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We should not get too carried away by the bit of weakness seen today in Australian stocks - after all, tomorrow night (Strayan time) it's a holiday in the US. It's the day when Yanks give thanks to the Sky Wizard, who helped a bunch of Puritans slaughter hundreds of redskins for the heinous crime of being helpful. The Puritans, you see, were on the brink of starvation: when old Squanto and his Wampanoag mates showed up and taught them how to fish, how to grow and prepare some native flora (like pumpkin and corn, if memory serves).
Squanto and his mates were reasonably pleasant, it would seem. For taking the trouble to save the asses of these rich Whiteys (they could afford to charter vessels, folks), old Squanto (who wasn't very old, actually) was enslaved. Nice touch, Pilgrims.
A few years later, the holiday was re-promulgated, in celebration of the slaughter of the Pequot Indians - another reasonably peacable bunch of half-naked indigenes who were butchered like animals by the invaders who were bringing them 'civilisation'.
You see, far from being the modest-living, ascetic Sky-Wizard adherents that we are all taught about, the Pilgrims ('Puritans' if you like) were upper-middle class racist assholes who thought that they could cheat, beat, kill and defraud the Wampanoag with impunity.
A wise man was once asked to come back to the Massachusetts Bay colony after fleeing and establishing a colony near Narragansett Bay.
The guy was Roger Williams, founder of the colony of Rhode Island in 1635: it was the sole colony that outlawed slavery from its inception, gave full citizenship to blacks and Indians, and refused to return escaped slaves across its border. Williams 'lived his values' you see, and thought that the Narragansett Indians had an openness of spirit that Jeebus himself would have praised: that. while not Christian in a doctrinal sense, their 'spirit of brotherly love was more fully developed than that of the Puritans of Massachusetts"..
Anyhow - the Massachusetts settlers thought that Williams must have been having a hard time living in amongst the savages...they invited him to abandon his colony and return to Massachusetts - to which Williams promptly replied:
"I feel safer down here among the Christian savages along Narragansett Bay than I do among the savage Christians of Massachusetts Bay Colony".
Pwned, Massachusetts.
Anyhow... the reason I mention that it's a holiday, is that the Yank Banks will probably use the thin trade in tonight's afternoon session to goose the living beJeebus out of their markets. Accordingly it would be a very good idea to short the 30-year bond as soon as poss (it's sitting above 127 again - just asking for it, your Honour).
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - gave bulls a thing or two to think about, posting a loss of 95.8 points (2.68%) to close at 3479.6 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3555.4 at 10:57 am, while the low for the day was 3478.3 - set at 3:37 pm Sydney time.
There were several attempts to buy a bounce during the session, but none of them gained any traction. The most impressive bounce-attempt of the day started at about 11 a.m. (just before 11, actually) and ran the ASX200 from 3575 to 3620 in about 12 minutes.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.12bn units, 11.5% below its 10-day average of 1.27bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1059 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 324 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 388.7m units; there were 499 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 613.9m shares.
Of the 489 All Ordinaries components, 126 rose while 270 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.7:1, with 318.58m shares traded in gainers while 548.82m shares traded in the day's losers.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) - dipped rather savagely, losing 83.4 points (2.3%), closing out the session at 3540 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3479.60 | -95.80 (2.7%) |
| ASX 20 | 2143.10 | -47.00 (2.1%) |
| ASX 50 | 3588.70 | -79.30 (2.2%) |
| ASX 100 | 2922.00 | -66.50 (2.2%) |
| ASX 200 | 3540.00 | -83.40 (2.3%) |
| ASX 300 | 3519.30 | -82.20 (2.3%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3173.30 | -88.60 (2.7%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1592.00 | -48.70 (3.0%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - received a bit of rough handling, sliding 47 points (2.15%), closing out the session at 2143.1 points.
The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 194.11m units; 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 112.51m shares, while the 14 decliners had volume traded totalling 81.57m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.28 (7.53%) to $4.00 on volume of 6.1 million shares;
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$1.03 (3.93%) to $27.25 on volume of 42.4 million shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.30 (2.12%) to $14.45 on volume of 5.1 million shares;
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), +$0.06 (1.46%) to $4.18 on volume of 50.3 million shares; and
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.10 (0.4%) to $25.10 on volume of 3.8 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- RIO Tinto (RIO), -$21.89 (34.26%) to $42.01 on volume of 17.5 million shares;
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), -$1.23 (6.9%) to $16.60 on volume of 11.7 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$1.6 (4.78%) to $31.90 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), -$1.34 (3.94%) to $32.66 on volume of 4.3 million shares; and
- Suncorp-Metway. (SUN), -$0.26 (3.63%) to $6.90 on volume of 3.2 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) had a significantly worse day than its large-cap counterpart, sliding 48.7 points (2.97%), closing out the session at 1592 points.
The 209 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 250.36m units: volume in the 51 gainers totalling 88.15m shares, with trade totalling 147.78m units in the index's 131 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), +$0.01 (19.3%) to $0.07 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Centro Properties Group (CNP), +$0.01 (18.6%) to $0.05 on volume of 4.6 million shares;
- Bannerman Resources (BMN), +$0.09 (17.17%) to $0.58 on volume of 819.8 thousand shares;
- Mineral Deposits (MDL), +$0.06 (16.67%) to $0.39 on volume of 2.9 million shares; and
- Babcock & Brown Wind Partners Group (BBW), +$0.11 (16.67%) to $0.74 on volume of 8.5 million shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- NRW Holdings (NWH), -$0.17 (37.08%) to $0.28 on volume of 7.1 million shares;
- Ausenco (AAX), -$0.8 (27.12%) to $2.15 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Galileo Japan Trust (GJT), -$0.01 (21.88%) to $0.05 on volume of 7.7 million shares;
- HFA Holdings (HFA), -$0.04 (21.05%) to $0.15 on volume of 1.1 million shares; and
- Flexigroup Limited (FXL), -$0.05 (17.54%) to $0.24 on volume of 581.2 thousand shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3479.6 | -95.8 | -2.68 | 910.9m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3588.7 | -79.3 | -2.16 | 401m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3540 | -83.4 | -2.3 | 804.7m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3519.3 | -82.2 | -2.28 | 871.9m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3173.3 | -88.6 | -2.72 | 234.4m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1592 | -48.7 | -2.97 | 236.5m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2143.1 | -47 | -2.15 | 188m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 2922 | -66.5 | -2.23 | 635.4m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 6 | 29 | 52 | 126 | 51 | 59 |
| Declines | 14 | 68 | 144 | 270 | 131 | 92 |
| Advancing Volume | 112.5m | 229m | 292.4m | 318.6m | 88.1m | 130.4m |
| Declining Volume | 81.6m | 393.7m | 495.8m | 548.8m | 147.8m | 116.3m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, 2 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 9 lost ground.
The best performing index was Property Trusts (XPJ), which added 14.7 points (1.51%) to 985.6 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 115.94m units; 9 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 47.06m shares, while the 10 decliners had volume traded totalling 47.44m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), +$0.01 (19.3%) to $0.07 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Centro Properties Group (CNP), +$0.01 (18.6%) to $0.05 on volume of 4.6 million shares;
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.28 (7.53%) to $4.00 on volume of 6.1 million shares;
- Tishman Speyer Office Fund (TSO), +$0.02 (5.66%) to $0.28 on volume of 740.2 thousand shares; and
- Goodman Group (GMG), +$0.05 (5.26%) to $1.00 on volume of 9.5 million shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Telecommunications (XTJ), which gained 18.5 points (1.34%) to 1396.6 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 53.86m units; 2 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 52.71m shares, while sole declining stock traded 1.15m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), +$0.06 (1.46%) to $4.18 on volume of 50.3 million shares; and
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), +$0.01 (0.52%) to $1.92 on volume of 2.4 million shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Industrials (XNJ), which dipped 131.1 points (4.25%) to 2950.4 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 125.62m units; The 24 decliners had volume traded totalling 121.21m units, and 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 4.16m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- NRW Holdings (NWH), -$0.17 (37.08%) to $0.28 on volume of 7.1 million shares;
- Connecteast Group (CEU), -$0.19 (28.15%) to $0.49 on volume of 24.6 million shares;
- Ausenco (AAX), -$0.8 (27.12%) to $2.15 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Transpacific Industries (TPI), -$0.5 (17.24%) to $2.40 on volume of 1.7 million shares; and
- Hills Industries (HIL), -$0.32 (9.41%) to $3.08 on volume of 161.9 thousand shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Energy (XEJ), which slid 398.6 points (3.35%) to 11499.4 points as Crude oil came off the boikl (although it managed to hold above $50 a barrel). The 19 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 47m units; 13 stocks declined with volume traded totalling 34.66m units, and 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 12.34m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Energy Resources Of Australia (ERA), -$1.36 (8.48%) to $14.67 on volume of 430.4 thousand shares;
- OIL Search (OSH), -$0.27 (5.68%) to $4.48 on volume of 5.7 million shares;
- Felix Resources (FLX), -$0.3 (4.89%) to $5.83 on volume of 573.4 thousand shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$1.6 (4.78%) to $31.90 on volume of 2.4 million shares; and
- Paladin Energy (PDN), -$0.09 (4.48%) to $1.92 on volume of 8.1 million shares.
Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which slid 130.2 points (3.31%) to 3807.7 points. The 27 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 68.99m units; The 20 decliners had volume traded totalling 61.69m units, and 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 7.15m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- HFA Holdings (HFA), -$0.04 (21.05%) to $0.15 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- FKP Property Group (FKP), -$0.13 (14.97%) to $0.71 on volume of 780.1 thousand shares;
- Perpetual (PPT), -$3.2 (10.77%) to $26.50 on volume of 86 thousand shares;
- Platinum Asset Management (PTM), -$0.28 (8.02%) to $3.21 on volume of 229.1 thousand shares; and
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), -$1.23 (6.9%) to $16.60 on volume of 11.7 million shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 985.6 | 14.7 | 1.51 | 116m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1396.6 | 18.5 | 1.34 | 54m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6071.2 | -75.5 | -1.23 | 26m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8110.2 | -145.3 | -1.76 | 12m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4093.3 | -85.3 | -2.04 | 62m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1070 | -29.6 | -2.69 | 43m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 373.2 | -10.4 | -2.71 | 2m |
| XMJ | Materials | 7800.4 | -220.7 | -2.75 | 256m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3807.7 | -130.2 | -3.31 | 69m |
| XEJ | Energy | 11499.4 | -398.6 | -3.35 | 47m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 2950.4 | -131.1 | -4.25 | 126m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OZL | OZ Minerals | 0.53 | -0.03 | -4.55 | 57.2m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 4.18 | 0.06 | 1.46 | 50.3m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 27.25 | 1.03 | 3.93 | 42.4m |
| BBI | Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group | 0.03 | 0.00 | 10 | 27.8m |
| CEU | Connecteast Group | 0.49 | -0.19 | -28.15 | 24.6m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAFCA | Multiplex Prime Property Fund | 0.07 | 0.02 | 40 | 383.2k |
| EBB | Everest Babcock & Brown | 0.08 | 0.02 | 33.33 | 12k |
| SPH | Sphere Investments | 0.30 | 0.05 | 20 | 469.9k |
| MDT | Macquarie DDR Trust | 0.07 | 0.01 | 19.3 | 2.4m |
| CNP | Centro Properties Group | 0.05 | 0.01 | 18.6 | 4.6m |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWH | NRW Holdings | 0.28 | -0.17 | -37.08 | 7.1m |
| RIO | RIO Tinto | 42.01 | -21.89 | -34.26 | 17.5m |
| CEU | Connecteast Group | 0.49 | -0.19 | -28.15 | 24.6m |
| AAX | Ausenco | 2.15 | -0.80 | -27.12 | 2.4m |
| NFK | Norfolk Group | 0.29 | -0.11 | -26.92 | 960.2k |
