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Now I hope you're sitting comfortably, dearest Reader, because your brain is about to be gifted two pieces of reasonably interesting information.
One: never try to use one of those 'foldable' floppy keyboards for anything that requires a modicum of precision. They're useful in a pinch, but the one I am using at the moment is the bane of my life.
Two: the market is full of morons. Dyed in the wool, bona fide, card carrying knuckleheads.
Why else would it have been so very easy to predict that today's low would fall at 11:30 a.m. (near as dammit).
But other things are also maddening - there is a core of dimwits who are always trying to enter trades that are so yesterday. (To quote Avril Lavigne)
Example: the morons currently trying to short GBP against pretty much anything - GBPEUR, GBPUSD, you name it. There might be some Eastern European currency against which the pound is not falling - the zloty, the kopeck, or some other stupid vowel-less monstrosity with pictures of musatchioed women on it - but that's the extent of it. (Oh, and of course, the national currency of the 'trillionaire paradise'... Zimbabwe).
Write this down - on the fridge, or on a slip of paperr that you then tuck into your wallet.
Don't trade "yesterday's story''.
It's silly and will make you look dumb when you're trying to find food in bins out the back of Coles.
Now don't think I'm a fan of sterling - like all fiat currencies it is a blight on the landscape, and the government of Gordon 'Super-Trader' McBrooon should be deplored for recent shenanigans (reported here) absolving the Whore of Threadneedle Street from reporting its activities.
McBroon, you will recall, is the moron who when Chancellor of the Exchequer (i.e., head parasite in charge of raping paypackets), sold the last hundred or so tons of the Poms' gold, within a few bucks of a 20-year low.
Anyway - pound to rally from here.
I plonked down astealthy buy on the SPI just after 11;30, and rode it until I thought i had proved my point. can't be too greedy - the last half of today's bounce was morons trying to front-run a bounce in the US tonight: let them have it, because we're going a lot lower from here.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - declined gently, dropping 30.2 points (0.88%), finishing at 3394.8 points.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.07bn units, in line with its 10-day average of 1.07bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 953 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 267 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 310.5m units; there were 486 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 533.3m shares.
Of the 487 All Ordinaries components, 137 rose while 258 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.8:1, with 251.25m shares traded in gainers while 445.53m shares traded in the day's losers.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) - fell mildly, losing 33.8 points (0.97%), closing out the session at 3442.8 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3394.80 | -30.20 (0.9%) |
| ASX 20 | 2040.10 | -25.60 (1.2%) |
| ASX 50 | 3463.10 | -37.20 (1.1%) |
| ASX 100 | 2833.80 | -28.90 (1.0%) |
| ASX 200 | 3442.80 | -33.80 (1.0%) |
| ASX 300 | 3429.90 | -34.20 (1.0%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3193.60 | -20.10 (0.6%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1649.70 | -12.00 (0.7%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - registered a loss of 25.6 points (1.24%), closing out the session at 2040.1 points.
Among the 20 big guns, 5 index components finished to the upside, and 16 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 151.71m units; 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 53.44m shares, while the 16 decliners had volume traded totalling 98.27m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Newcrest Mining (NCM), +$2.51 (8.22%) to $33.04 on volume of 4.7 million shares;
- CSL (CSL), +$0.96 (2.94%) to $33.65 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.98 (2.93%) to $34.41 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), +$0.06 (1.69%) to $3.60 on volume of 42.4 million shares; and
- Wesfarmers (WES), +$0.23 (1.39%) to $16.83 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:
- Suncorp-Metway. (SUN), -$0.4 (4.88%) to $7.80 on volume of 2.9 million shares;
- Macquarie Group (MQG), -$1.19 (4.41%) to $25.77 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
- National Australia Bank (NAB), -$0.78 (4.24%) to $17.61 on volume of 7.6 million shares;
- ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.53 (3.87%) to $13.17 on volume of 9.9 million shares; and
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.46 (3.76%) to $11.77 on volume of 6.1 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) slid modestly, falling 12 points (0.72%), closing out the session at 1649.7 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 64 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 121 closed lower for the session.
The 210 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 218.88m units: volume in the 64 gainers totalling 70.05m shares, with trade totalling 134.2m units in the index's 121 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Minara Resources (MRE), +$0.05 (15.38%) to $0.38 on volume of 4.6 million shares;
- Australian Education Trust (AEU), +$0.03 (10.91%) to $0.31 on volume of 112.5 thousand shares;
- Karoon Gas Australia (KAR), +$0.28 (10.77%) to $2.88 on volume of 265.1 thousand shares;
- Abacus Property Group (ABP), +$0.02 (9.76%) to $0.23 on volume of 6.9 million shares; and
- Independence Group NL (IGO), +$0.19 (9%) to $2.30 on volume of 474 thousand shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Albidon (ALB), -$0.07 (44.38%) to $0.09 on volume of 5.5 million shares;
- Oakton (OKN), -$0.3 (23.26%) to $0.99 on volume of 1.2 million shares;
- PanAust Ltd (PNA), -$0.03 (13.51%) to $0.16 on volume of 20.2 million shares;
- Citigold Corporation (CTO), -$0.04 (12.73%) to $0.24 on volume of 4.5 million shares; and
- Challenger Infrastructure Fund (CIF), -$0.25 (11.9%) to $1.85 on volume of 1.8 million shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3394.8 | -30.2 | -0.88 | 788.7m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3463.1 | -37.2 | -1.06 | 316.8m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3442.8 | -33.8 | -0.97 | 668m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3429.9 | -34.2 | -0.99 | 731.6m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3193.6 | -20.1 | -0.63 | 206.4m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1649.7 | -12 | -0.72 | 208.4m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2040.1 | -25.6 | -1.24 | 143.1m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 2833.8 | -28.9 | -1.01 | 523.2m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 5 | 35 | 72 | 137 | 64 | 267 |
| Declines | 16 | 59 | 119 | 258 | 121 | 486 |
| Advancing Volume | 53.4m | 175m | 233.4m | 251.3m | 70.1m | 310.5m |
| Declining Volume | 98.3m | 287.6m | 367.4m | 445.5m | 134.2m | 533.3m |
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 Healthcare (XHJ), which added 169.5 points (2.05%) to 8421.8 points. The 9 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 10.24m units; 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 8.61m shares, while the 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 1.62m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SIP), +$0.05 (4.78%) to $1.10 on volume of 2.2 million shares;
- CSL (CSL), +$0.96 (2.94%) to $33.65 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
- Sonic Healthcare (SHL), +$0.36 (2.71%) to $13.65 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
- Primary Health Care (PRY), +$0.08 (1.67%) to $4.86 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
- ResMed Inc. (RMD), +$0.04 (0.69%) to $5.80 on volume of 951.7 thousand shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Telecommunications (XTJ), which gained 20.7 points (1.72%) to 1225.8 points. This index only contains 3 stocks; they traded a total of 50.75m units today. 3 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 50.75m shares, none of the stocks in the index lost ground. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Singapore Telecommunications. (SGT), +$0.05 (1.98%) to $2.57 on volume of 4.1 million shares;
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), +$0.04 (1.79%) to $1.99 on volume of 4.3 million shares; and
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), +$0.06 (1.69%) to $3.60 on volume of 42.4 million shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Utilities (XUJ), which climbed 66.4 points (1.6%) to 4203.5 points. The 11 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 29.33m units; 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 9.12m shares, while the 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 20.12m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC), +$0.01 (4.26%) to $0.25 on volume of 1 million shares;
- Sp Ausnet (SPN), +$0.04 (4%) to $1.04 on volume of 3.2 million shares;
- AGL Energy (AGK), +$0.37 (2.64%) to $14.40 on volume of 1.3 million shares;
- Babcock & Brown Wind Partners Group (BBW), +$0.02 (1.71%) to $0.89 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
- Spark Infrastructure Group (SKI), +$0.02 (1.23%) to $1.24 on volume of 781.3 thousand shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Information Technology (XIJ), which dipped 15.4 points (3.84%) to 385.6 points. The 2 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 2.79m units; None of the index components ended with a gain. The decliners within the index were
- Computershare (CPU), -$0.28 (4.01%) to $6.70 on volume of 2.5 million shares; and
- Iress Market Technology (IRE), -$0.14 (2.77%) to $4.91 on volume of 289.9 thousand shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which slid 114.2 points (3.17%) to 3488.7 points. The 27 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 99.76m units; The 20 decliners had volume traded totalling 68.35m units, and 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 2.59m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- HFA Holdings (HFA), -$0.01 (10.48%) to $0.09 on volume of 5.4 million shares;
- Bank Of Queensland. (BOQ), -$0.56 (6.59%) to $7.94 on volume of 356.3 thousand shares;
- ASX (ASX), -$1.6 (5.58%) to $27.05 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
- Australian Wealth Mgt (AUW), -$0.06 (5.05%) to $1.04 on volume of 443.3 thousand shares; and
- Babcock And Brown Capital (BCM), -$0.06 (4.94%) to $1.16 on volume of 1.5 million shares.
Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Property Trusts (XPJ), which slid 23.4 points (2.81%) to 809.3 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 136.41m units; The 11 decliners had volume traded totalling 74.34m units, and 7 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 45.42m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- GPT Group (GPT), -$0.06 (6.87%) to $0.75 on volume of 19.1 million shares;
- Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA), -$0.06 (6.25%) to $0.90 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
- CFS Retail Property Trust (CFX), -$0.08 (4.05%) to $1.78 on volume of 10 million shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.46 (3.76%) to $11.77 on volume of 6.1 million shares; and
- Mirvac Group (MGR), -$0.05 (3.68%) to $1.31 on volume of 7.1 million shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8421.8 | 169.5 | 2.05 | 10m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1225.8 | 20.7 | 1.72 | 51m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4203.5 | 66.4 | 1.6 | 29m |
| XEJ | Energy | 11726.6 | 141.8 | 1.22 | 33m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5969.2 | 12 | 0.2 | 27m |
| XMJ | Materials | 8336.1 | -6.5 | -0.08 | 157m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 3003.3 | -34 | -1.12 | 81m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1111.5 | -17.4 | -1.54 | 52m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 809.3 | -23.4 | -2.81 | 136m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3488.7 | -114.2 | -3.17 | 100m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 385.6 | -15.4 | -3.84 | 3m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 3.60 | 0.06 | 1.69 | 42.4m |
| BNB | Babcock & Brown | 0.33 | 0.00 | 0 | 28.2m |
| GPM | GEO Property Group | 0.10 | -0.01 | -7.62 | 24.9m |
| LGL | Lihir Gold | 2.93 | 0.19 | 6.93 | 20.5m |
| PNA | PanAust Ltd | 0.16 | -0.03 | -13.51 | 20.2m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPF | Multiplex Acumen Property Fund | 0.16 | 0.06 | 58.16 | 386.5k |
| MAFCA | Multiplex Prime Property Fund | 0.02 | 0.00 | 15.38 | 250k |
| MRE | Minara Resources | 0.38 | 0.05 | 15.38 | 4.6m |
| RMS | Ramelius Resources | 0.63 | 0.07 | 12.5 | 536.6k |
| AEU | Australian Education Trust | 0.31 | 0.03 | 10.91 | 112.5k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALB | Albidon | 0.09 | -0.07 | -44.38 | 5.5m |
| CXG | Coote Industrial Ltd | 0.19 | -0.06 | -24 | 497.2k |
| OKN | Oakton | 0.99 | -0.30 | -23.26 | 1.2m |
| DKN | Deakin Financial SVS Grp Ltd. | 0.42 | -0.09 | -17.65 | 20k |
| CMV | CMA Corporation | 0.12 | -0.03 | -17.24 | 2.8k |
