shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), +$3.28 (7.89%) to $44.87 on volume of 7.7 million shares;
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.38 (6.97%) to $5.83 on volume of 10.2 million shares; and
- National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), +$1.50 (6.36%) to $25.10 on volume of 17.1 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 had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 74.7 points (2.68%), closing out the session at 2857.7 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 136 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 41 closed lower for the session.
The 194 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 240.34m units: volume in the 136 gainers totalling 167.02m shares, with trade totalling 55.23m units in the index's 41 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Rubicon Europe Trust Group (REU), +$0.01 (23.81%) to $0.05 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Record Realty (RRT), +$0.01 (20%) to $0.03 on volume of 33.3 thousand shares;
- Rubicon Japan Trust (RJT), +$0.01 (14.63%) to $0.05 on volume of 832.3 thousand shares;
- Sunshine Gas Limited (SHG), +$0.34 (12.78%) to $3.00 on volume of 4.1 million shares; and
- Boom Logistics Limited (BOL), +$0.12 (12.06%) to $1.12 on volume of 361.4 thousand shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Rivercity Motorway Group (RCY), -$0.08 (31.37%) to $0.18 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
- Perilya Limited (PEM), -$0.05 (11.11%) to $0.36 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
- Allco Finance Group Limited (AFG), -$0.03 (10.91%) to $0.25 on volume of 2.2 million shares;
- Aditya Birla Minerals limited (ABY), -$0.12 (7.99%) to $1.33 on volume of 1.1 million shares; and
- Reverse Corp Limited (REF), -$0.1 (5.56%) to $1.62 on volume of 50.9 thousand shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 5126.3 | 176.8 | 3.57 | 896.6m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 4966.3 | 190 | 3.98 | 395.1m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 5067.5 | 190.4 | 3.9 | 770.9m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 5060.7 | 187.6 | 3.85 | 837.9m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 5038.1 | 192.3 | 3.97 | 202.5m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 2857.7 | 74.7 | 2.68 | 240.3m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2878.6 | 109 | 3.94 | 183.5m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 4111.6 | 157.3 | 3.98 | 597.6m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 19 | 85 | 164 | 310 | 136 | 629 |
| Declines | 0 | 13 | 28 | 124 | 41 | 412 |
| Advancing Volume | 145.1m | 467.2m | 584.9m | 655.9m | 167m | 758.8m |
| Declining Volume | 0m | 102.1m | 142.7m | 172.8m | 55.2m | 268.5m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, things were relatively upbeat: every sector bar one managed to keep its head above water.
The best performing index was Energy (XEJ), which added 1215.7 points (7.28%) to 17907.8 points. The 17 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 80.93m units; 17 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 80.93m shares, while sole declining stock traded 0m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC), +$1.11 (30.08%) to $4.80 on volume of 12.2 million shares;
- Origin Energy Limited (ORG), +$2.00 (12.78%) to $17.65 on volume of 28.5 million shares;
- Paladin Energy Limited (PDN), +$0.43 (8.57%) to $5.45 on volume of 2.8 million shares;
- Oil Search Limited (OSH), +$0.43 (8.25%) to $5.64 on volume of 5.1 million shares; and
- Caltex Australia Limited (CTX), +$0.91 (8.21%) to $12.00 on volume of 760.8 thousand shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which gained 310.6 points (6.38%) to 5181.4 points. The 30 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 113.15m units; 27 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 110.63m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 2.52m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Macquarie Group Limited (MQG), +$6.31 (15.02%) to $48.31 on volume of 4.9 million shares;
- Australia And New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), +$1.34 (8.24%) to $17.60 on volume of 25.5 million shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), +$3.28 (7.89%) to $44.87 on volume of 7.7 million shares;
- Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (BEN), +$0.71 (6.49%) to $11.65 on volume of 826 thousand shares; and
- ASX Limited (ASX), +$2.15 (6.42%) to $35.65 on volume of 628.1 thousand shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Property Trusts (XPJ), which climbed 79.8 points (5.46%) to 1541.8 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 135.41m units; 17 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 107.1m shares, while the 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 26.75m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.38 (6.97%) to $5.83 on volume of 10.2 million shares;
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), +$0.03 (6.49%) to $0.41 on volume of 3.8 million shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$1.08 (6.26%) to $18.33 on volume of 9 million shares;
- Babcock&Brown Japan Property Trust (BJT), +$0.05 (6.25%) to $0.85 on volume of 764.8 thousand shares; and
- Goodman Group (GMG), +$0.19 (6.23%) to $3.24 on volume of 9.3 million shares.
The only declining index for the session was Utilities (XUJ), which dipped 6.7 points (0.13%) to 5109.9 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 31.39m units; The 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 14.95m units, and 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 3.62m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Sp Ausnet (SPN), -$0.02 (1.36%) to $1.09 on volume of 1.9 million shares;
- Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group (BBI), -$0.01 (1.12%) to $0.44 on volume of 9.5 million shares;
- AGL Energy Limited (AGK), -$0.1 (0.68%) to $14.53 on volume of 2 million shares; and
- Duet Group (DUE), -$0.01 (0.33%) to $3.00 on volume of 1.6 million shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XEJ | Energy | 17907.8 | 1215.7 | 7.28 | 81m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 5181.4 | 310.6 | 6.38 | 113m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1541.8 | 79.8 | 5.46 | 135m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4933.5 | 130.8 | 2.72 | 103m |
| XMJ | Materials | 12696.1 | 291.8 | 2.35 | 190m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1750 | 34.5 | 2.01 | 45m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 7379.9 | 143.8 | 1.99 | 30m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 9594.2 | 148.8 | 1.58 | 9m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 524.9 | 7.2 | 1.39 | 2m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1463.4 | 0.6 | 0.04 | 47m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 5109.9 | -6.7 | -0.13 | 31m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OZL | OZ Minerals Limited | 1.51 | -0.01 | -0.33 | 39.6m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation Limited. | 4.27 | 0.00 | 0 | 38.4m |
| ORG | Origin Energy Limited | 17.65 | 2.00 | 12.78 | 28.5m |
| ANZ | Australia And New Zealand Banking Group Limited | 17.60 | 1.34 | 8.24 | 25.5m |
| MIG | Macquarie Infrastructure Group | 2.34 | 0.08 | 3.54 | 20.8m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QGC | Queensland Gas Company Limited | 4.80 | 1.11 | 30.08 | 12.2m |
| REU | Rubicon Europe Trust Group | 0.05 | 0.01 | 23.81 | 1.1m |
| TOE | Toro Energy Limited | 0.24 | 0.05 | 23.08 | 2.7m |
| RRT | Record Realty | 0.03 | 0.01 | 20 | 33.3k |
| CKT | Challenger Kenedix Japan Trust | 1.20 | 0.20 | 19.4 | 27.2k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCY | Rivercity Motorway Group | 0.18 | -0.08 | -31.37 | 6.4m |
| PEM | Perilya Limited | 0.36 | -0.05 | -11.11 | 2.3m |
| AIM | Aim Resources Limited | 0.02 | 0.00 | -11.11 | 446.9k |
| AFG | Allco Finance Group Limited | 0.25 | -0.03 | -10.91 | 2.2m |
| ABY | Aditya Birla Minerals limited | 1.33 | -0.12 | -7.99 | 1.1m |
