Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
Sorry, CBA shareholders, but "Which Bank" is absolutely not worth 10% more today than it was yesterday. Sure, those who bought into NAB's capital raising will be absolutely chuffed to see NAB benefiting from a coat-tail effect - another 2% or so and those who were dumb enough to take up the share offer will be back in the black... for the moment.
The Reverse Bank cut rates by 1% to a two-generation low of 3.25%... trying to resuscitate an overdose patient with a shot of heroin. IF loose credit and overborrowing were the problem, how is providing more cheap credit any sort of solution?
The Rudd government announced a plan to make Strayan children have poorer lives - the current government is going to steal from the future. Again - how is that a solution? Excessive debt - bringing forward future consumption - was what got us into this mess, and it's not going to get us out.
I have said this before - Keynesianism is flagrant fraud and bullshit: anyone who has read Keynes's "General Theory" will not that it is waffling, hand-waving and (for those with any technical ability whatsoever) as bad as Marx in its intellectual dishonesty.
But the parasite political class love Keynes' tripe because it green-lights a non-stop political interference in the economic life of their livestock.
Make no mistake, dear Reader - politicians are NOT interested in making you freer or safer: they are farmers, and you are their stock. They are interested in maximising their yield. You are a slave - a beast of burden - and you either do as you're told or you get culled from the herd. Your relationship with the State now, is the same as the relationship of a Dark Ages peasant to the Church.
We are at a point in societal development that is in some ways very similar to the situation when printing first became widespread: literacy increased, and 'vernacular' versions of the Bible were produced (often at great personal cost to the producer - Tyndale was burnt at the stake). Eventually though, the stranglehold of the priesthood over liturgical texts was broken, and Christianity lost sway as a genuine political force (over time) thereafter (as more and more people read the book in its entirety and said "WTF?").
And so it is now with our relation so the State: the political class has lost control over information, and more and more the people are becoming aware that political economy is a shell game practised by charlatans, mountebanks, frauds and parasites.
To rephrase Diderot - let us strangle the last politician with the entrails of the last priest, and liberty will be ours.
Sure, the politicians have all the armed goons that you can poke a stick at, but what those goons fail to appreciate is that they too are going to be betrayed - they have been promised a share of the spoils (in the form of better-than-average retirement incomes) but they have been lied to. AS they age, they will com to realise that pension indexation robs them blind in their declining years. Nothing is more anti-government than a former soldier who discovers that he killed for a lie and then was betrayed by those for whom he fought.
That said: any of them who is a 'True Believer' in his role in the repression of liberty, should be judged extremely harshly when the system breaks down (and it is in the process of doing so now: not a single Western government has a way around its long term financing requirements). I would not be averse to post-collapse death squads whose task was to hunt down senior figures in 'law enforcement' (it's in quotes because what they enforce are the opinions of politicians... the bulk of the time those opinions are worthless). Everybody thinks hunting down former GEstapo officers is a just and fair thing to do.
Jefferson said that the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. I disagree since I think patriots are idiots (notions of 'nation' are vile, racist and ignorant). So I would rephrase it: the tree of liberty must be fertilised with the blood and bones of tyrants and their enablers.
Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - sagged in the afternoon after a reasonably strong open. BY the end of the session, the Ords was showing a gain of just 12.4 points (0.36%), finishing at 3455.9 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3516.4 at 12:13 pm, while the traded low for the day was atthe close (the 'print' low in the data will be 3443.5 - yesterday's close).
Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.29bn units, 27.5% above its 10-day average of 1.01bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1031 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 318 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 314.2m units; there were 445 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 814.6m shares.
Of the 485 All Ordinaries components, 165 rose while 215 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 2.8:1, with 263.86m shares traded in gainers while 727.77m 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 18.3 points (0.52%), closing out the session at 3515.7 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3455.90 | 12.40 (0.4%) |
| ASX 20 | 2136.30 | 34.40 (1.6%) |
| ASX 50 | 3568.20 | 31.00 (0.9%) |
| ASX 100 | 2897.80 | 16.00 (0.6%) |
| ASX 200 | 3515.70 | 18.30 (0.5%) |
| ASX 300 | 3499.70 | 17.40 (0.5%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3084.20 | -59.70 (1.9%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1638.80 | -2.70 (0.2%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - performed solidly, in moving up 34.4 points (1.64%), closing out the session at 2136.3 points.
Among the 20 big guns, the outcome favoured the upside, but only just - the 11 advancing sectors just triumphed the losing sectors. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 167.79m units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 108.69m shares, while the 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 58.86m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), +$2.60 (9.83%) to $29.05 on volume of 14.7 million shares;
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$1.09 (7.12%) to $16.40 on volume of 11.2 million shares;
- National Australia Bank (NAB), +$0.84 (4.49%) to $19.55 on volume of 6.7 million shares;
- ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.44 (3.32%) to $13.70 on volume of 11.4 million shares; and
- Rio Tinto (RIO), +$1.08 (2.43%) to $45.53 on volume of 5.5 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- Stockland (SGP), -$0.36 (9.89%) to $3.28 on volume of 13 million shares;
- Origin Energy (ORG), -$0.6 (4.4%) to $13.05 on volume of 5.5 million shares;
- Foster's Group (FGL), -$0.19 (3.51%) to $5.23 on volume of 7.5 million shares;
- Newcrest Mining (NCM), -$1 (3.23%) to $30.00 on volume of 8.5 million shares; and
- CSL (CSL), -$0.53 (1.47%) to $35.60 on volume of 2.4 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) slid modestly, falling 2.7 points (0.16%), closing out the session at 1638.8 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 73 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 104 closed lower for the session.
The 208 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 275.92m units: volume in the 73 gainers totalling 86.02m shares, with trade totalling 158.55m units in the index's 104 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Perilya (PEM), +$0.04 (24.14%) to $0.18 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Oakton (OKN), +$0.12 (18.55%) to $0.74 on volume of 790.9 thousand shares;
- PMP (PMP), +$0.06 (14.12%) to $0.49 on volume of 375 thousand shares;
- Murchison Metals Ltd (MMX), +$0.07 (12.62%) to $0.58 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
- Mirabela Nickel (MBN), +$0.17 (12.06%) to $1.58 on volume of 116.1 thousand shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Mirvac Industrial Trust (MIX), -$0.03 (19.23%) to $0.11 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
- Babcock&Brown Japan Property Trust (BJT), -$0.05 (14.29%) to $0.30 on volume of 2.9 million shares;
- Macquarie Countrywide Trust (MCW), -$0.04 (14.29%) to $0.21 on volume of 9.1 million shares;
- Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT), -$0.01 (12.73%) to $0.05 on volume of 7 million shares; and
- Alesco Corporation (ALS), -$0.22 (11.94%) to $1.59 on volume of 1.3 million shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3455.9 | 12.4 | 0.36 | 1045.7m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3568.2 | 31 | 0.88 | 469.4m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3515.7 | 18.3 | 0.52 | 940m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3499.7 | 17.4 | 0.5 | 1014.5m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3084.2 | -59.7 | -1.9 | 280.5m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1638.8 | -2.7 | -0.16 | 264.6m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2136.3 | 34.4 | 1.64 | 154.8m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 2897.8 | 16 | 0.56 | 749.9m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 11 | 34 | 76 | 165 | 73 | 318 |
| Declines | 9 | 65 | 112 | 215 | 104 | 445 |
| Advancing Volume | 108.7m | 171.6m | 219.8m | 263.9m | 86m | 314.2m |
| Declining Volume | 58.9m | 606m | 691.3m | 727.8m | 158.5m | 814.6m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, the outcome favoured the upside, but only just - the 6 advancing sectors just triumphed the 5 losing sectors.
The best performing index was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which added 156.3 points (4.4%) to 3710.7 points. The 27 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 80.51m units; 14 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 58.21m shares, while the 11 decliners had volume traded totalling 21.75m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), +$2.60 (9.83%) to $29.05 on volume of 14.7 million shares;
- Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), +$1.09 (7.12%) to $16.40 on volume of 11.2 million shares;
- IOOF Holdings (IFL), +$0.18 (5.54%) to $3.43 on volume of 76.4 thousand shares;
- Tower Australia Group (TAL), +$0.11 (4.78%) to $2.41 on volume of 1.3 million shares; and
- National Australia Bank (NAB), +$0.84 (4.49%) to $19.55 on volume of 6.7 million shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Utilities (XUJ), which gained 67.8 points (1.6%) to 4318.4 points. The 11 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 22.92m units; 7 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 15.06m shares, while the 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 5.31m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Babcock & Brown Wind Partners Group (BBW), +$0.03 (3.53%) to $0.88 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
- Sp Ausnet (SPN), +$0.03 (2.76%) to $1.12 on volume of 2.9 million shares;
- Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group (BBI), +$0.00 (2.6%) to $0.08 on volume of 3.9 million shares;
- Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC), +$0.01 (2.33%) to $0.22 on volume of 1.4 million shares; and
- AGL Energy (AGK), +$0.32 (2.23%) to $14.67 on volume of 1.4 million shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Telecommunications (XTJ), which climbed 15.4 points (1.21%) to 1290.4 points. This index only contains 3 stocks; they traded a total of 58.98m units today. The lone rising index component had volume amounting to 43.88m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 15.1m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Telstra Corporation. (TLS), +$0.06 (1.61%) to $3.79 on volume of 43.9 million shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Property Trusts (XPJ), which dipped 54.6 points (6.55%) to 779 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 318.11m units; The 19 decliners had volume traded totalling 313.6m units, - none of the index components ended with a gain. The major percentage decliners within the index were
- ING Industrial Fund (IIF), -$0.03 (20%) to $0.12 on volume of 21.8 million shares;
- ING Office Fund (IOF), -$0.09 (17.65%) to $0.42 on volume of 11.4 million shares;
- Mirvac Group (MGR), -$0.22 (17.32%) to $1.05 on volume of 22.7 million shares;
- GPT Group (GPT), -$0.14 (16.46%) to $0.69 on volume of 52 million shares; and
- Goodman Group (GMG), -$0.13 (16.13%) to $0.65 on volume of 22.7 million shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Information Technology (XIJ), which slid 8 points (2%) to 392.9 points. The 2 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 2m units; both fell (as follows):
- Computershare (CPU), -$0.15 (2.16%) to $6.80 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
- Iress Market Technology (IRE), -$0.09 (1.73%) to $5.10 on volume of 511.5 thousand shares.
Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Materials (XMJ), which slid 143.1 points (1.68%) to 8384.9 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 243.38m units; The 26 decliners had volume traded totalling 200.88m units, and 12 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 27.96m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Incitec Pivot (IPL), -$0.78 (30.47%) to $1.78 on volume of 99.2 million shares;
- Gunns (GNS), -$0.1 (10.64%) to $0.84 on volume of 2.7 million shares;
- Orica (ORI), -$1.3 (9.63%) to $12.20 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
- Kagara Zinc (KZL), -$0.04 (9.52%) to $0.38 on volume of 3.8 million shares; and
- Nufarm (NUF), -$0.69 (6.37%) to $10.15 on volume of 839.5 thousand shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3710.7 | 156.3 | 4.4 | 81m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4318.4 | 67.8 | 1.6 | 23m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1290.4 | 15.4 | 1.21 | 59m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1067.2 | 6.5 | 0.61 | 47m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6097.8 | 31.3 | 0.52 | 29m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 2898.2 | 7.5 | 0.26 | 99m |
| XEJ | Energy | 11654.9 | -135.5 | -1.15 | 36m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8745 | -120.4 | -1.36 | 10m |
| XMJ | Materials | 8384.9 | -143.1 | -1.68 | 243m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 392.9 | -8 | -2 | 2m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 779 | -54.6 | -6.55 | 318m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL | Incitec Pivot | 1.78 | -0.78 | -30.47 | 99.2m |
| GPT | GPT Group | 0.69 | -0.14 | -16.46 | 52m |
| TLS | Telstra Corporation. | 3.79 | 0.06 | 1.61 | 43.9m |
| DXS | Dexus Property Group | 0.73 | -0.10 | -11.52 | 34.8m |
| CPA | Commonwealth Property Office Fund | 0.80 | -0.07 | -8.09 | 29.5m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAFCA | Multiplex Prime Property Fund | 0.01 | 0.00 | 30 | 150k |
| RCR | RCR Tomlinson | 0.40 | 0.08 | 25 | 215k |
| PEM | Perilya | 0.18 | 0.04 | 24.14 | 1.1m |
| BVA | Bravura Solutions | 0.21 | 0.04 | 20.59 | 20k |
| OKN | Oakton | 0.74 | 0.12 | 18.55 | 790.9k |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL | Incitec Pivot | 1.78 | -0.78 | -30.47 | 99.2m |
| ATM | Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk (Pt) | 1.10 | -0.40 | -26.67 | 1.5k |
| AXQ | Allco Max Securities And Mortgage Trust | 0.00 | 0.00 | -25 | 344.2k |
| ARR | Arasor International | 0.02 | -0.01 | -24.14 | 275k |
| IIF | ING Industrial Fund | 0.12 | -0.03 | -20 | 21.8m |
