Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
There is little to say about the current configuration of financial markets - they are nicely in line with the 'weakness until the inauguration' hypothesis, albeit with a twist (as mentioned here a couple of days ago). Barring a 600-point drop in US markets in the next two sessions, we will not get a 'tease break' of the November lows, which will mean that the drop into the inauguration was incomplete - thus there will not be a decent constructive phase thereafter.
Big news will arrive over the weekend (I will be a busy lad, both tomorrow and Saturday).
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - advanced modestly, rising 18.1 points (0.52%), finishing at 3494.9 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3518.4 at 12:17 pm, while the low for the day was 3487.3 - set at 3:36 pm Sydney time.
It is interesting to see such a minuscule bounce after yesterday's blood-letting. Yesterday's slam took the ASX200 and All Ords to a pretty significantly oversold condition (but let's be clear - the picture does not yet say 'bounce').
Total volume traded on the ASX was 953.8m units, 11.8% below its 10-day average of 1.08bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 975 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 387 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 420m units; there were 369 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 419.5m shares.
Of the 487 All Ordinaries components, 201 rose while 180 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.1:1, with 350.53m shares traded in gainers while 317.43m 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 21.4 points (0.61%), closing out the session at 3550.9 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3494.90 | 18.10 (0.5%) |
| ASX 20 | 2120.20 | 10.10 (0.5%) |
| ASX 50 | 3579.00 | 17.70 (0.5%) |
| ASX 100 | 2925.00 | 17.30 (0.6%) |
| ASX 200 | 3550.90 | 21.40 (0.6%) |
| ASX 300 | 3538.40 | 20.60 (0.6%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3267.30 | 42.50 (1.3%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1690.60 | 7.80 (0.5%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - advanced by under a percent, adding 10.1 points (0.48%), closing out the session at 2120.2 points.
Among the 20 big guns, 9 index components finished to the upside, and 12 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 106.47m units; 9 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 32.06m shares, while the 12 decliners had volume traded totalling 74.41m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$0.98 (3.39%) to $29.88 on volume of 11.1 million shares;
- Rio Tinto (RIO), +$1.05 (2.82%) to $38.35 on volume of 2.9 million shares;
- Newcrest Mining (NCM), +$0.70 (2.48%) to $28.95 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
- CSL (CSL), +$0.81 (2.48%) to $33.41 on volume of 1.7 million shares; and
- Brambles (BXB), +$0.07 (1.07%) to $6.63 on volume of 2.6 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- Macquarie Group (MQG), -$0.72 (2.49%) to $28.17 on volume of 940.1 thousand shares;
- Stockland (SGP), -$0.07 (1.99%) to $3.44 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
- ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.27 (1.85%) to $14.30 on volume of 5.7 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), -$0.52 (1.53%) to $33.53 on volume of 1.7 million shares; and
- National Australia Bank (NAB), -$0.25 (1.28%) to $19.35 on volume of 3.5 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) performed broadly in line with its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords advanced by under a percent, adding 7.8 points (0.46%), closing out the session at 1690.6 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 101 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 83 closed lower for the session.
The 210 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 335.66m units: volume in the 101 gainers totalling 177.49m shares, with trade totalling 144.35m units in the index's 83 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Compass Resources (CMR), +$0.03 (13.89%) to $0.21 on volume of 862 thousand shares;
- Strike Resources Ltd (SRK), +$0.04 (11.48%) to $0.34 on volume of 183 thousand shares;
- GRD (GRD), +$0.04 (9.21%) to $0.42 on volume of 67.6 thousand shares;
- Record Realty (RRT), +$0.00 (9.09%) to $0.01 on volume of 116 thousand shares; and
- Great Southern (GTP), +$0.02 (8.82%) to $0.19 on volume of 1.2 million shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Industrea (IDL), -$0.06 (30.77%) to $0.14 on volume of 13.8 million shares;
- Challenger Diversified Property Group (CDI), -$0.09 (16.67%) to $0.45 on volume of 143.2 thousand shares;
- Rubicon America Trust (RAT), -$0 (14.29%) to $0.01 on volume of 568.7 thousand shares;
- Admiralty Resources NL (ADY), -$0 (12.12%) to $0.03 on volume of 36.8 million shares; and
- Lynas Corporation (LYC), -$0.04 (11.94%) to $0.30 on volume of 5.3 million shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3494.9 | 18.1 | 0.52 | 737.5m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3579 | 17.7 | 0.5 | 217.1m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3550.9 | 21.4 | 0.61 | 565.1m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3538.4 | 20.6 | 0.59 | 707.4m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3267.3 | 42.5 | 1.32 | 165.2m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1690.6 | 7.8 | 0.46 | 325.1m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2120.2 | 10.1 | 0.48 | 100m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 2925 | 17.3 | 0.59 | 382.3m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 9 | 59 | 119 | 201 | 101 | 387 |
| Declines | 12 | 35 | 70 | 180 | 83 | 369 |
| Advancing Volume | 32.1m | 186.3m | 318.1m | 350.5m | 177.5m | 420m |
| Declining Volume | 74.4m | 164.6m | 237.6m | 317.4m | 144.4m | 419.5m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, 7 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 4 lost ground.
The best performing index was Materials (XMJ), which added 215.5 points (2.61%) to 8463 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 124.79m units; 25 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 89.89m shares, while the 17 decliners had volume traded totalling 26.27m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Great Southern (GTP), +$0.02 (8.82%) to $0.19 on volume of 1.2 million shares;
- Equinox Minerals (EQN), +$0.10 (5.9%) to $1.80 on volume of 1.3 million shares;
- PanAust Ltd (PNA), +$0.01 (5.71%) to $0.19 on volume of 13.5 million shares;
- St Barbara (SBM), +$0.02 (5.36%) to $0.30 on volume of 1.4 million shares; and
- Straits Resources (SRL), +$0.06 (5.24%) to $1.11 on volume of 1.4 million shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Information Technology (XIJ), which gained 9.1 points (2.15%) to 431.5 points. This index only contains 2 stocks; they traded a total of 2.31m units today. Boh stocks rose -
- Iress Market Technology (IRE), +$0.20 (4.12%) to $5.05 on volume of 352.2 thousand shares; and
- Computershare (CPU), +$0.14 (1.88%) to $7.59 on volume of 2 million shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Healthcare (XHJ), which climbed 161.8 points (1.96%) to 8411.1 points. The 9 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 7.6m units; 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 5.21m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 1.07m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SIP), +$0.05 (4.74%) to $1.00 on volume of 914.5 thousand shares;
- Ansell (ANN), +$0.30 (2.8%) to $11.00 on volume of 791.6 thousand shares;
- CSL (CSL), +$0.81 (2.48%) to $33.41 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
- Healthscope (HSP), +$0.09 (2.22%) to $4.15 on volume of 256.8 thousand shares; and
- Sonic Healthcare (SHL), +$0.28 (2.1%) to $13.59 on volume of 1.3 million shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Property Trusts (XPJ), which dipped 8.3 points (0.99%) to 833.8 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 187.34m units; The 11 decliners had volume traded totalling 102.36m units, and 9 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 80.84m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Centro Retail (CER), -$0.01 (11.82%) to $0.10 on volume of 28.6 million shares;
- Abacus Property Group (ABP), -$0.02 (8.51%) to $0.22 on volume of 3.6 million shares;
- Goodman Group (GMG), -$0.07 (7.83%) to $0.77 on volume of 5.3 million shares;
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), -$0 (6.45%) to $0.06 on volume of 3.9 million shares; and
- Macquarie Office Trust (MOF), -$0.01 (4.44%) to $0.22 on volume of 20.5 million shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which slid 26.7 points (0.71%) to 3749.1 points. The 27 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 75.57m units; The 12 decliners had volume traded totalling 31.07m units, and 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 13.47m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Sunland Group (SDG), -$0.03 (4.07%) to $0.59 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Challenger Financial Services Group (CGF), -$0.05 (3.48%) to $1.39 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
- Macquarie Group (MQG), -$0.72 (2.49%) to $28.17 on volume of 940.1 thousand shares;
- Bank Of Queensland. (BOQ), -$0.22 (2.39%) to $9.00 on volume of 379.6 thousand shares; and
- ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.27 (1.85%) to $14.30 on volume of 5.7 million shares.
Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Utilities (XUJ), which slid 12.3 points (0.29%) to 4185.3 points. The 11 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 32.03m units; The 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 3.14m units, and 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 18.33m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Envestra (ENV), -$0.02 (4.41%) to $0.33 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
- AGL Energy (AGK), -$0.31 (2.16%) to $14.05 on volume of 1.3 million shares; and
- Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF), -$0.01 (0.49%) to $2.05 on volume of 214.4 thousand shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XMJ | Materials | 8463 | 215.5 | 2.61 | 125m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 431.5 | 9.1 | 2.15 | 2m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8411.1 | 161.8 | 1.96 | 8m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 3081.8 | 33.3 | 1.09 | 62m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1131.5 | 8.5 | 0.76 | 32m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6004.3 | 42.4 | 0.71 | 24m |
| XEJ | Energy | 11829.2 | 55.2 | 0.47 | 30m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1221 | -1.9 | -0.16 | 41m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4185.3 | -12.3 | -0.29 | 32m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3749.1 | -26.7 | -0.71 | 76m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 833.8 | -8.3 | -0.99 | 187m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNP | Centro Properties Group | 0.13 | 0.01 | 4.17 | 48.3m |
| ADY | Admiralty Resources NL | 0.03 | 0.00 | -12.12 | 36.8m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 3.60 | -0.01 | -0.28 | 33m |
| CER | Centro Retail | 0.10 | -0.01 | -11.82 | 28.6m |
| BNB | Babcock & Brown | 0.33 | 0.00 | 0 | 28.2m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMV | CMA Corporation | 0.15 | 0.03 | 20 | 65.9k |
| CMR | Compass Resources | 0.21 | 0.03 | 13.89 | 862k |
| MEO | MEO Australia | 0.31 | 0.04 | 12.73 | 4.4m |
| SRK | Strike Resources Ltd | 0.34 | 0.04 | 11.48 | 183k |
| GRD | GRD | 0.42 | 0.04 | 9.21 | 67.6k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAFCA | Multiplex Prime Property Fund | 0.02 | -0.03 | -63.41 | 1.9m |
| KBC | KeyBridge Capital | 0.12 | -0.07 | -37.84 | 3.7m |
| MUE | Multiplex European Property Fund | 0.11 | -0.05 | -31.25 | 782.5k |
| IDL | Industrea | 0.14 | -0.06 | -30.77 | 13.8m |
| GNM | Gujarat NRE Minerals Ltd | 0.30 | -0.08 | -21.05 | 115.2k |
