USRant: Euphoric MBIA-Madness...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

Well, whoever said "It's the economy, stupid" was an idiot. It's clear to anyone who watches CNBC that an economy that's dead in the water is the perfect signal to buy stocks. then again, according to CNBC, a booming economy is also a perfect signal to buy stocks. If it's sunny, it's a perfect time to buy stocks, and if it's raining, stocks are the perfect thing to buy. Democrats likely to win the White House? Perfect time to buy stocks. Republican? Perfect... you get the picture.

Anyhow - the reality is that this market - in the US and around the world - is starting to behave like an ADD-affected kiddie who has just had twelve litres of Red Bull and a chocolate crackle made with real crack.

So MBIA says it thinks it; might keep its AAA rating... big deal! It just means it has written a big enough cheque to encourage S&P, Moodys and Fitch to keep looking the other way - as they do until such time as the facts are ineluctable. Frankly any bond manager who relies on ratings agencies should be sacked, because the ratings agencies, as I have said time and time again, are corrupt, hopeless and their ratings are utterly useless.

Economic News

• US Personal Consumption Spending rose 0.2% - the slowest pace in 6 months - and in line with expectations.
• Personal Income rose 0.5%, just beating expectations of a 0.4% rise;
•  the PCE deflator was reported at 0.2%, in line with expectations and absolutly unbelievable (does anybody believe that inflation is only 2.6% a year? Why bother to produce statistics that are utterly meaningless?)
• The Employment Cost index rose to 0.8% - in line with consensus, but abysmally low when you consider that it's a quarterly number and the PCE deflator is Monthly (and biased downward). It gives wage-earners precious little 'wiggle room' - if inflation is underreported by 0.06% per month, wage earners went backwards in real terms.
• Initial Jobless Claims were awful at 375k; consensus was for 325k; and finally
• The Chicago PMI was 51.5, and internally it was woeful.

Fed Open Market Operations

The Fed did 2 repurchase operations today - 

• a $5 billion, 14-day repurchase, entirely in Treasury-backed collateral, undertaken at a whopping 90 basis point discount to Fed Funds; and
• a $4.5 billion overnight operation with a lousy 200 million in T-backed. 

Headline Indices

Insert material here

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced +207.53 points (1.67%) to 12650.36 points. The index high for the day was 12702.38, set at 3:45 p.m. - whereupon the Dow plunged 100 points in ten minutes. The low was 12249.93, and happened in the first fifteen minutes of trade. So the Dow had a 450 point range for no reason whatsoever.

Top Dow Gainers

• Mcdonalds (MCD) rose 2.47 (4.84%) to 53.48 on volume of 17.3 million units
• Home Depot (HD) rose 1.26 (4.29%) to 30.64 on volume of 30 million units
• American Express (AXP) rose 1.85 (3.91%) to 49.19 on volume of 13.8 million units
• Caterpillar (CAT) rose 2.64 (3.86%) to 71.08 on volume of 7.8 million units
• Wal Mart Stores (WMT) rose 1.61 (3.28%) to 50.77 on volume of 42.2 million units

Dow Decliners (just the two)

• Altria Group (MO) fell -0.733 (-0.96%) to 75.77 on volume of 14.7 million units
• Merck (MRK) fell -0.34 (-0.73%) to 46.35 on volume of 22.2 million units

Most Traded Dow stocks were

• Citigroup (C) +0.6101 (2.21%) to 28.17 on volume of 128.4 million units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.40 (1.24%) to 32.6 on volume of 101.3 million units
• Intel (INTC) +0.41 (1.98%) to 21.1 on volume of 98.7 million units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.05 (0.11%) to 47.4 on volume of 52.9 million units
• General Electric (GE) +0.4242 (1.21%) to 35.36 on volume of 52.1 million units

The S&P500 Index advanced +22.74 points (1.68%) to 1378.55 points. The index high for the day was 1385.60, while the low was 1334.08.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced +40.86 points (1.74%) to 2389.86 points. The index high for the day was 2403.46, while the low was 2313.52.

The Nasdaq100 advanced +32.91 points (1.82%) to 1841.42 points. The index high for the day was 1853.81, while the low was 1782.02.

The CBOE Volatiity Index lost 1.41 points (5.1%) to 26.21 points, while the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatilty Index lost 0.72 points (2.26%) to 31.08 points. 

NYSE Total Volume totalled 5.29billion units.

Nasdaq Total Volume totalled 2.9billion units.

Major Market Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	12650.36	+207.53	1.67%
S&P500 Index	1378.55	+22.74	1.68%
Nasdaq Composite	2389.86	+40.86	1.74%
Nasdaq100	1841.42	+32.91	1.82%
CBOE Volatiity Index	26.21	-1.41	-5.1%
CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatilty Index	31.08	-0.72	-2.26%
NYSE Total Volume	5.29bn	-	-
Nasdaq Total Volume	2.9bn	-	-

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures advanced as follows -

Precious Metal Futures
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Gold	925.9	+5.3	0.58
Silver	1699.0	+23.0	1.37
High Grade Copper	329.50	+6.85	2.12
Platinum	1744.0	+56.6	3.35
Palladium	393.35	+2.55	0.65

The Gold Bugs Index lost 3.04 (1.63%) to 186.30 points. Index volume totalled 93.8 million shares. Of the 16 index components, 3 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 23.1 million units. The remaining 13 stocks in the index fell, with total volume traded of 70.7 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Silver Wheaton Co (SLW), down 0.91 (5.58%) to $15.39 on volume of 4.4 million shares
• Goldcorp Inc (GG), down 1.51 (3.9%) to $37.23 on volume of 10 million shares
• Pan Amer Silver C (PAAS), down 1.35 (3.59%) to $36.23 on volume of 1.6 million shares
• Barrick Gold Cp (ABX), down 1.82 (3.42%) to $51.41 on volume of 13.9 million shares

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

Energy Futures
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Crude Oil	91.52	-0.81	-0.88
Heating Oil	2.5228	-0.0196	-0.77
Gasoline RBOB	2.2950	-0.0390	-1.67
Natural Gas	8.059	+0.014	0.17
Ethanol	2.195	+0.015	0.69

The Oil Services Index lost 3.9 (1.54%) to 252.81 points. Index volume totalled 119.9 million shares. Of the 15 index components, 6 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 33.5 million units. Every other stock fell, with total volume traded of 86.5 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Cameron Intl Cp (CAM), down 2.96 (6.87%) to $40.10 on volume of 14.7 million shares
• Natl Oilwell Varc (NOV), down 3.9 (6.11%) to $59.90 on volume of 10 million shares
• Baker Hughes Intl (BHI), down 2.3 (3.43%) to $64.84 on volume of 10.2 million shares
• Oceaneering Intl (OII), down 1.92 (3.23%) to $57.58 on volume of 983.2 thousand shares

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 3.4%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) up $+0.4242 (1.21%) to $35.36 on volume of 52.09 million units.
• Citigroup (C) up $+0.6101 (2.21%) to $28.17 on volume of 128.37 million units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) up $+1.61 (3.28%) to $50.77 on volume of 42.2 million units.
• IBM (IBM) up $+1.46 (1.38%) to $107.11 on volume of 8.45 million units.
• Intel (INTC) up $+0.41 (1.98%) to $21.10 on volume of 98.73 million units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) up $+0.14 (0.57%) to $24.50 on volume of 75.22 million units.
• Google (GOOG) up $+16.03 (2.92%) to $564.30 on volume of 12.8 million units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) up $+2.65 (8.51%) to $33.78 on volume of 19.45 million units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) up $+2.49 (8.92%) to $30.39 on volume of 15.61 million units.

Currencies

Currency Futures
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
U.S. Dollar Index	75.285	+0.145	0.19
British Pound	1.9848	-0.0038	-0.19
Canadian Dollar	0.9951	-0.0158	-1.56
Japanese Yen	0.9425	+0.0043	0.46
Swiss Franc	0.9256	+0.0035	0.38
Euro FX	1.4859	-0.0020	-0.13
Australian Dollar	0.8928	-0.0023	-0.26

Other Indices of Interest...

The Banks Index added 3.24 (3.43%) to 94.39 points. Index volume totalled 549.2 million shares. Of the 24 index components, 23 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 531.1 million units.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• People's United F (PBCT), up 1.17 (7.44%) to $16.89 on volume of 8.4 million shares
• Washington Mutual (WM), up 1.2 (6.43%) to $19.85 on volume of 52.8 million shares
• New M&i Corporati (MI), up 1.62 (6.2%) to $27.74 on volume of 5.6 million shares
• Capital One Finan (COF), up 3.06 (5.93%) to $54.66 on volume of 14.8 million shares

The Semiconductor Index added 0.19 (0.05%) to 359.00 points. Index volume totalled 272.6 million shares. Of the 18 index components, 9 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 167.6 million units. Of the remaining 9 stocks in the index, 7 fell, with total volume traded of 72 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Taiwan Semicond A (TSM), up 0.36 (4.05%) to $9.25 on volume of 20.1 million shares
• Infineon Tech Ads (IFX), up 0.2 (1.99%) to $10.24 on volume of 3.6 million shares
• Intel Cp (INTC), up 0.41 (1.98%) to $21.10 on volume of 98.7 million shares
• Novellus Systems (NVLS), up 0.35 (1.5%) to $23.76 on volume of 5.4 million shares

The ChildKiller ("Defence") Index added 7.21 (1.91%) to 377.35 points. Index volume totalled 86.4 million shares. Of the 17 index components, 16 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 83.3 million units. 

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Gencorp Inc (GY), up 0.82 (7.51%) to $11.74 on volume of 629.4 thousand shares
• Esterline Tech Cp (ESL), up 1.69 (3.77%) to $46.50 on volume of 226.1 thousand shares
• Alliant Tech Sys (ATK), up 3.51 (3.43%) to $105.85 on volume of 663.7 thousand shares
• Raytheon Co (new) (RTN), up 1.71 (2.7%) to $65.14 on volume of 4.7 million shares

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OzRant: I'm So Dizzy...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

By now it's pretty clear to anybody who is watching, that the Strayan market doesn't know if it's Arthur or Martha. That aside, you have to be pretty impressed (if slightly dismayed) at the ability of the hopeful (and those punting OPM) to generate a pretty significant rally intraday whenever the mood takes them.

 Today the push off the low coincided with a low print of pretty much exactly 5450 on the ASX200 and 5500 on the All Ords - and as rallies go it was almost manic: 190 All Ords points in just over 90 minutes.

This is not a rally to buy - the internals are lousy, and the intraday volatility makes the entire market stink to high heaven. Plus, if you were listening on the day of the recent swing low, you took a leveraged long position that day, cashed it out the following session for a 100% gain, and have been kicking yourself for not riding the follow through. It was stil la sucky call though...

Still, it's good to see News Corpse getting its head kicked; it's lost a third of its value over the last year. Actually, a third of its stock price...it can't lose a third of its value because the stock has an embodied value of ZERO. It will take a Skase-like event to finally make the scales fall from the eyes of the investing community, but once News can no longer afford to buy recommendations from Wall Street, they will desert it like rats off a sinking ship.

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - advanced modestly, rising 31.7 points (0.56%), finishing at 5697 points. The index plunged to an intraday low of 5507 between the open and 10:30 am, then set off like a duck shot in the bum, hitting the intraday high (5697) just after midday. It then pulled back 100 points between noon and 2 p.m., then set off skywards again, to close pretty much at the noon levels.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.46 billion units,3% below its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1365 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 478 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 665.3 million units. Conversely (or even contrariwise), 640 stocks were dragged below the Plimsoll line, with aggregate volume traded of 684 million shares.

Of the 478 All Ordinaries components, 183 rose while 237 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.1:1, with 448.69 million shares traded in gainers while 512.43 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) - posted a modest rise of 31.6 points (0.56%), closing out the session at 5650.3 points.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - advanced by under a percent, adding 28.9 points (0.93%), closing out the session at 3126.2 points.

Among the 20 big guns, the outcome favoured the upside, but only just - the 11 advancing stocks just triumphedover the rest. The index components traded a total of 200.17 million units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 123.08 million shares, while the 10 decliners had volume traded totalling 77.08 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Rio Tinto Limited (RIO), +$6.11 (5.34%) to $120.45 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
• Brambles Limited (BXB), +$0.29 (2.82%) to $10.58 on volume of 4.4 million shares;
• BHP Billiton Limited (BHP), +$0.70 (1.94%) to $36.81 on volume of 14.5 million shares;
• National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), +$0.60 (1.78%) to $34.29 on volume of 7.1 million shares; and
• Wesfarmers Limited (WES), +$0.51 (1.47%) to $35.26 on volume of 2.9 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• CSL Limited (CSL), -$1.81 (5.04%) to $34.09 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
• AMP Limited (AMP), -$0.26 (3.01%) to $8.37 on volume of 10.1 million shares;
• St George Bank Limited (SGB), -$0.72 (2.53%) to $27.78 on volume of 3.3 million shares;
• Woolworths Limited (WOW), -$0.7 (2.37%) to $28.80 on volume of 6.4 million shares; and
• Foster's Group Limited (FGL), -$0.12 (2.09%) to $5.61 on volume of 6.4 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 advanced by under a percent, adding 4.5 points (0.14%), closing out the session at 3292.4 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 90 index components finished to the upside, and 90 closed lower for the session.

The 192 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 281.51 million units: volume in the 90 gainers totalling 128.97 million shares, with trade totalling 139.61 million units in the index's 90 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Emeco Holdings Ltd (EHL), +$0.08 (10.56%) to $0.79 on volume of 17.7 million shares;
• Mineral Deposits Limited (MDL), +$0.08 (6.88%) to $1.17 on volume of 558.3 thousand shares;
• Babcock&Brown Japan Property Trust (BJT), +$0.08 (6.47%) to $1.24 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
• Aditya Birla Minerals limited (ABY), +$0.11 (6.04%) to $1.93 on volume of 2.6 million shares; and
• Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC), +$0.16 (5.06%) to $3.32 on volume of 2.5 million shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• AED Oil Limited (AED), -$0.19 (8.05%) to $2.17 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• Gindalbie Metals Ltd (GBG), -$0.06 (7.69%) to $0.72 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
• Cudeco Limited (CDU), -$0.2 (6.35%) to $2.95 on volume of 319 thousand shares;
• Bannerman Resources Limited (BMN), -$0.17 (5.86%) to $2.73 on volume of 542.4 thousand shares; and
• Pharmaxis Ltd (PXS), -$0.18 (5.49%) to $3.10 on volume of 342 thousand shares.

Index Changes

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	5697	31.7	0.56	1012.5m
XFL	ASX 50	5501.5	39	0.71	366.6m
XJO	ASX 200	5650.3	31.6	0.56	878.9m
XKO	ASX 300	5655.8	30.6	0.54	950.4m
XMD	ASX Mid-Cap 50	5815.7	-3.7	-0.06	302.3m
XSO	ASX Small Ordinaries	3292.4	4.5	0.14	281.5m
XTL	ASX 20	3126.2	28.9	0.93	200.2m
XTO	ASX 100	4581.7	27.1	0.6	668.9m

Market Breadth

	ASX20	XTO	XJO	XAO	XSO	Market
Advances	11	42	43	183	90	478
Declines	10	56	56	236	90	640
Advancing Volume	123.1m	302.8m	304.6m	448.7m	129m	665.3 million
Declining Volume	77.1m	348.2m	348.2m	506.5m	139.6m	684 million

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, it was pretty much even stevens, with a very slight lead to the duds... the 5 that had an "up" day were just shaded by the remaining 6 which didn't.

The best performing index was Materials (XMJ), which added 290.7 points (2.12%) to 13982.3 points. The 42 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 218.33 million units; 18 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 58.99 million shares, while the 24 decliners had volume traded totalling 159.34 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Rio Tinto Limited (RIO), +$6.11 (5.34%) to $120.45 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
• Minara Resources Limited (MRE), +$0.21 (4.47%) to $4.91 on volume of 825.8 thousand shares;
• Macarthur Coal Limited (MCC), +$0.30 (3.09%) to $10.00 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL), +$2.93 (2.51%) to $119.53 on volume of 276.5 thousand shares; and
• Perilya Limited (PEM), +$0.04 (2.5%) to $1.64 on volume of 1.4 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Industrials (XNJ), which gained 77.7 points (1.35%) to 5845.2 points. The 30 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 93.35 million units; 16 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 71.21 million shares, while the 13 decliners had volume traded totalling 21.65 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Emeco Holdings Ltd (EHL), +$0.08 (10.56%) to $0.79 on volume of 17.7 million shares;
• Macmahon Holdings Limited (MAH), +$0.05 (3.85%) to $1.35 on volume of 3.3 million shares;
• Brambles Limited (BXB), +$0.29 (2.82%) to $10.58 on volume of 4.4 million shares;
• PMP Limited (PMP), +$0.05 (2.78%) to $1.67 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
• Qantas Airways Limited (QAN), +$0.12 (2.68%) to $4.60 on volume of 10.5 million shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Energy (XEJ), which climbed 125.3 points (0.93%) to 13636.6 points. The 18 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 59.83 million units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 42.01 million shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 16.56 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC), +$0.16 (5.06%) to $3.32 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
• Australian Worldwide Exploration Limited (AWE), +$0.10 (3.04%) to $3.39 on volume of 1.9 million shares;
• Nexus Energy Limited (NXS), +$0.04 (2.7%) to $1.52 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
• Beach Petroleum Limited (BPT), +$0.04 (2.63%) to $1.37 on volume of 4.4 million shares; and
• Centennial Coal Company Limited (CEY), +$0.08 (2.31%) to $3.55 on volume of 5.2 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Healthcare (XHJ), which dipped 198.1 points (2.12%) to 9125.3 points. The 9 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 10.55 million units; The 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 3.82 million units, and 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 6.73 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• CSL Limited (CSL), -$1.81 (5.04%) to $34.09 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
• Cochlear Limited (COH), -$1.96 (2.76%) to $68.95 on volume of 177.1 thousand shares; and
• ResMed Inc. (RMD), -$0.06 (1.17%) to $5.06 on volume of 1.1 million shares.

As a side note, it is pretty clear to me that everyone still lives in the forlorn hope that CSL, COH and RMD are the next CSL. News flash - MSFT is not the next MSFT, GOOG is not the next GOOG, and CSL is not the next CSL. BUt NWS is the next DavNet... give it time.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Consumer Staples (XSJ), which slid 69 points (0.88%) to 7796.3 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 38.05 million units; The 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 23.84 million units, and 3 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 4.11 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• AWB Limited (AWB), -$0.09 (3.96%) to $2.18 on volume of 2.8 million shares;
• Metcash Limited (MTS), -$0.13 (3.05%) to $4.13 on volume of 3.8 million shares;
• Woolworths Limited (WOW), -$0.7 (2.37%) to $28.80 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
• Foster's Group Limited (FGL), -$0.12 (2.09%) to $5.61 on volume of 6.4 million shares; and
• Lion Nathan Limited (LNN), -$0.09 (0.95%) to $9.36 on volume of 2.4 million shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Information Technology (XIJ), which slid 3.4 points (0.73%) to 460.5 points. The 2 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 1.73 million units; The declining stock traded 1.46 million units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.28 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Computershare Limited (CPU), -$0.09 (1.13%) to $7.90 on volume of 1.5 million shares.

Sector Indices

Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XMJ	Materials	13982.3	290.7	2.12	218m
XNJ	Industrials	5845.2	77.7	1.35	93m
XEJ	Energy	13636.6	125.3	0.93	60m
XPJ	Property Trusts	1817.2	16.4	0.91	188m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	2375.6	1.3	0.05	45m
XTJ	Telecommunications	1528.3	-0.7	-0.05	95m
XXJ	ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts	6244.7	-5.6	-0.09	97m
XIJ	Information Technology	460.5	-3.4	-0.73	2m
XUJ	Utilities	5830.4	-43.1	-0.73	33m
XSJ	Consumer Staples	7796.3	-69	-0.88	38m
XHJ	Healthcare	9125.3	-198.1	-2.12	11m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
OXR	Oxiana Limited	2.96	-0.01	-0.34	62.6m
TLS	Telstra Corporation Limited.	4.36	0.02	0.46	61.6m
VPG	Valad Property Group	1.06	-0.05	-4.52	34.4m
CNP	Centro Properties Group	0.66	0.01	0.76	33.1m
TLSCA	Telstra (Installment Receipts)	2.79	-0.01	-0.36	25.7m

All Ords Percentage Gainers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
BGD	Boulder Steel Limited	0.26	0.04	18.18	9.3k
EHL	Emeco Holdings Ltd	0.79	0.08	10.56	17.7m
MDL	Mineral Deposits Limited	1.17	0.08	6.88	558.3k
BJT	Babcock&Brown Japan Property Trust	1.24	0.08	6.47	2.3m
ABY	Aditya Birla Minerals limited	1.93	0.11	6.04	2.6m

All Ords Percentage Losers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
LFE	Life Therapeutics Limited	0.21	-0.04	-14.29	204.5k
PFG	Prime Financial Group Limited	0.43	-0.06	-12.24	29k
SPH	Sphere Investments Limited	1.90	-0.26	-12.04	7.1k
KMN	Kings Minerals NL	0.40	-0.05	-11.11	323.8k
CPK	CP1 Limited	0.45	-0.05	-10	145.9k

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USRant: Doesn't Take Nostril-damus...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

What do you want me to say? Fed cuts, nuffies go ga-ga, "Dumb Money At Work" sign gets put up, nuffies get gutted. What a shock.

Economic News

• January ADP payrolls blew away the consensus number - 130k when consensus was for 45k. 
• The 4Q Personal Consumption numbers were a touch stronger than anticipated - at 3.9% annualised (and seasonally adjusted to within an inch of reality) beat teh call for 3.8%;
• the advance number for Q4 GDP was halfof the consensus guess - 0.6% versus the guess at 1.2%.

But really, you know, like nobody cared. Everybody sat on their hands until Helicopter Ben and the rest of the Politburo did their centrally-planned thang.

Fed Open Market Operations

The Fed did 2 repos, but sod-all in T-backed (still rescuing FNM and ABK. 

• An $11-billion 2-day repo with $10 billion in Agency-backed and the rest in mortgage backed... and
• an overnight $6 billion repo with  a lousy $105 million in T-backed. Useless. 

Headline Indices

Sideways.... Fed Cuts 50 bps... Dow rockets 200 points in about 45 minutes... Dow guts nuffnuffs.

Simple. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 37.47 points (0.3%) to 12442.83 points. The index high for the day was 12681.41, while the low was 12406.17 set near the open (although it was pretty much identical to the print with 2 mintues to go in the session).

Dow % Gainers - 

• Boeing (BA) rose 1.9099 (2.36%) to 82.8699 on volume of 11.3 million units
• Walt Disney (DIS) rose 0.6 (2.08%) to 29.4 on volume of 15 million units
• Intel (INTC) rose 0.19 (0.93%) to 20.69 on volume of 95.5 million units
• General Motors (GM) rose 0.23 (0.85%) to 27.44 on volume of 18.1 million units
• Altria Group Inc (MO) rose 0.45 (0.59%) to 76.57 on volume of 19.9 million units

Dow % Losers

• Amer Intl Group I (AIG) fell -2.36 (-4.16%) to 54.37 on volume of 21.8 million units
• Merck Co Inc (MRK) fell -1.54 (-3.21%) to 46.47 on volume of 31.7 million units
• AT&T (T) fell -0.54 (-1.43%) to 37.35 on volume of 23.6 million units
• Du Ponte (DD) fell -0.63 (-1.4%) to 44.52 on volume of 7.1 million units
• Coca Colae (KO) fell -0.78 (-1.33%) to 57.77 on volume of 10.4 million units

Dow Highest Volume

• Citigroup(C) -0.0301 (-0.11%) to 27.8799 on volume of 133.8 million units
• Microsoft (MSFT) -0.40 (-1.23%) to 32.2 on volume of 105.7 million units
• Intel (INTC) +0.19 (0.93%) to 20.69 on volume of 95.5 million units
• JP Morgan Chase C (JPM) -0.10 (-0.21%) to 47.35 on volume of 63.8 million units
• General Electric (GE) 0.18 (0.52%) to 34.94 on volume of 47 million units

The S&P500 Index lost 6.49 points (0.48%) to 1355.81 points. The index high for the day was 1385.80, while the low was 1353.19.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 9.06 points (0.38%) to 2349.00 points. The index high for the day was 2396.00 (), while the low was 2343.88; the Nasdaq100 bucked the trend and added +0.84 points (0.05%) to 1808.51 points.

The CBOE Volatiity Index advanced +0.30 points (1.1%) to 27.62 points and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatilty Index lost 1.05 points (3.2%) to 31.80 points.

I hate doing the volume stuff - no two websites agree on NYSE volume. Yahoo says it was over 4 billion shares, while CBSMarketWatch says it was under 2 billion. CBS also has -2.25 billion traded in Unchanged securities on Nasdaq... hmmmm.

For the moment I am prepared to try and get away with saying that...

NYSE Total Volume totalled 4.71billion units: 1.69 billion shaes in 1422 stocks that went up, and 2.92 billion in the 1916 stocks that went down. 29 nw highs, and 74 new lows.

Nasdaq Total Volume totalled 2.62billion units. 1.12 billion in the 1300 stocks that rose, and 1.48 billion in the 1728 duds. 39 new highs, 123 new lows.

Major Market Statistics
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	12442.83	-37.47	-0.3%
S&P500 Index	1355.81	-6.49	-0.48%
Nasdaq Composite	2349.00	-9.06	-0.38%
Nasdaq100	1808.51	+0.84	0.05%
CBOE Volatiity Index	27.62	+0.30	1.1%
CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatilty Index	31.80	-1.05	-3.2%
NYSE Total Volume	4.71bn	-	-
Nasdaq Total Volume	2.62bn	-	-

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures advanced as follows -

Precious Metal Futures
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Gold	929.0	+3.9	0.42
Silver	1684.5	+4.5	0.27
High Grade Copper	324.00	-5.90	-1.79
Platinum	1695.0	-26.9	-1.56
Palladium	389.45	-3.85	-0.98

The Gold Bugs Index added 1.99 (1.05%) to 189.34 points. Index volume totalled 94.6 million shares. Of the 16 index components, 11 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 63 million units. Of the remaining 5 stocks in the index, 4 fell, with total volume traded of 19 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Pan Amer Silver C (PAAS), up 1.61 (4.48%) to $37.58 on volume of 1.6 million shares
• Yamana Gold Inc (AUY), up 0.63 (3.87%) to $16.93 on volume of 14.6 million shares
• Goldcorp Inc (GG), up 0.93 (2.47%) to $38.65 on volume of 8 million shares
• Kinross Gold Cp (KGC), up 0.5 (2.28%) to $22.47 on volume of 6.8 million shares

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

Energy Futures
Index	Close	Gain(Loss)	%
Crude Oil	92.03	+0.39	0.43
Heating Oil	2.5350	+0.0022	0.09
Gasoline RBOB	2.3265	-0.0030	-0.13
Natural Gas	8.056	+0.113	1.42
Ethanol	2.180	-0.022	-1

The Oil Services Index lost 7.18 (2.8%) to 256.71 points. Index volume totalled 90.2 million shares. Of the 15 index components, 0 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 0 million units. Of the remaining 15 stocks in the index, every other stock fell, with total volume traded of 90.2 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Baker Hughes Intl (BHI), down 6.17 (8.4%) to $67.27 on volume of 12.9 million shares
• Global Inds Ltd (GLBL), down 1.02 (5.53%) to $17.44 on volume of 1.4 million shares
• Noble Corp (NE), down 1.9 (4.16%) to $43.72 on volume of 5.8 million shares
• Schlumberger Ltd (SLB), down 2.94 (3.74%) to $75.75 on volume of 12.5 million shares

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0.9%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) up $+0.18 (0.52%) to $34.94 on volume of 46.99 million units.
• Citigroup (C) down $0.0301 (0.11%) to $27.8799 on volume of 133.78 million units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) up $+0.15 (0.31%) to $49.16 on volume of 22.17 million units.
• IBM (IBM) down $0.36 (0.34%) to $105.74 on volume of 6.83 million units.
• Intel (INTC) up $+0.19 (0.93%) to $20.69 on volume of 95.49 million units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) up $+0.30 (1.25%) to $24.36 on volume of 61.71 million units.
• Google (GOOG) down $2.25 (0.41%) to $548.27 on volume of 7.9 million units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) down $1.84 (5.59%) to $31.07 on volume of 10.51 million units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) down $1.3 (4.46%) to $27.85 on volume of 11.77 million units.

Other Indices of Interest...

The Banks Index lost 0.24 (0.26%) to 91.15 points. Index volume totalled 558.8 million shares. Of the 24 index components, 9 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 230 million units. Of the remaining 15 stocks in the index, every other stock fell, with total volume traded of 328.8 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Wachovia Cp (WB), down 1.15 (3.03%) to $36.75 on volume of 36.1 million shares
• Regions Financial (RF), down 0.6 (2.41%) to $24.33 on volume of 7.4 million shares
• People's United F (PBCT), down 0.2967 (1.85%) to $15.72 on volume of 4.4 million shares
• Fifth Third Bncp (FITB), down 0.41 (1.55%) to $26.06 on volume of 6.3 million shares

The Semiconductor Index added 0.91 (0.25%) to 358.81 points. Index volume totalled 272.5 million shares. Of the 18 index components, 11 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 193.8 million units. Of the remaining 7 stocks in the index, every other stock fell, with total volume traded of 78.7 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Infineon Tech Ads (IFX), up 0.6 (6.36%) to $10.04 on volume of 2.8 million shares
• Xilinx Inc (XLNX), up 0.4 (1.85%) to $22.03 on volume of 6.5 million shares
• Texas Instruments (TXN), up 0.48 (1.58%) to $30.85 on volume of 13.8 million shares
• Applied Materials (AMAT), up 0.24 (1.36%) to $17.92 on volume of 26 million shares

The ChildKiller ("Defence") Index added 0.06 (0.02%) to 370.14 points. Index volume totalled 79.9 million shares. Of the 17 index components, 7 advanced, with volume in advancers totalling 64.3 million units. Of the remaining 10 stocks in the index, 9 fell, with total volume traded of 15.2 million shares.

Major movers in the same direction as the index:

• Boeing Co (BA), up 1.9099 (2.36%) to $82.8699 on volume of 11.3 million shares
• Northrop Grum Hol (NOC), up 1.43 (1.81%) to $80.62 on volume of 2.4 million shares
• Embraer Empresa B (ERJ), up 0.51 (1.22%) to $42.41 on volume of 700.3 thousand shares
• Gen Electric Co (GE), up 0.18 (0.52%) to $34.94 on volume of 47 million shares

OzRant: Some Folks Never Learn...

Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.

Now, seriously... it seems that the ASX really has to do something about the almost ritual Morning Orgasm, if only to help avoid the complete extinction of the entire nuffnuff population. As you can see from the little gobbets of charty genius below, today was yet another day when we needed a sign from above... like this - 

Honestly,

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - dipped reasonably hard, registering a loss of 89.2 points (1.55%), finishing at 5665.3 points. If you were a nuffie, you were probably feeling on top of the world at 10:29 a.m. when the index was up 115 points... Happy Days, Sunshine, Lollipops and rainbows and so forth. That's when the index hit its intraday high of 5869.9; it then proceeded to gut longs, sliding almost exactly 200 points (8 Pickens) to close at its low for the day.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.45 billion units, 5% below its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1404 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 441 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 522.9 million units. Conversely (or even contrariwise), 702 stocks were garlanded in red (and not in a Chinese Good Luck way, neither), with aggregate volume traded of 777.5 million shares.

Of the 478 All Ordinaries components that traded, 140 rose and 277 fell. Hard to imagine that  there are components in the top 500 that don't trade on any given day, but that's apparently what happens. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 2.4:1, with 240.48 million shares traded in gainers while 569.75 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) - registered a loss of 97.8 points (1.71%), closing out the session at 5618.7 points.

Click on the table below to view intraday charts for the ASX 'size' indices... you know you want to.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	5665.30	-89.20 (1.6%)
ASX 50	5462.50	-96.20 (1.7%)
ASX 200	5618.70	-97.80 (1.7%)
ASX 300	5625.20	-96.80 (1.7%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	5819.40	-98.00 (1.7%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	3287.90	-49.10 (1.5%)
ASX 20	3097.30	-64.00 (2.0%)
ASX 100	4554.60	-79.60 (1.7%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - was taken to the woodshed somewhat, sliding 64 points (2.02%), closing out the session at 3097.3 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 4 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 17 closed lower for the session. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 198.12 million units; 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 32.84 million shares, while the 17 decliners had volume traded totalling 165.28 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• BHP Billiton Limited (BHP), +$0.40 (1.12%) to $36.10 on volume of 13.8 million shares;
• Brambles Limited (BXB), +$0.09 (0.88%) to $10.29 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
• Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.16 (0.88%) to $18.42 on volume of 11.1 million shares; and
• Rio Tinto Limited (RIO), +$0.56 (0.49%) to $114.13 on volume of 1.6 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• St George Bank Limited (SGB), -$1.53 (5.1%) to $28.45 on volume of 1.8 million shares;
• Wesfarmers Limited (WES), -$1.79 (4.89%) to $34.84 on volume of 3.4 million shares;
• Telstra (Installment Receipts) (TLSCA), -$0.14 (4.81%) to $2.77 on volume of 36.3 million shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), -$2.41 (4.66%) to $49.30 on volume of 6.7 million shares; and
• National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), -$1.50 (4.23%) to $33.93 on volume of 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, while still dropping overall, did significantly better than its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords registered a loss of 49.1 points (1.47%), closing out the session at 3287.9 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 54 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 122 closed lower for the session.

The 192 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 268.65 million units: volume in the 54 gainers totalling 54.38 million shares, with trade totalling 183.25 million units in the index's 122 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Sylvania Resources Limited (SLV), +$0.14 (5.36%) to $2.75 on volume of 236.3 thousand shares;
• Aquarius Platinum Limited (AQP), +$0.65 (5.32%) to $12.86 on volume of 182.6 thousand shares;
• Redflex Holdings Limited (RDF), +$0.14 (4.9%) to $3.00 on volume of 19.3 thousand shares;
• Galileo Japan Trust (GJT), +$0.03 (4.51%) to $0.70 on volume of 698.1 thousand shares; and
• OceanaGold Corporation (OGC), +$0.11 (4.37%) to $2.63 on volume of 206.6 thousand shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• Emeco Holdings Ltd (EHL), -$0.23 (24.47%) to $0.71 on volume of 28.6 million shares;
• Alliance Resources Limited (AGS), -$0.13 (11.3%) to $1.02 on volume of 492.3 thousand shares;
• Sundance Resources Limited (SDL), -$0.03 (9.09%) to $0.25 on volume of 13.7 million shares;
• Tower Australia Group Limited (TAL), -$0.22 (8.56%) to $2.35 on volume of 802.4 thousand shares; and
• Roc Oil Company Limited (ROC), -$0.19 (8.48%) to $2.05 on volume of 3.8 million shares.

Index Changes

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	5665.3	-89.2	-1.55	1222.4m
XFL	ASX 50	5462.5	-96.2	-1.73	523.1m
XJO	ASX 200	5618.7	-97.8	-1.71	1047.3m
XKO	ASX 300	5625.2	-96.8	-1.69	1146.6m
XMD	ASX Mid-Cap 50	5819.4	-98	-1.66	256.5m
XSO	ASX Small Ordinaries	3287.9	-49.1	-1.47	367m
XTL	ASX 20	3097.3	-64	-2.02	348.6m
XTO	ASX 100	4554.6	-79.6	-1.72	779.6m

Market Breadth

	ASX20	XTO	XJO	XAO	XSO	Market
Advances	4	27	27	140	54	441
Declines	17	72	73	276	122	702
Advancing Volume	32.8m	165.5m	165.5m	240.5m	54.4m	522.9 million
Declining Volume	165.3m	366.6m	368.3m	566.6m	183.3m	777.5 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 96.1 points (0.71%) to 13691.6 points. The 42 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 128.82 million units; 20 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 87.21 million shares, while the 19 decliners had volume traded totalling 33.23 million units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Alumina Limited (AWC), +$0.30 (5.67%) to $5.59 on volume of 10.3 million shares;
• Aquarius Platinum Limited (AQP), +$0.65 (5.32%) to $12.86 on volume of 182.6 thousand shares;
• Perilya Limited (PEM), +$0.06 (3.87%) to $1.61 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
• Onesteel Limited (OST), +$0.24 (3.76%) to $6.62 on volume of 7.4 million shares; and
• Newcrest Mining Limited (NCM), +$1.06 (3.14%) to $34.81 on volume of 2.5 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Consumer Staples (XSJ), which dipped 281 points (3.45%) to 7865.3 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 34.12 million units; The 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 20.4 million units, and 3 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 13.32 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Wesfarmers Limited (WES), -$1.79 (4.89%) to $34.84 on volume of 3.4 million shares;
• AWB Limited (AWB), -$0.1 (4.26%) to $2.25 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
• Woolworths Limited (WOW), -$1.3 (4.22%) to $29.50 on volume of 7.7 million shares;
• Futuris Corporation Limited (FCL), -$0.07 (3.03%) to $2.24 on volume of 1.3 million shares; and
• Foster's Group Limited (FGL), -$0.12 (2.06%) to $5.71 on volume of 4.2 million shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which slid 204.5 points (3.17%) to 6250.3 points. The 28 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 80.08 million units; The 23 decliners had volume traded totalling 72.35 million units, and 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 7.73 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Allco Finance Group Limited (AFG), -$0.38 (10.5%) to $3.24 on volume of 4.6 million shares;
• Tower Australia Group Limited (TAL), -$0.22 (8.56%) to $2.35 on volume of 802.4 thousand shares;
• FKP Property Group (FKP), -$0.34 (6.87%) to $4.61 on volume of 764.8 thousand shares;
• Australian Wealth Mgt (AUW), -$0.12 (6.19%) to $1.82 on volume of 1.2 million shares; and
• St George Bank Limited (SGB), -$1.53 (5.1%) to $28.45 on volume of 1.8 million shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Telecommunications (XTJ), which slid 47.2 points (2.99%) to 1529 points. The 4 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 107.12 million units; The 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 107.12 million units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0 million shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Telstra (Installment Receipts) (TLSCA), -$0.14 (4.81%) to $2.77 on volume of 36.3 million shares;
• Telstra Corporation Limited. (TLS), -$0.13 (2.91%) to $4.34 on volume of 63.2 million shares;
• Singapore Telecommunications Limited. (SGT), -$0.05 (1.71%) to $2.88 on volume of 5.8 million shares; and
• Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand Limited (TEL), -$0.04 (1.13%) to $3.50 on volume of 1.7 million shares.

Sector Indices

Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XMJ	Materials	13691.6	96.1	0.71	129m
XHJ	Healthcare	9323.4	-41.1	-0.44	9m
XNJ	Industrials	5767.5	-60.4	-1.04	95m
XEJ	Energy	13511.3	-193.7	-1.41	59m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	2374.3	-40.2	-1.66	32m
XPJ	Property Trusts	1800.8	-34.7	-1.89	158m
XIJ	Information Technology	463.9	-9.1	-1.92	3m
XUJ	Utilities	5873.5	-135.9	-2.26	27m
XTJ	Telecommunications	1529	-47.2	-2.99	107m
XXJ	ASX200 Financials ex Property Trusts	6250.3	-204.5	-3.17	80m
XSJ	Consumer Staples	7865.3	-281	-3.45	34m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
TLS	Telstra Corporation Limited.	4.34	-0.13	-2.91	63.2m
TLSCA	Telstra (Installment Receipts)	2.77	-0.14	-4.81	36.3m
CNP	Centro Properties Group	0.66	0.01	0.77	32.8m
EHL	Emeco Holdings Ltd	0.71	-0.23	-24.47	28.6m
OXR	Oxiana Limited	2.99	0.05	1.7	15.6m

All Ords Percentage Gainers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
EQT	Equity Trustees Limited	30.00	4.04	15.56	12.6k
MMN	Macmin Silver Ltd	0.20	0.02	8.11	539k
CAA	Capral Aluminium Limited	0.37	0.02	5.71	71.5k
AWC	Alumina Limited	5.59	0.30	5.67	10.3m
SLV	Sylvania Resources Limited	2.75	0.14	5.36	236.3k

All Ords Percentage Losers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
EHL	Emeco Holdings Ltd	0.71	-0.23	-24.47	28.6m
AXQ	Allco Max Securities And Mortgage Trust	0.27	-0.06	-18.46	975.7k
AGS	Alliance Resources Limited	1.02	-0.13	-11.3	492.3k
BGD	Boulder Steel Limited	0.21	-0.03	-10.64	38k
AFG	Allco Finance Group Limited	3.24	-0.38	-10.5	4.6m

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