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Sometimes the prefatory waffle writes itself. Read the linked article, and ask yourself why you should ever believe anything you hear from a corporate 'heavyweight'.
And while you're reading it, bear in mind that as far back as 2004, people like your beloved GT were telling anyone who would listen that the collateralised debt obligations and so forth were going to be a death sentence to some major US banks.
People like your beloved GT told you that the worst was yet to come - when Bernanke, Paulson, Bush, Brown, Sarkozy and Co were saying "We've fixed everything now" (August & September 2008).
People like your beloved GT wrote - July 22, 2008 to be exact - that the CEO of Wachovia was talking bullshit when he said that they had no need to raise capital.
To reprise what I wrote:
Notice Wachovia - results worse than expected, stock up 20-odd percent simply because the CEO was prepared to say that they won't have to raise capital. I call Bullshit on that, and when they later announce that they WILL have to raise capital, this chucklehead ought to be prosecuted. Afte all, if spreading bearish rumours is to be punished, then crap like that ought to be as well.
That was not the first CEO I accused of lying about the absence of such a need (Citigroup's CEO made the same claim, and was equally as full-of-shit).
Anyway... here is the link... CNN Money is only 6 months or so behind your beloved GT, so they get points for being 'in front' of the journalistic curve): Why Wall Street Could Go To Jail...
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - advanced modestly, rising 30.4 points (0.85%), finishing at 3624.3 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3627.9 at 3:49 pm, while the low for the day was 3581.2 - set at 11:10 am Sydney time.
After trading roughly 15 points either side of unchanged, the day's 'pure move' started at about 11 a.m., and ground doggedly upwards for the next three hours - doing absolutely nothing of interest at any point in time, but registering a mind-numbing series of 1-2 point blips higher. It was real boring stuff.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.02bn units, right at its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 963 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 409 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 519.9m units; there were 351 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 376.7m shares.
Of the 487 All Ordinaries components, 210 rose while 167 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.1:1, with 291.48m shares traded in gainers while 325.72m shares traded in the day's losers.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) - posted a modest rise of 32.4 points (0.89%), closing out the session at 3687 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3624.30 | 30.40 (0.8%) |
| ASX 20 | 2202.90 | 14.90 (0.7%) |
| ASX 50 | 3719.10 | 29.90 (0.8%) |
| ASX 100 | 3036.90 | 26.40 (0.9%) |
| ASX 200 | 3687.00 | 32.40 (0.9%) |
| ASX 300 | 3673.70 | 31.70 (0.9%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3370.30 | 44.90 (1.4%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1755.40 | 14.10 (0.8%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - advanced by under a percent, adding 14.9 points (0.68%), closing out the session at 2202.9 points.
Among the 20 big guns, 12 index components finished to the upside, and 8 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 111.43m units; 12 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 45m shares, while the 8 decliners had volume traded totalling 62.79m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.48 (3.23%) to $15.33 on volume of 6.9 million shares;
- Suncorp-Metway (SUN), +$0.26 (3.01%) to $8.90 on volume of 3.8 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$0.88 (2.53%) to $35.65 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Woolworths (WOW), +$0.56 (2.12%) to $26.92 on volume of 2.2 million shares; and
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.51 (1.68%) to $30.94 on volume of 12.1 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- Newcrest Mining (NCM), -$1.48 (4.7%) to $30.00 on volume of 2.2 million shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.49 (3.74%) to $12.60 on volume of 7.2 million shares;
- Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.5 (2.86%) to $16.99 on volume of 2.3 million shares;
- Stockland (SGP), -$0.07 (1.92%) to $3.58 on volume of 11.6 million shares; and
- CSL (CSL), -$0.30 (0.9%) to $33.00 on volume of 2.1 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) had a somewhat better day than its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords advanced by under a percent, adding 14.1 points (0.81%), closing out the session at 1755.4 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 98 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 81 closed lower for the session.
The 210 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 267.31m units: volume in the 98 gainers totalling 104.13m shares, with trade totalling 110.4m units in the index's 81 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Galileo Japan Trust (GJT), +$0.02 (18.75%) to $0.10 on volume of 588.6 thousand shares;
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), +$0.05 (15.87%) to $0.37 on volume of 8.9 million shares;
- Atlas Iron (AGO), +$0.17 (13.82%) to $1.40 on volume of 3.5 million shares;
- Kagara Zinc (KZL), +$0.07 (11.3%) to $0.64 on volume of 820.3 thousand shares; and
- OceanaGold Corporation (OGC), +$0.03 (11.11%) to $0.30 on volume of 842.4 thousand shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- HFA Holdings (HFA), -$0.02 (11.11%) to $0.12 on volume of 5.6 million shares;
- Sundance Resources (SDL), -$0.01 (8.7%) to $0.11 on volume of 10 million shares;
- Valad Property Group (VPG), -$0.01 (8.57%) to $0.10 on volume of 17.3 million shares;
- Centro Properties Group (CNP), -$0.01 (7.69%) to $0.12 on volume of 4.7 million shares; and
- Macmahon Holdings (MAH), -$0.03 (7.5%) to $0.37 on volume of 3.9 million shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3624.3 | 30.4 | 0.85 | 740.1m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3719.1 | 29.9 | 0.81 | 269.3m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3687 | 32.4 | 0.89 | 636.1m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3673.7 | 31.7 | 0.87 | 713m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3370.3 | 44.9 | 1.35 | 188.1m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1755.4 | 14.1 | 0.81 | 255.6m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2202.9 | 14.9 | 0.68 | 99.8m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 3036.9 | 26.4 | 0.88 | 457.4m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 12 | 65 | 122 | 210 | 98 | 409 |
| Declines | 8 | 32 | 68 | 167 | 81 | 351 |
| Advancing Volume | 45m | 190m | 274m | 291.5m | 104.1m | 519.9m |
| Declining Volume | 62.8m | 233.1m | 290.1m | 325.7m | 110.4m | 376.7m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, 9 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 2 lost ground.
The best performing index was Information Technology (XIJ), which added 16.1 points (3.82%) to 438.1 points. This index only contains 2 stocks; they traded a total of 1.67m units today, and both stocks rose...
- Computershare (CPU), +$0.30 (4.05%) to $7.71 on volume of 1.1 million shares; and
- Iress Market Technology (IRE), +$0.11 (2.2%) to $5.11 on volume of 608.8 thousand shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), which gained 28.5 points (2.48%) to 1177.9 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 36.08m units; 14 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 26.95m shares, while the 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 5.97m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Fairfax Media (FXJ), +$0.09 (5.77%) to $1.65 on volume of 4.5 million shares;
- Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group (MCG), +$0.05 (5.33%) to $0.89 on volume of 793.3 thousand shares;
- Harvey Norman Holdings (HVN), +$0.12 (4.98%) to $2.53 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
- Aristocrat Leisure (ALL), +$0.16 (4.51%) to $3.71 on volume of 3 million shares; and
- News Corporation Inc (Voting CDI) (NWS), +$0.48 (3.56%) to $13.98 on volume of 1.2 million shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Energy (XEJ), which climbed 223.1 points (1.86%) to 12219.4 points. The 20 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 33.63m units; 16 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 21.51m shares, while the 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 12.12m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Linc Energy Ltd (LNC), +$0.12 (7.26%) to $1.70 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
- Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.15 (6.22%) to $2.56 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
- Paladin Energy (PDN), +$0.17 (5.99%) to $3.01 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- Caltex Australia (CTX), +$0.42 (5.61%) to $7.90 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
- Arrow Energy (AOE), +$0.12 (5.45%) to $2.32 on volume of 2.2 million shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Property Trusts (XPJ), which dipped 24.6 points (2.74%) to 872.3 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 174.21m units; The 13 decliners had volume traded totalling 133.46m units, and 7 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 17.46m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Valad Property Group (VPG), -$0.01 (8.57%) to $0.10 on volume of 17.3 million shares;
- Centro Properties Group (CNP), -$0.01 (7.69%) to $0.12 on volume of 4.7 million shares;
- ING Office Fund (IOF), -$0.05 (6.34%) to $0.67 on volume of 6.1 million shares;
- ING Industrial Fund (IIF), -$0.01 (5.41%) to $0.18 on volume of 5.6 million shares; and
- Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA), -$0.05 (4.42%) to $1.08 on volume of 5.2 million shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Telecommunications (XTJ), which slid 5.5 points (0.43%) to 1268.4 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 43.05m units; The 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 39.7m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 3.35m shares, The percentage decliners within the index were
- Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand (TEL), -$0.05 (2.38%) to $2.05 on volume of 7.6 million shares; and
- Telstra Corporation (TLS), -$0.01 (0.27%) to $3.73 on volume of 32.1 million shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XIJ | Information Technology | 438.1 | 16.1 | 3.82 | 2m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1177.9 | 28.5 | 2.48 | 36m |
| XEJ | Energy | 12219.4 | 223.1 | 1.86 | 34m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3928.9 | 53.3 | 1.38 | 74m |
| XMJ | Materials | 8792 | 98 | 1.13 | 147m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8404.3 | 66.8 | 0.8 | 14m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6150.2 | 45.4 | 0.74 | 28m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 3204.6 | 17.8 | 0.56 | 74m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4307.9 | 23.7 | 0.55 | 18m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1268.4 | -5.5 | -0.43 | 43m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 872.3 | -24.6 | -2.74 | 174m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADY | Admiralty Resources NL | 0.04 | 0.00 | 0 | 34.1m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 3.73 | -0.01 | -0.27 | 32.1m |
| GMG | Goodman Group | 0.94 | -0.02 | -1.58 | 30.5m |
| BNB | Babcock & Brown | 0.33 | 0.00 | 0 | 28.2m |
| GPT | GPT Group | 0.90 | 0.00 | 0 | 23.3m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARH | Australasian Resources | 0.54 | 0.12 | 28.57 | 87.4k |
| HLG | Hedley Leisure And Gaming Property Fund | 0.56 | 0.10 | 21.74 | 103.4k |
| GJT | Galileo Japan Trust | 0.10 | 0.02 | 18.75 | 588.6k |
| AVX | Avexa | 0.10 | 0.02 | 17.65 | 2.4m |
| LYC | Lynas Corporation | 0.37 | 0.05 | 15.87 | 8.9m |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAFCA | Multiplex Prime Property Fund | 0.04 | -0.02 | -33.33 | 124.2k |
| CFU | Ceramic Fuel Cells | 0.08 | -0.01 | -15.73 | 4.2m |
| ARR | Arasor International | 0.04 | -0.01 | -14 | 84.5k |
| HFA | HFA Holdings | 0.12 | -0.02 | -11.11 | 5.6m |
| PRT | Prime Media Group | 1.06 | -0.13 | -10.92 | 7.8k |
