Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
Damn and blast... although the SPI got above 3400 (as I said it would), the advance was more cowardly than a battalion of French infantry.
Honestly, it was as if any trader who bought SPI today did so with their teeth (and sphincter) clenched, afraid that the earth would open and swallow them up. It took over three hours for the SPI to traverse the .distance between 3395 and 3400 - every one-point advance resulted in a tenfold increase in the number of units offered (most of it fake), whereupon other bidders would retract bids.
It was like watching a 35 year old housewife learning to drive.
More interesting is what happened in the after-session - the time between 4 p.m. (the close of the ASX physical) and the 4:30 p.m. futures close. During that time, the SPI dropped 40 points in 15 minutes... its biggest and 'purest move of the day.
Not to worry - I said I would exit this trade above 3420 (today's top was 3414); tomorrow I reckon I'll be able to exit above 3450: today showed that everybody is behaving like a sissy, which means that the market is too bearish (which, perversely, means it has to rise a bit more).
Ain't contrarianism fun?
And let's be frank - that call on Friday (hold long over the weekend because everyone else was short): was that a bitchin' call or what?
Now all I need is for EURGBP to drop back to its low of last night (which occurred three pips above my exit order...arse) and all will be right with the world.
Bloody EURGBP is giving me the pip actually: it ought to be falling much faster than it has been. GBP is rising against USD and other currencies ,but the euro-zone is getting a pass (wrongly, in my view).
Sure, the British economy is a laughing-stock, and rightly so. I read somewhere that almost 50% of economic activity is government spending. I think that must be wrong since if it were true, then {Taxes + NPSBR} would have to be 100% of private wages, salaries and GOS. (In other words, if half of all output is government, then tax must be equal to the entire other half of output, or the government debt will explode).
But think a bit harder - the euro-zone ex-Germany is an absolute bona fide basket case. Spain lost its AAA a week ago and its property sector is the economic equivalent of Hiroshima on the morning of August 10th 1944. Portugal hardly even has an economy anymore; Italy is a lunatic asylum; France is dead in the water and the natives are starting to take to the streets (serves them right for 'electing' a megalomaniacal runt with a penchant for gold-digging playboy's castoffs).
The only bright spot is Krautland, and they will soon get sick of carrying everyone else.
In other words, he euro should be weakening versus the pound, the Yen and the $A (but it should still be strengthening against USD since the US economy is in much worse shape).
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - surged a whopping 92 points (2.79%), finishing at 3392.3 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3393.8 at 3:36 pm, while the low for the day was 3358.6 - set at 11:13 am Sydney time.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.04bn units, 9% above its 10-day average of 958m shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1042 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 368 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 568m units; there were 442 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 370.3m shares.
Of the 487 All Ordinaries components, 209 rose while 174 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2:1, with 449.67m shares traded in gainers while 230.38m shares traded in the day's losers.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) - hurtled skyward to the tune of 101.3 points (3.03%), closing out the session at 3444 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3392.30 | 92.00 (2.8%) |
| ASX 20 | 2055.90 | 71.10 (3.6%) |
| ASX 50 | 3477.00 | 112.50 (3.3%) |
| ASX 100 | 2837.40 | 86.80 (3.2%) |
| ASX 200 | 3444.00 | 101.30 (3.0%) |
| ASX 300 | 3430.20 | 99.10 (3.0%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3133.80 | 53.80 (1.7%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1626.00 | 13.10 (0.8%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 71.1 points (3.58%), closing out the session at 2055.9 points.
Among the 20 big guns, 18 index components finished to the upside, and 2 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 141.55m units; 18 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 117.48m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 17.95m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- RIO Tinto (RIO), +$4.13 (10.85%) to $42.19 on volume of 4.2 million shares;
- Newcrest Mining (NCM), +$2.58 (8.44%) to $33.15 on volume of 3.3 million shares;
- BHP Billiton (BHP), +$1.88 (6.85%) to $29.33 on volume of 20.1 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$1.50 (4.52%) to $34.65 on volume of 1.3 million shares; and
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), +$0.99 (4.36%) to $23.70 on volume of 2.3 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- Wesfarmers (WES), -$0.43 (2.55%) to $16.40 on volume of 14.2 million shares; and
- AMP (AMP), -$0.02 (0.4%) to $4.98 on volume of 3.7 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) advanced by under a percent, adding 13.1 points (0.81%), closing out the session at 1626 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 92 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 258.08m units: volume in the 92 gainers totalling 97.27m shares, with trade totalling 131.21m units in the index's 83 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Macquarie Countrywide Trust (MCW), +$0.05 (22.73%) to $0.27 on volume of 11 million shares;
- Aditya Birla Minerals (ABY), +$0.03 (18.52%) to $0.16 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Aquarius Platinum (AQP), +$0.46 (14.51%) to $3.63 on volume of 471.3 thousand shares;
- OceanaGold Corporation (OGC), +$0.05 (13.33%) to $0.43 on volume of 4.1 million shares; and
- Mineral Deposits (MDL), +$0.07 (11.11%) to $0.65 on volume of 119 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), -$0.02 (25.32%) to $0.06 on volume of 5 million shares;
- Rubicon Japan Trust (RJT), -$0 (25%) to $0.01 on volume of 314.9 thousand shares;
- Compass Resources (CMR), -$0.03 (14.29%) to $0.15 on volume of 2 million shares;
- Linc Energy Ltd (LNC), -$0.19 (13.86%) to $1.15 on volume of 2.1 million shares; and
- Oakton (OKN), -$0.1 (13.1%) to $0.63 on volume of 432 thousand shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3392.3 | 92 | 2.79 | 727.5m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3477 | 112.5 | 3.34 | 289.3m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3444 | 101.3 | 3.03 | 625.7m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3430.2 | 99.1 | 2.97 | 687.1m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3133.8 | 53.8 | 1.75 | 147.5m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1626 | 13.1 | 0.81 | 250.3m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2055.9 | 71.1 | 3.58 | 137.4m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 2837.4 | 86.8 | 3.16 | 436.8m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 18 | 75 | 130 | 209 | 92 | 368 |
| Declines | 2 | 22 | 57 | 174 | 83 | 442 |
| Advancing Volume | 117.5m | 352.2m | 417.5m | 449.7m | 97.3m | 568m |
| Declining Volume | 18m | 137.9m | 187.2m | 230.4m | 131.2m | 370.3m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, it was green across the board, as every sector managed to keep its head above water.
The best performing index was Materials (XMJ), which added 472.2 points (5.9%) to 8471.7 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 164.51m units; 33 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 132.98m shares, while the 11 decliners had volume traded totalling 28.94m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Aquarius Platinum (AQP), +$0.46 (14.51%) to $3.63 on volume of 471.3 thousand shares;
- Sims Metal Management (SGM), +$2.11 (14.26%) to $16.91 on volume of 1 million shares;
- RIO Tinto (RIO), +$4.13 (10.85%) to $42.19 on volume of 4.2 million shares;
- Perilya Limited (PEM), +$0.02 (10%) to $0.17 on volume of 328.6 thousand shares; and
- Great Southern (GTP), +$0.02 (8.57%) to $0.19 on volume of 461.7 thousand shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Industrials (XNJ), which gained 92.5 points (3.19%) to 2988.6 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 53.75m units; 21 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 39.54m shares, while the 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 9.48m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Leighton Holdings (LEI), +$1.78 (10.95%) to $18.03 on volume of 1.2 million shares;
- Asciano Group (AIO), +$0.09 (9.28%) to $1.06 on volume of 3.3 million shares;
- Boart Longyear (BLY), +$0.02 (8.82%) to $0.19 on volume of 5.9 million shares;
- Macquarie Airports (MAP), +$0.14 (6.76%) to $2.21 on volume of 5.1 million shares; and
- Toll Holdings (TOL), +$0.33 (6.42%) to $5.47 on volume of 1.7 million shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Energy (XEJ), which climbed 346.7 points (3.07%) to 11629.7 points. The 20 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 32.02m units; 14 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 22.47m shares, while the 5 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.94m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Nexus Energy (NXS), +$0.02 (5.06%) to $0.42 on volume of 2.4 million shares;
- OIL Search (OSH), +$0.20 (4.81%) to $4.36 on volume of 4.4 million shares;
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$1.50 (4.52%) to $34.65 on volume of 1.3 million shares;
- Worleyparsons (WOR), +$0.55 (4.37%) to $13.15 on volume of 897.2 thousand shares; and
- Santos (STO), +$0.56 (4.18%) to $13.96 on volume of 3.7 million shares.
As mentioned above, there were no declining sectors today - so we can move on down to the Asian market stuff now.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XMJ | Materials | 8471.7 | 472.2 | 5.9 | 165m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 2988.6 | 92.5 | 3.19 | 54m |
| XEJ | Energy | 11629.7 | 346.7 | 3.07 | 32m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6063.4 | 135.3 | 2.28 | 39m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3411.9 | 72.6 | 2.17 | 55m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8762.8 | 176.2 | 2.05 | 10m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 813.1 | 12.1 | 1.51 | 179m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 383.4 | 5.4 | 1.43 | 2m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1082.7 | 15.2 | 1.42 | 31m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1253.7 | 15 | 1.21 | 47m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4174 | 41.2 | 1 | 19m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPG | Valad Property Group | 0.04 | -0.01 | -10.64 | 53.3m |
| LGL | Lihir Gold | 3.03 | 0.11 | 3.77 | 36.1m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 3.68 | 0.04 | 1.1 | 34m |
| BHP | BHP Billiton | 29.33 | 1.88 | 6.85 | 20.1m |
| MOF | Macquarie Office Trust | 0.19 | -0.01 | -5.13 | 16.6m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCW | Macquarie Countrywide Trust | 0.27 | 0.05 | 22.73 | 11m |
| ABY | Aditya Birla Minerals | 0.16 | 0.03 | 18.52 | 1.1m |
| AQP | Aquarius Platinum | 3.63 | 0.46 | 14.51 | 471.3k |
| NFK | Norfolk Group | 0.20 | 0.03 | 14.29 | 124.5k |
| SGM | Sims Metal Management | 16.91 | 2.11 | 14.26 | 1m |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXQ | Allco Max Securities And Mortgage Trust | 0.00 | 0.00 | -57.14 | 1.2m |
| MPF | Multiplex Acumen Property Fund | 0.10 | -0.06 | -38.71 | 158.7k |
| ALB | Albidon | 0.06 | -0.02 | -25.32 | 5m |
| RJT | Rubicon Japan Trust | 0.01 | 0.00 | -25 | 314.9k |
| CFU | Ceramic Fuel Cells | 0.05 | -0.02 | -23.08 | 3.8m |
