The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +127.83 points (1.24%) to 10447.93 points. The index high for the day was 10451.15, while the low was 10321.84.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.04bn shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 29 of the 30 index components rose, with total upside volume of 1.04bnshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• JPMorganChase (JPM) +1.01 (2.6%) to $39.17 on volume of 33.73m shares;
• American Express (AXP) +0.92 (2.3%) to $41.8 on volume of 10.72m shares;
• Caterpillar (CAT) +1.54 (2.2%) to $70.08 on volume of 7.77m shares;
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.76 (2.2%) to $34.67 on volume of 8.29m shares; and
• AIG (AIG) +0.78 (2.2%) to $36.7 on volume of 2.33m shares.

The S&P500 Index rose +14.41 points (1.32%) to 1104.51 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.84bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 14.8 to one, with 428 advancers to 29 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.68bn to 95.44m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• MGIC Investment (MTG) +0.59 (7.4%) to $8.57 on volume of 6.63m shares;
• Janus Capital Group (JNS) +0.63 (6.6%) to $10.12 on volume of 4.94m shares;
• Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) +0.68 (6%) to $12.03 on volume of 7.01m shares;
• Block H&R (HRB) +0.73 (5.8%) to $13.3 on volume of 12.71m shares; and
• Manitowoc Co. (MTW) +0.57 (5.8%) to $10.4 on volume of 2.67m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite rose +33.74 points (1.53%) to 2233.75 points. while the Nasdaq100 rose +29.73 points (1.62%) to 1870.31 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 624.8m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 15.2 to one, with 91 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 608.2m to 16.6m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) +0.45 (4.4%) to $10.79 on volume of 1.44m shares;
• NII Holdings (NIHD) +1.4 (3.8%) to $38.4 on volume of 0.97m shares;
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) +3.14 (3.7%) to $87.81 on volume of 2.69m shares;
• NVIDIA (NVDA) +0.329 (3.4%) to $9.899 on volume of 13.15m shares; and
• Focus Media Holding (FMCN) +0.58 (3%) to $19.96 on volume of 1.11m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index declined 1.88 points (8.11%) to 21.31 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index slid 1.98 points (8.27%) to 21.95 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3902 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4.13bn shares. A total of 2915 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 3.49bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 878 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 0.55bn shares. 333 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 25 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2750 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.51bn shares. A total of 2021 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.34bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 609 losers, and total declining volume was 0.15bn shares. 89 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 25 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• JPMorganChase (JPM) +1.01 (2.6%) to $39.17 on volume of 33.7m units
• American Express (AXP) +0.92 (2.3%) to $41.8 on volume of 10.7m units
• Caterpillar (CAT) +1.54 (2.2%) to $70.08 on volume of 7.8m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.76 (2.2%) to $34.67 on volume of 8.3m units
• IBM (IBM) +2.54 (2%) to $127.58 on volume of 5.1m units

Dow Duds:

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.22 (1.7%) to $13.5 on volume of 140.6m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.2425 (1.6%) to $15.39 on volume of 63.5m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.35 (1.5%) to $24.29 on volume of 58.8m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.15 (0.8%) to $18.43 on volume of 52.8m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +1.01 (2.6%) to $39.17 on volume of 33.7m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) added 0.4 points (0.21%) to 186.81 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 65.5m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4 to one, with 12 advancers to 3 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 54.73m to 10.53m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Pan-American Silver (PAAS) +0.88 (3.5%) to $25.93 on volume of 1.62m shares;
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) +0.74 (3.2%) to $23.89 on volume of 5.49m shares;
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.43 (2.5%) to $17.43 on volume of 13.4m shares;
• Coeur d'Alene (CDE) +0.38 (2.2%) to $17.68 on volume of 1.61m shares; and
• Freeport McMoran (FCX) +1.59 (2.1%) to $78.55 on volume of 10.73m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) added 0.78 points (0.43%) to 181.69 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 49.46m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.6 to one, with 8 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 32.86m to 16.61m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.54 (3.2%) to $17.4 on volume of 4.45m shares;
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +0.76 (1.9%) to $40.55 on volume of 3.46m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) +0.95 (1.7%) to $57.37 on volume of 9.28m shares;
• Rowan Co (RDC) +0.33 (1.2%) to $28.4 on volume of 1.88m shares; and
• Halliburton (HAL) +0.3 (1%) to $30.43 on volume of 7.28m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 1.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.2425 (1.6%) to $15.3925 on volume of 63.48m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.03 (0.77%) to $3.91 on volume of 432.76m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.28 (0.54%) to $52.04 on volume of 9.46m units.
• IBM (IBM) +2.54 (2.03%) to $127.58 on volume of 5.05m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.15 (0.82%) to $18.43 on volume of 52.82m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.52 (2.53%) to $21.04 on volume of 49.12m units.
• Google (GOOG) +7.12 (1.54%) to $470.30 on volume of 2.44m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) advanced 0.85 points (1.86%) to 46.63 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 747.19m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 21 to one, with 21 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 733.64m to 13.55m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• State Street (STT) +1.49 (4.1%) to $37.92 on volume of 4.18m shares;
• Northern Trust (NTRS) +1.64 (3.5%) to $48.86 on volume of 2.46m shares;
• Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) +0.8 (3.2%) to $26.07 on volume of 8.3m shares;
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.62 (3.1%) to $20.33 on volume of 3.02m shares; and
• Capital One Financial (COF) +1.17 (3%) to $40.69 on volume of 4.07m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 0 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 195.59m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 17 of the 18 index components rose, with total upside volume of 195.59mshares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Micron Technology (MU) +0.219 (3.2%) to $7.049 on volume of 21.88m shares;
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) +0.3 (3.2%) to $9.77 on volume of 11.18m shares;
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.16 (2.7%) to $6.09 on volume of 22.03m shares;
• Sandisk (SNDK) +0.94 (2.6%) to $36.95 on volume of 11.81m shares; and
• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) +0.58 (1.9%) to $30.35 on volume of 1.8m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) gained 5.9 points (1.82%) to 329.96 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 86.54m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 16 of the 17 index components rose, with total upside volume of 86.54mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Esterline Tech (ESL) +4.94 (9.9%) to $54.79 on volume of 0.72m shares;
• Gencorp (GY) +0.1 (2.1%) to $4.93 on volume of 0.34m shares;
• Boeing (BA) +1.25 (2%) to $64.64 on volume of 3.38m shares;
• FLIRr Systems (FLIR) +0.48 (1.8%) to $26.76 on volume of 2.21m shares; and
• Teledyne Tech (TDY) +0.62 (1.6%) to $38.5 on volume of 0.11m shares.

All Ords up modestly, adding 0.32%; volume above average and breadth favours the gainers by 3.8:1: sector indices mixed. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 0.8% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 has added 0.6% so far; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is showing a 0.1% gain.The KOSPI has added 0.2% for the session thus far.

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – advanced modestly, rising 14.6 points (0.32%), finishing at 4577.6 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4589.1 at 10:17 am, while the low for the day was 4565.1 – set at 3:08 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 2.09bn units, 13.4% above its 10-day average of 1.84bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1392 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 626 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 1.32bn units; there were 418 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 354.6m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 241 rose while 133 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 3.8:1, with 798.71m shares traded in gainers while 208.85m 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 8.5 points (0.19%), closing out the session at 4541.2 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4577.60	14.60 (0.3%)
ASX 20	2731.00	-0.70 (0.0%)
ASX 50	4535.60	-0.40 (0.0%)
ASX 100	3707.20	4.70 (0.1%)
ASX 200	4541.20	8.50 (0.2%)
ASX 300	4536.10	9.50 (0.2%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	4152.80	49.20 (1.2%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2504.20	26.70 (1.1%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – slid modestly, falling 0.7 points (0.03%), closing out the session at 2731 points.

Among the 20 big guns, the decliners just edged out the gainers – 10 advancing components were only just edged out (in numerical terms) by the decliners. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 166.57m units; 10 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 103.17m shares, while the 10 decliners had volume traded totalling 53.13m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM), +$0.65 (1.71%) to $38.72 on volume of 5.1 million shares;
• AMP Ltd (AMP), +$006 (1.17%) to $5.21 on volume of 16.1 million shares;
• Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), +$0.31 (0.93%) to $33.60 on volume of 3 million shares;
• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$0.67 (0.92%) to $73.79 on volume of 2.1 million shares; and
• Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS), +$0.01 (0.36%) to $2.82 on volume of 33.5 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), -$0.41 (1.1%) to $36.99 on volume of 3.4 million shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), -$0.35 (0.67%) to $51.57 on volume of 4.1 million shares;
• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), -$0.15 (0.66%) to $22.50 on volume of 6.4 million shares;
• ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.14 (0.6%) to $23.29 on volume of 8 million shares; and
• Fosters Group Ltd (FGL), -$0.03 (0.49%) to $6.07 on volume of 4.9 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) swam in the opposite direction to the big fish today. posted a gain despite weakness in the big-caps. The Small Ords performed solidly, in moving up 26.7 points (1.08%), closing out the session at 2504.2 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 120 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 61 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 584.84m units: volume in the 120 gainers totalling 370.43m shares, with trade totalling 96.33m units in the index's 61 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), +$0.14 (15.91%) to $1.02 on volume of 8.8 million shares;
• Nexbis Ltd (NBS), +$0.01 (12.68%) to $0.08 on volume of 1.3 million shares;
• Marion Energy Ltd (MAE), +$0.00 (12.12%) to $0.04 on volume of 3.7 million shares;
• Mintails (MLI), +$0.00 (11.11%) to $0.02 on volume of 4.5 million shares; and
• Intrepid Mines Ltd (IAU), +$0.08 (9.76%) to $0.90 on volume of 3.5 million shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• Oilex Ltd (OEX), -$0.01 (6.67%) to $0.14 on volume of 494 thousand shares;
• PAN Pacific Petroleum NL (PPP), -$0.01 (5.71%) to $0.17 on volume of 498 thousand shares;
• BOW Energy Ltd (BOW), -$0.07 (5%) to $1.33 on volume of 777.6 thousand shares;
• Silex Systems Ltd (SLX), -$0.21 (4.36%) to $4.61 on volume of 41.6 thousand shares; and
• Biota Hldgs Ltd (BTA), -$0.04 (4.28%) to $0.90 on volume of 1.4 million shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, 8 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 3 lost ground.

The best performing index was Utilities (XUJ), which added 70.3 points (1.63%) to 4383.3 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 38.76m units; 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 35.48m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 3.28m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• SP AUSNET (stapled) (SPN), +$0.05 (5.52%) to $0.86 on volume of 8.8 million shares;
• APA Group (APA), +$0.13 (3.46%) to $3.89 on volume of 2.8 million shares;
• Duet Group (DUE), +$0.06 (3.24%) to $1.76 on volume of 4 million shares;
• Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF), +$0.05 (3.19%) to $1.46 on volume of 2.8 million shares; and
• Spark Infrastructure Trust (SKI), +$0.02 (1.71%) to $1.19 on volume of 4.1 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Industrials (XNJ), which gained 55.6 points (1.56%) to 3612.4 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 166.97m units; 27 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 146.99m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 0.29m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Spotless Group Ltd (SPT), +$0.12 (5.66%) to $2.24 on volume of 648.3 thousand shares;
• Cabcharge Australia Ltd (CAB), +$0.26 (5.25%) to $5.21 on volume of 268.7 thousand shares;
• Hastie Group (HST), +$0.07 (4.48%) to $1.52 on volume of 2 million shares;
• GWA Intl Ltd (GWT), +$0.13 (4.33%) to $3.13 on volume of 940.2 thousand shares; and
• Ausenco (AAX), +$0.09 (3.83%) to $2.44 on volume of 636.8 thousand shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Materials (XMJ), which climbed 65.8 points (0.54%) to 12145.8 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 360.68m units; 32 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 280.79m shares, while the 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 34.37m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Mirabela Nickel Ltd (MBN), +$0.14 (8.28%) to $1.83 on volume of 4.3 million shares;
• Dominion Mining Ltd (DOM), +$0.19 (8.05%) to $2.55 on volume of 730.3 thousand shares;
• Gunns Ltd (GNS), +$0.04 (5.47%) to $0.68 on volume of 4.4 million shares;
• Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (KCN), +$0.51 (5.06%) to $10.58 on volume of 943.7 thousand shares; and
• Iluka Resources Ltd (ILU), +$0.28 (4.95%) to $5.94 on volume of 2.5 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which dipped 20.5 points (0.41%) to 5011.1 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 82.47m units; The 13 decliners had volume traded totalling 53.35m units, and 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 29.12m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Australand Property Group (ALZ), -$0.04 (1.38%) to $2.86 on volume of 311 thousand shares;
• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), -$0.41 (1.1%) to $36.99 on volume of 3.4 million shares;
• Perpetual Ltd (PPT), -$0.3 (0.99%) to $30.08 on volume of 111.3 thousand shares;
• Tower Australia Ltd (TAL), -$0.02 (0.89%) to $2.22 on volume of 1 million shares; and
• Bank Of Queensland Ltd (BOQ), -$0.08 (0.77%) to $10.36 on volume of 349.8 thousand shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Information Technology (XIJ), which slid 1.8 points (0.3%) to 591.1 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 5.45m units; The 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 4.65m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.8m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Computershare Ltd (CPU), -$0.04 (0.41%) to $9.66 on volume of 4.4 million shares; and
• SMS Management & Technology Ltd (SMX), -$0.02 (0.31%) to $6.38 on volume of 260.5 thousand shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), which slid 3.1 points (0.2%) to 1524.5 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 65.63m units; The 8 decliners had volume traded totalling 36.93m units, and 12 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 28.25m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ALL), -$0.19 (4.96%) to $3.64 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• West Australian Newspapers Ltd (WAN), -$0.32 (4.64%) to $6.58 on volume of 540.1 thousand shares;
• Pacific Brands Ltd (PBG), -$0.04 (3.26%) to $1.04 on volume of 4.8 million shares;
• Austar United Communications (AUN), -$0.02 (1.69%) to $0.88 on volume of 3.9 million shares; and
• Crown Ltd (CWN), -$0.12 (1.41%) to $8.38 on volume of 2.7 million shares.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +50.63 points (0.49%) to 10320.10 points. The index high for the day was 10320.37, while the low was 10253.96.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.04bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 6.3 to one, with 25 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1bn to 39.39m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Alcoa (AA) +0.31 (2.9%) to $10.83 on volume of 31.4m shares;
• Home Depot (HD) +0.74 (2.6%) to $29.41 on volume of 14.26m shares;
• Boeing (BA) +1.1 (1.8%) to $63.39 on volume of 3.43m shares;
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.47 (1.2%) to $39.68 on volume of 17.69m shares; and
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.4 (1.2%) to $33.91 on volume of 6.95m shares.

The S&P500 Index gained +9.81 points (0.91%) to 1090.10 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.96bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 6.5 to one, with 401 advancers to 62 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.69bn to 265.08m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Nordstrom (JWN) +2.44 (8%) to $32.76 on volume of 6.92m shares;
• Liz ClaiborneInc. (LIZ) +0.34 (7.7%) to $4.74 on volume of 2.57m shares;
• Wendy's International (WEN) +0.28 (6.8%) to $4.4 on volume of 11.45m shares;
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT) +0.6 (6.3%) to $10.13 on volume of 6.37m shares; and
• Limited BrandsInc. (LTD) +1.48 (6.1%) to $25.75 on volume of 5.78m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced +23.17 points (1.06%) to 2200.01 points. while the Nasdaq100 rose +20.53 points (1.13%) to 1840.58 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 682.77m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 7.8 to one, with 86 advancers to 11 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 643.3m to 39.47m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Flextronics International (FLEX) +0.3 (5.8%) to $5.48 on volume of 9.72m shares;
• Broadcom (BRCM) +1.63 (5.2%) to $32.71 on volume of 11.08m shares;
• Lamar Advertising (LAMR) +1.48 (5.2%) to $29.72 on volume of 0.6m shares;
• Akamai Technologies (AKAM) +2.445 (5.1%) to $50.09 on volume of 6.32m shares; and
• Foster Wheeler (FWLT) +1 (4.5%) to $22.99 on volume of 1.68m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index fell 0.7 points (2.93%) to 23.19 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index fell 1 points (4.01%) to 23.93 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3876 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4.27bn shares. A total of 2674 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 3.52bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1073 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 073bn shares. 249 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 31 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2731 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.58bn shares. A total of 1653 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.37bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 953 losers, and total declining volume was 0.2bn shares. 61 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 28 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Alcoa (AA) +0.31 (2.9%) to $10.83 on volume of 31.4m units
• Home Depot (HD) +0.74 (2.6%) to $29.41 on volume of 14.3m units
• Boeing (BA) +1.1 (1.8%) to $63.39 on volume of 3.4m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.47 (1.2%) to $39.68 on volume of 17.7m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) +0.4 (1.2%) to $33.91 on volume of 7m units

Dow Duds:

• Merck (MRK) -0.27 (0.8%) to $35.35 on volume of 11.5m units
• IBM (IBM) -0.73 (0.6%) to $125.04 on volume of 5.1m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.15 (0.5%) to $30.11 on volume of 11.2m units
• American Express (AXP) -0.19 (0.5%) to $40.88 on volume of 11.6m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.0725 (0.5%) to $13.28 on volume of 140.7m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.14 (0.9%) to $15.15 on volume of 54.1m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.14 (0.8%) to $18.28 on volume of 48.8m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.04 (0.2%) to $23.94 on volume of 44.9m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.12 (0.7%) to $16.4 on volume of 36.1m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) added 2.15 points (1.17%) to 186.41 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 58.6m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 15 to one, with 15 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 49.29m to 9.3m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +0.85 (4.8%) to $18.38 on volume of 1.18m shares;
• AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +1.84 (4.4%) to $43.85 on volume of 1.95m shares;
• Harmony Gold (HMY) +0.42 (4.2%) to $10.52 on volume of 1.99m shares;
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) +0.64 (2.8%) to $23.15 on volume of 5m shares; and
• Pan-American Silver (PAAS) +0.56 (2.3%) to $25.05 on volume of 0.83m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) advanced 1.55 points (0.86%) to 180.91 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 55.99m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 5.5 to one, with 11 advancers to 2 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 41.71m to 14.28m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Global Industries (GLBL) +0.35 (7.3%) to $5.13 on volume of 0.84m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) +1.24 (2.2%) to $56.42 on volume of 8.49m shares;
• Weatherford International (WFT) +0.24 (1.6%) to $15.7 on volume of 5.61m shares;
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +0.6 (1.5%) to $39.79 on volume of 3.91m shares; and
• Halliburton (HAL) +0.4 (1.3%) to $30.13 on volume of 7.85m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.6%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.14 (0.93%) to $15.15 on volume of 54.14m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.0325 (0.84%) to $3.88 on volume of 470.44m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.56 (1.09%) to $51.76 on volume of 11.17m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.73 (0.58%) to $125.04 on volume of 5.09m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.14 (0.77%) to $18.28 on volume of 48.78m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.26 (1.28%) to $20.52 on volume of 58.81m units.
• Google (GOOG) +2.845 (0.62%) to $463.18 on volume of 1.52m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) gained 0.53 points (1.17%) to 45.78 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 773.73m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4.5 to one, with 18 advancers to 4 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 764.46m to 9.27m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) +0.21 (3.8%) to $5.68 on volume of 12.05m shares;
• New M&I Corporation (MI) +0.19 (2.8%) to $6.98 on volume of 10.62m shares;
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.44 (2.3%) to $19.71 on volume of 2.42m shares;
• Comerica Inc (CMA) +0.79 (2.2%) to $36.32 on volume of 2.15m shares; and
• Wells Fargo (WFC) +0.44 (1.8%) to $25.1 on volume of 37.68m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 0 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 216.98m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 16 to one, with 16 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 196.94m to 20.05m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Teradyne (TER) +0.53 (5.7%) to $9.79 on volume of 8.39m shares;
• Broadcom (BRCM) +1.63 (5.2%) to $32.71 on volume of 11.08m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.5685 (3.5%) to $16.81 on volume of 11.71m shares;
• Sandisk (SNDK) +1.2 (3.4%) to $36.01 on volume of 16.52m shares; and
• Novellus Systems (NVLS) +0.79 (3.3%) to $24.45 on volume of 1.59m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) advanced 5.39 points (1.69%) to 324.06 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 76.83m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 16 of the 17 index components rose, with total upside volume of 76.83mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Gencorp (GY) +0.33 (7.3%) to $4.83 on volume of 0.59m shares;
• Alliant Tech (ATK) +1.58 (2.3%) to $69.94 on volume of 0.35m shares;
• General Dynamics (GD) +1.17 (2%) to $58.95 on volume of 2.03m shares;
• ITT Corporation (ITT) +0.88 (2%) to $45.38 on volume of 0.98m shares; and
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) +1.1 (1.9%) to $57.67 on volume of 2.32m shares.

All Ords up modestly, adding 0.80%; volume above average and breadth favours the gainers by 2.1:1: every sector index rose. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 0.2% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 has added 1.5% so far; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is showing a 1.3% gain.The KOSPI has added 0.6% for the session thus far.

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – advanced modestly, rising 36.2 points (0.80%), finishing at 4563 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4582.7 at 10:10 am, while the low for the day was 4526.8 – set at 10:00 am Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 2.07bn units, 12.2% above its 10-day average of 1.84bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1417 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 650 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 1.05bn units; there were 402 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 542.9m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 251 rose while 123 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2.1:1, with 679.95m shares traded in gainers while 327.84m 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 37 points (0.82%), closing out the session at 4532.7 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4563.00	36.20 (0.8%)
ASX 20	2731.70	27.20 (1.0%)
ASX 50	4536.00	36.50 (0.8%)
ASX 100	3702.50	30.50 (0.8%)
ASX 200	4532.70	37.00 (0.8%)
ASX 300	4526.60	36.70 (0.8%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	4103.60	39.50 (1.0%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2477.50	17.50 (0.7%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – performed solidly, in moving up 27.2 points (1.01%), closing out the session at 2731.7 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 18 index components finished to the upside, and 3 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 139.88m units; 18 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 131.41m shares, while the 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 8.47m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), +$0.57 (1.74%) to $33.29 on volume of 4 million shares;
• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.30 (1.34%) to $22.65 on volume of 7 million shares;
• ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.29 (1.25%) to $23.43 on volume of 6.9 million shares;
• Stockland (SGP), +$0.05 (1.24%) to $4.08 on volume of 10 million shares; and
• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$0.88 (1.22%) to $73.12 on volume of 3.4 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), -$0.4 (1.06%) to $37.40 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
• Fosters Group Ltd (FGL), -$0.01 (0.16%) to $6.10 on volume of 4.8 million shares; and
• Origin Energy Ltd (ORG), -$0.02 (0.13%) to $15.49 on volume of 1.5 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market significantly underperformed its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords advanced by under a percent, adding 17.5 points (0.71%), closing out the session at 2477.5 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 121 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 55 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 641.66m units: volume in the 121 gainers totalling 306.79m shares, with trade totalling 169.7m units in the index's 55 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Murchison Metals Ltd (MMX), +$0.12 (8.19%) to $1.52 on volume of 8.3 million shares;
• PMP Ltd (PMP), +$0.05 (7.32%) to $0.66 on volume of 42.9 thousand shares;
• Marion Energy Ltd (MAE), +$0.00 (6.45%) to $0.03 on volume of 821 thousand shares;
• HFA Holdings (HFA), +$0.01 (6.06%) to $0.18 on volume of 849.2 thousand shares; and
• VDM Group (VMG), +$0.03 (5.95%) to $0.45 on volume of 1.9 million shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• RiverCity Motorway Group (RCY), -$0 (10.53%) to $0.02 on volume of 6.7 million shares;
• Reverse Corp (REF), -$0.01 (8%) to $0.12 on volume of 87.3 thousand shares;
• Gunns Ltd (GNS), -$0.04 (5.88%) to $0.64 on volume of 7.8 million shares;
• Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd (CFU), -$0.01 (5.26%) to $0.18 on volume of 2.5 million shares; and
• Apex Minerals NL (AXM), -$0 (4.76%) to $0.02 on volume of 4.5 million shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

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 Property Trusts (XPJ), which added 10.8 points (1.22%) to 898.5 points. The 16 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 159.48m units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 112.22m shares, none of the stocks in the index lost ground. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Charter Hall Group (CHC), +$0.02 (3.39%) to $0.61 on volume of 2 million shares;
• Astro Japan Property Group (AJA), +$0.01 (3.39%) to $0.31 on volume of 901.4 thousand shares;
• Goodman Group (GMG), +$0.02 (2.31%) to $0.67 on volume of 23.3 million shares;
• Mirvac Group (MGR), +$0.03 (2.21%) to $1.39 on volume of 19.9 million shares; and
• ING Office Fund (IOF), +$0.01 (1.65%) to $0.62 on volume of 6 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Information Technology (XIJ), which gained 6.8 points (1.16%) to 592.9 points. This index only contains 3 stocks; they traded a total of 1.76m units today. 3 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 1.76m shares, none of the stocks in the index lost ground. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• SMS Management & Technology Ltd (SMX), +$0.11 (1.75%) to $6.40 on volume of 203.3 thousand shares;
• Computershare Ltd (CPU), +$0.12 (1.25%) to $9.70 on volume of 1.2 million shares; and
• Iress Market Technology Ltd (IRE), +$0.04 (0.5%) to $8.00 on volume of 325.8 thousand shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), which climbed 17 points (1.13%) to 1527.6 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 71.99m units; 16 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 61.1m shares, while the 5 decliners had volume traded totalling 10.89m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Flight Centre Ltd (FLT), +$0.73 (3.63%) to $20.83 on volume of 482.6 thousand shares;
• David Jones Ltd (DJS), +$0.17 (3.41%) to $5.15 on volume of 2.2 million shares;
• Billabong Intl Ltd (BBG), +$0.17 (2.2%) to $7.88 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
• TEN Network Hldgs (TEN), +$0.03 (2.14%) to $1.44 on volume of 17.5 million shares; and
• Fleetwood Corp Ltd (FWD), +$0.19 (1.91%) to $10.14 on volume of 166.2 thousand shares.

As mentioned above, there were no declining sectors today – so we can move on down to the Asian market stuff now.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced +254.75 points (2.54%) to 10269.47 points. The index high for the day was 10279.08, while the low was 10016.01.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.29bn shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 29 of the 30 index components rose, with total upside volume of 1.29bnshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.7575 (6.1%) to $13.2075 on volume of 202.02m shares;
• AIG (AIG) +1.73 (5.1%) to $35.66 on volume of 3.36m shares;
• Caterpillar (CAT) +3 (4.6%) to $68.16 on volume of 8.96m shares;
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +1.38 (3.8%) to $37.74 on volume of 36.03m shares; and
• Citigroup (C) +0.1385 (3.7%) to $3.8475 on volume of 526.29m shares.

The S&P500 Index advanced +30.96 points (2.95%) to 1080.29 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.69bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 91.6 to one, with 458 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 3.64bn to 54.87m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• KB Home (KBH) +1.14 (11.1%) to $11.45 on volume of 9.04m shares;
• MGIC Investment (MTG) +0.71 (9.8%) to $7.93 on volume of 4.59m shares;
• Office Depot (ODP) +0.32 (9.4%) to $3.73 on volume of 7.9m shares;
• Rowan Cos. (RDC) +2.31 (9%) to $28.02 on volume of 4.44m shares; and
• Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) +0.34 (8.7%) to $4.26 on volume of 8.93m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite gained +62.81 points (2.97%) to 2176.84 points. while the Nasdaq100 gained +52.62 points (2.98%) to 1820.05 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 900.03m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 97 of the 100 index components rose, with total upside volume of 900.03mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Lamar Advertising (LAMR) +2.03 (7.7%) to $28.24 on volume of 0.6m shares;
• Expedia (EXPE) +1.63 (7.1%) to $24.49 on volume of 4.58m shares;
• Liberty Media (LINTA) +0.7275 (6.9%) to $11.2775 on volume of 4.04m shares;
• Joy Global (JOYG) +3.615 (6.4%) to $60.16 on volume of 4.14m shares; and
• Amazon.com (AMZN) +7.66 (6.1%) to $132.49 on volume of 6.21m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index slid 2.16 points (8.29%) to 23.89 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index slid 2.52 points (9.18%) to 24.93 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3927 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 0.85bn shares. A total of 3244 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 0.34bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 609 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 0.5bn shares. 326 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 24 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2752 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.97bn shares. A total of 2195 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.88bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 482 losers, and total declining volume was 0.08bn shares. 50 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 51 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.7575 (6.1%) to $13.21 on volume of 202m units
• Caterpillar (CAT) +3 (4.6%) to $68.16 on volume of 9m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +1.38 (3.8%) to $37.74 on volume of 36m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.53 (3.7%) to $15.01 on volume of 76.8m units
• Chevron (CVX) +2.69 (3.6%) to $76.77 on volume of 10.3m units

Dow Duds:

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.7575 (6.1%) to $13.21 on volume of 202m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.53 (3.7%) to $15.01 on volume of 76.8m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.475 (2.7%) to $18.14 on volume of 64.7m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.435 (1.9%) to $23.9 on volume of 62.1m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.37 (2.3%) to $16.28 on volume of 44.6m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) fell 0.89 points (0.48%) to 184.26 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 77.13m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 4.3 to one, with 13 decliners to 3 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 56.16m to 20.97m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Barrick Gold (ABX) -1.43 (3.1%) to $45.33 on volume of 10.65m shares;
• GoldCorp (GG) -0.81 (1.8%) to $43.41 on volume of 5.35m shares;
• Newmnt Mining (NEM) -1 (1.6%) to $60.32 on volume of 8.1m shares;
• Pan-American Silver (PAAS) -0.27 (1.1%) to $24.49 on volume of 1.07m shares; and
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) -0.16 (0.9%) to $16.76 on volume of 10.67m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) advanced 8.24 points (4.82%) to 179.36 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 69.63m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 13 of the 15 index components rose, with total upside volume of 69.63mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Rowan Co (RDC) +2.31 (9%) to $28.02 on volume of 4.44m shares;
• Noble Corp (NE) +2.21 (7.1%) to $33.33 on volume of 4.06m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) +1.08 (6.9%) to $16.76 on volume of 6.06m shares;
• Transocean Inc (RIG) +3.43 (6.7%) to $54.33 on volume of 9.17m shares; and
• Halliburton (HAL) +1.52 (5.4%) to $29.73 on volume of 11.86m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 2%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.53 (3.66%) to $15.01 on volume of 76.77m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.1385 (3.73%) to $3.8475 on volume of 526.29m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +1.06 (2.11%) to $51.20 on volume of 13.26m units.
• IBM (IBM) +2.64 (2.14%) to $125.77 on volume of 5.51m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.475 (2.69%) to $18.14 on volume of 64.75m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.275 (1.38%) to $20.26 on volume of 71.26m units.
• Google (GOOG) +10.315 (2.29%) to $460.335 on volume of 3.18m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) advanced 1.8 points (4.14%) to 45.25 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 940.62m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 22 of the 24 index components rose, with total upside volume of 940.62mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Regions Financial (RF) +0.42 (6.5%) to $6.85 on volume of 13.37m shares;
• Keycorp (KEY) +0.48 (6.5%) to $7.85 on volume of 12.83m shares;
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.7575 (6.1%) to $13.2075 on volume of 202.02m shares;
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.62 (5.6%) to $11.66 on volume of 12.23m shares; and
• Suntrust Banks (STI) +1.14 (5.1%) to $23.65 on volume of 7.04m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 0 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 261.71m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 17 of the 18 index components rose, with total upside volume of 261.71mshares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• ST Microelectronic (STM) +0.48 (7.3%) to $7.03 on volume of 3.74m shares;
• Sandisk (SNDK) +1.68 (5.1%) to $34.81 on volume of 13.36m shares;
• Micron Technology (MU) +0.2715 (4.2%) to $6.73 on volume of 30.35m shares;
• Altera (ALTR) +0.9525 (3.9%) to $25.6025 on volume of 7.1m shares; and
• Broadcom (BRCM) +1.12 (3.7%) to $31.08 on volume of 12.45m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) gained 12.08 points (3.94%) to 318.67 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 107.74m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 16 of the 17 index components rose, with total upside volume of 107.74mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Esterline Tech (ESL) +2.98 (6.5%) to $48.98 on volume of 0.19m shares;
• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +1.5 (6.1%) to $26.29 on volume of 0.98m shares;
• ITT Corporation (ITT) +2 (4.7%) to $44.5 on volume of 1.67m shares;
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) +2.45 (4.5%) to $56.57 on volume of 2.54m shares; and
• Rockwell Collins (COL) +2.42 (4.5%) to $56.35 on volume of 1.14m shares.

All Ords posts solid 1.98% gain; volume above average and breadth favours the gainers by 12.2:1: every sector index rose. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 1.4% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 has added 1.2% so far; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is showing a 0.4% gain.The KOSPI has added 1.3% for the session thus far.

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – rose strongly, registering a gain of 88 points (1.98%), finishing at 4526.8 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4531.2 at 3:16 pm, while the low for the day was 4438.8 – set at 10:00 am Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.9bn units, 2.3% above its 10-day average of 1.86bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1388 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 711 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 1.43bn units; there were 352 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 293.8m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 303 rose while 87 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 12.2:1, with 1.08bn shares traded in gainers while 88.54m 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 91.5 points (2.08%), closing out the session at 4495.7 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4526.80	88.00 (2.0%)
ASX 20	2704.50	55.90 (2.1%)
ASX 50	4499.50	92.80 (2.1%)
ASX 100	3672.00	73.80 (2.1%)
ASX 200	4495.70	91.50 (2.1%)
ASX 300	4489.90	90.40 (2.1%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	4064.10	65.70 (1.6%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2460.00	50.00 (2.1%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 55.9 points (2.11%), closing out the session at 2704.5 points.

Among the 20 big guns, things were relatively upbeat: only one index component sought to rain on the bull's parade. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 176.99m units; 20 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 174.94m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 2.05m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$2.15 (3.07%) to $72.24 on volume of 3.5 million shares;
• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.65 (3%) to $22.35 on volume of 10.4 million shares;
• National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), +$0.65 (2.8%) to $23.85 on volume of 6.5 million shares;
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL), +$1.03 (2.46%) to $42.90 on volume of 2.4 million shares; and
• ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.55 (2.43%) to $23.14 on volume of 8.3 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• CSL Ltd (CSL), -$007 (0.21%) to $32.89 on volume of 2 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market performed broadly in line with its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 50 points (2.07%), closing out the session at 2460 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 160 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 38 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 619.98m units: volume in the 160 gainers totalling 461.69m shares, with trade totalling 63.3m units in the index's 38 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Virgin Blue Hldgs Ltd (VBA), +$0.04 (11.59%) to $0.39 on volume of 65.4 million shares;
• St Barbara Ltd (SBM), +$0.04 (10.77%) to $0.36 on volume of 25.8 million shares;
• Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), +$0.07 (8.33%) to $0.91 on volume of 7.4 million shares;
• Gunns Ltd (GNS), +$0.05 (7.94%) to $0.68 on volume of 9.3 million shares; and
• Minemakers Ltd (MAK), +$0.03 (7.94%) to $0.34 on volume of 929.1 thousand shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• RiverCity Motorway Group (RCY), -$0.01 (20.83%) to $0.02 on volume of 15.6 million shares;
• UXC Ltd (UXC), -$0.03 (5.26%) to $0.54 on volume of 1.9 million shares;
• AJ Lucas Group Ltd (AJL), -$0.09 (4.6%) to $1.87 on volume of 146.3 thousand shares;
• Geodynamics Ltd (GDY), -$0.02 (4.17%) to $0.46 on volume of 127.5 thousand shares; and
• Australian Agricultural Co (AAC), -$0.06 (3.68%) to $1.57 on volume of 209.5 thousand shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

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 298.2 points (2.55%) to 11996.4 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 340.56m units; 41 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 291.13m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.58m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• St Barbara Ltd (SBM), +$0.04 (10.77%) to $0.36 on volume of 25.8 million shares;
• Gunns Ltd (GNS), +$0.05 (7.94%) to $0.68 on volume of 9.3 million shares;
• Dominion Mining Ltd (DOM), +$0.17 (7.69%) to $2.38 on volume of 643.8 thousand shares;
• Sundance Resources Ltd (SDL), +$0.01 (6.9%) to $0.16 on volume of 8.2 million shares; and
• Medusa Mining Ltd (MML), +$0.25 (6.25%) to $4.25 on volume of 1.4 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which gained 112.7 points (2.32%) to 4978.6 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 76.33m units; 19 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 75.19m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 1.14m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Bank Of Queensland Ltd (BOQ), +$0.43 (4.37%) to $10.26 on volume of 717.8 thousand shares;
• Bendigo And Adelaide Bank Ltd (BEN), +$0.26 (3.08%) to $8.69 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.65 (3%) to $22.35 on volume of 10.4 million shares;
• National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), +$0.65 (2.8%) to $23.85 on volume of 6.5 million shares; and
• Challenger Fin Ser (CGF), +$0.10 (2.65%) to $3.87 on volume of 3.5 million shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Industrials (XNJ), which climbed 73.5 points (2.11%) to 3550.8 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 174.92m units; 29 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 174.68m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 0.15m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Virgin Blue Hldgs Ltd (VBA), +$0.04 (11.59%) to $0.39 on volume of 65.4 million shares;
• Spotless Group Ltd (SPT), +$0.14 (6.97%) to $2.15 on volume of 733.4 thousand shares;
• Cabcharge Australia Ltd (CAB), +$0.22 (4.57%) to $5.03 on volume of 532.7 thousand shares;
• Hills Industries Ltd (HIL), +$0.10 (4.52%) to $2.31 on volume of 676.9 thousand shares; and
• Connecteast Group (CEU), +$0.02 (3.7%) to $0.42 on volume of 17.6 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

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +4.99 points (0.05%) to 10014.72 points. The index high for the day was 10073.38, while the low was 9941.84.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 1.38bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.2 to one, with 16 advancers to 13 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.02bn to 354.89m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• AT&T (T) +0.4 (1.5%) to $27.03 on volume of 32.46m shares;
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.51 (1.4%) to $36.36 on volume of 34.41m shares;
• Merck (MRK) +0.43 (1.2%) to $35.16 on volume of 16.41m shares;
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.14 (1.1%) to $12.46 on volume of 171.78m shares; and
• Du Pont (DD) +0.45 (1.1%) to $40.77 on volume of 6.8m shares.

The S&P500 Index gained +0.41 points (0.04%) to 1049.33 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.72bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1 to one, with 231 advancers to 228 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.02bn to 1.67bn shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Dean Foods (DF) +0.42 (4.3%) to $10.22 on volume of 8.08m shares;
• Dillard Inc. (DDS) +0.88 (4.2%) to $21.87 on volume of 1.63m shares;
• Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) +0.16 (4.1%) to $4.06 on volume of 40.87m shares;
• Genl Growth Properties (GGP) +0.43 (3.2%) to $14.07 on volume of 2.25m shares; and
• CB Richard Ellis Group (CBG) +0.49 (3.1%) to $16.42 on volume of 5.64m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 5.94 points (0.28%) to 2114.03 points. while the Nasdaq100 slid 4.64 points (0.26%) to 1767.43 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 875.06m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.2 to one, with 52 decliners to 45 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 692.8m to 182.27m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Broadcom (BRCM) -2.06 (6.4%) to $29.96 on volume of 17.26m shares;
• Research in Motion (RIMM) -2.746 (6%) to $42.84 on volume of 29.82m shares;
• Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) -0.5595 (3.4%) to $15.9105 on volume of 15.93m shares;
• SanDisk (SNDK) -1.13 (3.3%) to $33.13 on volume of 15.18m shares; and
• NVIDIA (NVDA) -0.315 (3.3%) to $9.325 on volume of 20.88m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index dipped 1.16 points (4.26%) to 26.05 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index dropped 0.44 points (1.58%) to 27.45 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3907 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 5.04bn shares. A total of 2053 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 2.88bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1715 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 2.08bn shares. 230 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 109 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2741 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.84bn shares. A total of 1278 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.59bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1323 losers, and total declining volume was 1.23bn shares. 26 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 146 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• AT&T (T) +0.4 (1.5%) to $27.03 on volume of 32.5m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.51 (1.4%) to $36.36 on volume of 34.4m units
• Merck (MRK) +0.43 (1.2%) to $35.16 on volume of 16.4m units
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.14 (1.1%) to $12.46 on volume of 171.8m units
• Du Pont (DD) +0.45 (1.1%) to $40.77 on volume of 6.8m units

Dow Duds:

• Intel (INTC) -0.295 (1.6%) to $17.67 on volume of 110m units
• Boeing (BA) -0.97 (1.6%) to $61.13 on volume of 5.3m units
• 3M Co (MMM) -1.1 (1.4%) to $78.55 on volume of 4.9m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.41 (0.8%) to $50.14 on volume of 24.6m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) -0.175 (0.7%) to $23.47 on volume of 64.3m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.14 (1.1%) to $12.46 on volume of 171.8m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.295 (1.6%) to $17.67 on volume of 110m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.175 (0.7%) to $23.47 on volume of 64.3m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.04 (0.3%) to $14.48 on volume of 58.8m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.05 (0.3%) to $15.91 on volume of 44.3m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) advanced 2.29 points (1.25%) to 185.15 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 81.55m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 10 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 50.74m to 30.82m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.67 (4.1%) to $16.92 on volume of 9.23m shares;
• Newmnt Mining (NEM) +1.4 (2.3%) to $61.32 on volume of 7.65m shares;
• Freeport McMoran (FCX) +1.63 (2.3%) to $71.99 on volume of 12.22m shares;
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) +1.41 (1.5%) to $92.48 on volume of 0.78m shares; and
• GoldCorp (GG) +0.49 (1.1%) to $44.22 on volume of 7.09m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) dropped 2.43 points (1.4%) to 171.12 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 60.66m shares. None of the 15 index components rose today: 13 stocks within the index fell, with downside volume of 60.66m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Transocean Inc (RIG) -1.44 (2.8%) to $50.9 on volume of 4.81m shares;
• Weatherford International (WFT) -0.24 (1.6%) to $14.91 on volume of 7.72m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) -0.25 (1.6%) to $15.68 on volume of 4.59m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) -0.84 (1.6%) to $53.33 on volume of 12.91m shares; and
• Tidewater (TDW) -0.63 (1.5%) to $40.08 on volume of 0.85m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0.5%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.04 (0.28%) to $14.48 on volume of 58.76m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.039 (1.06%) to $3.709 on volume of 601.52m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.41 (0.81%) to $50.14 on volume of 24.56m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.27 (0.22%) to $123.13 on volume of 5.53m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.295 (1.64%) to $17.665 on volume of 109.95m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.335 (1.65%) to $19.985 on volume of 93.15m units.
• Google (GOOG) -2.67 (0.59%) to $450.02 on volume of 1.86m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) rose 0.47 points (1.09%) to 43.45 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 957.45m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 21 to one, with 21 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 954.34m to 3.11m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Comerica Inc (CMA) +0.97 (2.9%) to $34.41 on volume of 3.22m shares;
• New M&I Corporation (MI) +0.17 (2.7%) to $6.55 on volume of 8.23m shares;
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.19 (1.8%) to $11.04 on volume of 10.83m shares;
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.51 (1.4%) to $36.36 on volume of 34.41m shares; and
• Keycorp (KEY) +0.1 (1.4%) to $7.37 on volume of 10.91m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 0 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 315.48m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 16 to one, with 16 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 313.51m to 1.97m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Broadcom (BRCM) -2.06 (6.4%) to $29.96 on volume of 17.25m shares;
• Teradyne (TER) -0.34 (3.6%) to $8.98 on volume of 5.57m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) -0.5595 (3.4%) to $15.9105 on volume of 15.93m shares;
• Sandisk (SNDK) -1.13 (3.3%) to $33.13 on volume of 15.18m shares; and
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.17 (2.9%) to $5.61 on volume of 28.41m shares

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) slid 2.34 points (0.76%) to 306.59 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 92.73m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 7 to one, with 14 decliners to 2 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 89.43m to 3.31m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Gencorp (GY) -0.1 (2.2%) to $4.38 on volume of 0.95m shares;
• Rockwell Collins (COL) -1 (1.8%) to $53.93 on volume of 1.8m shares;
• ITT Corporation (ITT) -0.75 (1.7%) to $42.5 on volume of 2.92m shares;
• Boeing (BA) -0.97 (1.6%) to $61.13 on volume of 5.29m shares; and
• Alliant Tech (ATK) -0.85 (1.3%) to $65.9 on volume of 0.32m shares.

Ords slightly (0.99%) lower on below-average volume and losers dominate breadth stats by 3.3:1: sole sector rises. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 0% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 is currently trading down 3.6% for the session; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 1.1%.The KOSPI has lost 1% so far today.

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – declined gently, dropping 44.3 points (0.99%), finishing at 4438.8 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4483.1 at 10:00 am, while the low for the day was 4438.2 – set at 4:00 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.67bn units, 11.4% below its 10-day average of 1.88bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1333 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 396 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 402.5m units; there were 604 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 844.8m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 126 rose while 243 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 3.3:1, with 200.06m shares traded in gainers while 651.63m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – registered a loss of 48.5 points (1.09%), closing out the session at 4404.2 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4438.80	-44.30 (1.0%)
ASX 20	2648.60	-30.50 (1.1%)
ASX 50	4406.70	-49.60 (1.1%)
ASX 100	3598.20	-38.70 (1.1%)
ASX 200	4404.20	-48.50 (1.1%)
ASX 300	4399.50	-47.00 (1.1%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	3998.40	-28.00 (0.7%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2410.00	-23.80 (1.0%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – registered a loss of 30.5 points (1.14%), closing out the session at 2648.6 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 178.48m units; 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 54.22m shares, while the 16 decliners had volume traded totalling 124.26m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM), +$1.24 (3.44%) to $37.25 on volume of 23.5 million shares;
• CSL Ltd (CSL), +$0.43 (1.32%) to $32.96 on volume of 3.4 million shares;
• Fosters Group Ltd (FGL), +$0.01 (0.17%) to $6.06 on volume of 9 million shares;
• Brambles Industries Ltd (BXB), +$0.01 (0.17%) to $5.86 on volume of 14.7 million shares; and
• Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), +$0.02 (0.06%) to $31.96 on volume of 3.7 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), -$0.63 (2.82%) to $21.70 on volume of 9.4 million shares;
• BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP), -$0.82 (2.17%) to $37.05 on volume of 14.9 million shares;
• Origin Energy Ltd (ORG), -$0.33 (2.12%) to $15.25 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
• ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), -$0.36 (1.57%) to $22.59 on volume of 8.3 million shares; and
• National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), -$0.35 (1.49%) to $23.20 on volume of 5.7 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market slid in line with its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords slid modestly, falling 23.8 points (0.98%), closing out the session at 2410 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 64 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 122 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 489.52m units: volume in the 64 gainers totalling 90.19m shares, with trade totalling 298.33m units in the index's 122 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Dominion Mining Ltd (DOM), +$0.14 (6.76%) to $2.21 on volume of 552.8 thousand shares;
• PAN Pacific Petroleum NL (PPP), +$0.01 (6.25%) to $0.17 on volume of 321.8 thousand shares;
• Brockman Resources Ltd (BRM), +$0.17 (5.96%) to $3.02 on volume of 223.1 thousand shares;
• Customers Ltd (CUS), +$0.10 (5.05%) to $1.98 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
• THE Mac Services Group (MSL), +$0.14 (5.04%) to $2.92 on volume of 78.1 thousand shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• RiverCity Motorway Group (RCY), -$0.01 (20%) to $0.02 on volume of 3.8 million shares;
• ISOFT Group Ltd (ISF), -$0.03 (15.15%) to $0.14 on volume of 42.2 million shares;
• Reverse Corp (REF), -$0.01 (7.69%) to $0.12 on volume of 100 thousand shares;
• Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), -$0.03 (6.94%) to $0.34 on volume of 1.6 million shares; and
• APN European Retail Prop Group (AEZ), -$0 (6.45%) to $0.03 on volume of 741 thousand shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, today's market action was dominated by sectoral declines – only one sector managed a gain for the day.

The best performing index was Healthcare (XHJ), which added 49.9 points (0.61%) to 8191.9 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 58.32m units; 3 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 5.47m shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 51.08m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Ansell Ltd (ANN), +$0.31 (2.35%) to $13.48 on volume of 517.2 thousand shares;
• CSL Ltd (CSL), +$0.43 (1.32%) to $32.96 on volume of 3.4 million shares; and
• Ramsay Health Care Ltd (RHC), +$0.12 (0.83%) to $14.62 on volume of 1.6 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Energy (XEJ), which dipped 235.1 points (1.58%) to 14675.7 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 115.08m units; The 17 decliners had volume traded totalling 29.42m units, and 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 18.79m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), -$0.03 (6.94%) to $0.34 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• Riversdale Mining Ltd (RIV), -$0.43 (4.51%) to $9.11 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
• Extract Resources Ltd (EXT), -$0.28 (4.42%) to $6.06 on volume of 244.1 thousand shares;
• Aquila Resources (AQA), -$0.26 (2.97%) to $8.50 on volume of 215.8 thousand shares; and
• ROC Oil Co Ltd (ROC), -$0.01 (2.7%) to $0.36 on volume of 2.9 million shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which slid 70.8 points (1.43%) to 4865.9 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 80.01m units; The 20 decliners had volume traded totalling 79.84m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.17m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), -$0.63 (2.82%) to $21.70 on volume of 9.4 million shares;
• Bank Of Queensland Ltd (BOQ), -$0.23 (2.29%) to $9.83 on volume of 530.1 thousand shares;
• Henderson Group PLC (HGG), -$0.05 (2.28%) to $2.14 on volume of 948.3 thousand shares;
• AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd (AXA), -$0.1 (1.79%) to $5.50 on volume of 1.7 million shares; and
• ASX Ltd (ASX), -$0.49 (1.66%) to $29.11 on volume of 1.2 million shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Utilities (XUJ), which slid 59 points (1.38%) to 4224.2 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 18.53m units; The 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 12.82m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.9m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC), -$0.01 (2.47%) to $0.40 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
• Spark Infrastructure Trust (SKI), -$0.03 (2.1%) to $1.17 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
• AGL Energy Ltd (AGK), -$0.28 (1.83%) to $15.02 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
• Duet Group (DUE), -$0.03 (1.77%) to $1.67 on volume of 1.3 million shares; and
• SP AUSNET (stapled) (SPN), -$0.01 (1.23%) to $0.80 on volume of 4.3 million shares.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 140.92 points (1.39%) to 10009.73 points. The index high for the day was 10150.57, while the low was 10007.68.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 828.27m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 28 to one, with 28 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 799.09m to 29.18m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• AIG (AIG) -1.2 (3.4%) to $34 on volume of 2.64m shares;
• Home Depot (HD) -0.75 (2.6%) to $27.99 on volume of 9.49m shares;
• Bank Of America (BAC) -0.32 (2.5%) to $12.32 on volume of 124.46m shares;
• American Express (AXP) -1.02 (2.5%) to $39.89 on volume of 4.91m shares; and
• Citigroup (C) -0.09 (2.4%) to $3.67 on volume of 311.18m shares.

The S&P500 Index slid 15.67 points (1.47%) to 1048.92 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.48bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 22.1 to one, with 442 decliners to 20 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 2.31bn to 161.75m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Liz ClaiborneInc. (LIZ) -0.26 (5.7%) to $4.32 on volume of 1.08m shares;
• Nordstrom (JWN) -1.56 (5.2%) to $28.72 on volume of 5.02m shares;
• Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) -0.55 (4.9%) to $10.59 on volume of 5.27m shares;
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.3 (4.9%) to $5.78 on volume of 23.56m shares; and
• NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) -0.48 (4.7%) to $9.64 on volume of 13.56m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite dipped 33.66 points (1.56%) to 2119.97 points. while the Nasdaq100 slid 19.57 points (1.09%) to 1772.07 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 633.29m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 9.8 to one, with 88 decliners to 9 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 550.91m to 82.38m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) -0.59 (5.3%) to $10.51 on volume of 2.24m shares;
• NVIDIA (NVDA) -0.48 (4.7%) to $9.64 on volume of 13.56m shares;
• Lamar Advertising (LAMR) -1.09 (4%) to $25.96 on volume of 0.46m shares;
• Lam Research (LRCX) -1.23 (3.3%) to $36.14 on volume of 1.43m shares; and
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) -2.58 (3.1%) to $81.76 on volume of 1.36m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index gained +2.76 points (11.29%) to 27.21 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index advanced +1.58 points (6.01%) to 27.89 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3878 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 3.37bn shares. A total of 949 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 0.41bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 2834 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 2.92bn shares. 212 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 40 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2744 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.43bn shares. A total of 547 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.24bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 2096 losers, and total declining volume was 1.19bn shares. 28 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 83 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.56 (1.5%) to $38.56 on volume of 29.2m units

Dow Duds:

• Home Depot (HD) -0.75 (2.6%) to $27.99 on volume of 9.5m units
• Bank Of America (BAC) -0.32 (2.5%) to $12.32 on volume of 124.5m units
• American Express (AXP) -1.02 (2.5%) to $39.89 on volume of 4.9m units
• Intel (INTC) -0.41 (2.2%) to $17.96 on volume of 72.2m units
• Caterpillar (CAT) -1.43 (2.2%) to $64.47 on volume of 5.1m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC)-0.32 (2.5%) to $12.32 on volume of 124.5m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.41 (2.2%) to $17.96 on volume of 72.2m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.29 (1.2%) to $23.64 on volume of 38m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.19 (1.3%) to $14.52 on volume of 35.6m units
• Pfizer (PFE)-0.23 (1.4%) to $15.86 on volume of 34.8m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) declined 1.28 points (0.7%) to 182.86 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 45.09m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 7 to one, with 14 decliners to 2 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 35.16m to 9.92m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Royal Gold (RGLD) -1.03 (2.1%) to $48.76 on volume of 0.32m shares;
• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) -0.37 (2.1%) to $17.53 on volume of 0.51m shares;
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) -1.38 (1.5%) to $91.07 on volume of 0.34m shares;
• Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) -0.2 (1.4%) to $14.19 on volume of 2.14m shares; and
• GoldCorp (GG) -0.61 (1.4%) to $43.73 on volume of 3.67m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) dipped 2.31 points (1.31%) to 173.55 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 44.91m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 3.3 to one, with 10 decliners to 3 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 37.21m to 7.7m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Schlumberger (SLB) -1.38 (2.5%) to $54.17 on volume of 9.19m shares;
• Oceaneering International (OII) -1.21 (2.3%) to $50.35 on volume of 0.39m shares;
• Global Industries (GLBL) -0.11 (2.3%) to $4.62 on volume of 0.65m shares;
• Halliburton (HAL) -0.67 (2.3%) to $28.49 on volume of 7.51m shares; and
• Cameron International (CAM) -0.8 (2.1%) to $37.17 on volume of 2.58m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 1.3%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.19 (1.29%) to $14.52 on volume of 35.62m units.
• Citigroup (C) -0.09 (2.39%) to $3.67 on volume of 311.18m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.45 (0.88%) to $50.55 on volume of 8.32m units.
• IBM (IBM) -1.33 (1.07%) to $123.40 on volume of 3.56m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.41 (2.23%) to $17.96 on volume of 72.19m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.49 (2.35%) to $20.32 on volume of 50.76m units.
• Google (GOOG) -6.14 (1.34%) to $452.69 on volume of 1.09m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) dipped 1.21 points (2.74%) to 42.98 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 595.56m shares. None of the 24 index components rose today: 22 stocks within the index fell, with downside volume of 595.56m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• US Bancorp (USB) -0.95 (4.4%) to $20.71 on volume of 10.49m shares;
• Keycorp (KEY) -0.31 (4.1%) to $7.27 on volume of 8.18m shares;
• BB&T Corp (BBT) -0.85 (3.7%) to $21.87 on volume of 7.01m shares;
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) -0.2 (3.7%) to $5.24 on volume of 9.25m shares; and
• Wells Fargo (WFC) -0.75 (3.1%) to $23.25 on volume of 36.8m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 0 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 235.89m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 15 to one, with 15 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 213.69m to 13.55m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) -0.3 (4.9%) to $5.78 on volume of 23.56m shares;
• Micron Technology (MU) -0.29 (4.2%) to $6.54 on volume of 30.86m shares;
• Texas Instruments (TXN) -0.9 (3.7%) to $23.25 on volume of 19.55m shares;
• Novellus Systems (NVLS) -0.86 (3.6%) to $23.25 on volume of 2.24m shares; and
• Altera (ALTR) -0.78 (3.1%) to $24.76 on volume of 4.47m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) fell 6.21 points (1.97%) to 308.93 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 59.05m shares. None of the 17 index components rose today: 16 stocks within the index fell, with downside volume of 59.05m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Gencorp (GY) -0.28 (5.9%) to $4.48 on volume of 0.42m shares;
• Teledyne Tech (TDY) -1.06 (2.8%) to $36.32 on volume of 0.09m shares;
• Esterline Tech (ESL) -1.22 (2.6%) to $46.21 on volume of 0.15m shares;
• L-3 Holdings (LLL) -1.65 (2.4%) to $67.06 on volume of 0.8m shares; and
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -1.23 (2.2%) to $54.25 on volume of 2.09m shares.

All Ords posts solid 1.79% gain on below-average volume and breadth favours the gainers by 12.1:1: every sector index rose. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 1% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 has added 1.8% so far; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is showing a 0.7% gain.The KOSPI has added 1.8% for the session thus far.

The smear campaign against Julian Assange – which had plumbed politician-level depths with the ludicrous made-for-TV 'rape' smear in Sweden – has managed to edge that little bit lower, with hacks like Asher Moses (SMH) regurgitating the New York Post's amateur Facebook-mining of Daniel Assange's online life.

Mr Assange the Younger retaliated – both in the comments on the NYPost screed, and on his own blog; but by then the damage was done. And as is the case with muck-raking journalists, the outright refutation by Daniel Assange permitted the likes of Moses to simply amend their copy (without changing the headline) in a pretence at balance. Grotesque.

A question for Asher Moses (having a very rough guess at his ethno-cultural background)… if someone had done the same sort of smear on the family of Tzipi Livni or Ehud Olmert, would you be screeching 'anti-Semite' about now?

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – rose strongly, registering a gain of 79 points (1.79%), finishing at 4483.1 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4486.1 at 12:19 pm, while the low for the day was 4404.1 – set at 10:00 am Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.57bn units, 17.2% below its 10-day average of 1.9bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1358 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 650 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 1.14bn units; there were 377 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 184.5m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 293 rose while 90 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 12.1:1, with 873.61m shares traded in gainers while 72.23m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – managed a solid gain, adding 82.6 points (1.89%), closing out the session at 4452.7 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4483.10	79.00 (1.8%)
ASX 20	2679.10	48.30 (1.8%)
ASX 50	4456.30	79.30 (1.8%)
ASX 100	3636.90	65.30 (1.8%)
ASX 200	4452.70	82.60 (1.9%)
ASX 300	4446.50	81.30 (1.9%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	4026.40	77.30 (2.0%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2433.80	52.40 (2.2%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – performed solidly, in moving up 48.3 points (1.84%), closing out the session at 2679.1 points.

Among the 20 big guns, it was all Schmiles und Sunschine, with every index component contributing to a Green Screen of Joy. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 160.67m units; 21 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 160.67m shares, – none of the index components fell. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), +$1.34 (3.67%) to $37.84 on volume of 1.8 million shares;
• AMP Ltd (AMP), +$0.14 (2.83%) to $5.09 on volume of 9.3 million shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), +$1.34 (2.72%) to $50.55 on volume of 4.6 million shares;
• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.58 (2.67%) to $22.33 on volume of 7.5 million shares; and
• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$1.71 (2.47%) to $71.01 on volume of 2 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market had a somewhat better day than its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords had a bit of a moonshot, stacking on 52.4 points (2.20%), closing out the session at 2433.8 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 151 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 37 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 523.58m units: volume in the 151 gainers totalling 362m shares, with trade totalling 46.81m units in the index's 37 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Kagara Zinc Ltd (KZL), +$0.07 (10.92%) to $0.66 on volume of 4.2 million shares;
• Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), +$0.04 (10.77%) to $0.36 on volume of 2.8 million shares;
• ISOFT Group Ltd (ISF), +$0.02 (10%) to $0.17 on volume of 8.3 million shares;
• AED Oil (AED), +$0.05 (8.82%) to $0.56 on volume of 1.8 million shares; and
• Ausenco (AAX), +$0.18 (8.49%) to $2.30 on volume of 728.4 thousand shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• Mintails (MLI), -$0 (11.11%) to $0.02 on volume of 520 thousand shares;
• Customers Ltd (CUS), -$0.12 (6%) to $1.88 on volume of 2.7 million shares;
• Apex Minerals NL (AXM), -$0 (4.76%) to $0.02 on volume of 7.4 million shares;
• Citigold Corp Ltd (CTO), -$0.01 (4.55%) to $0.11 on volume of 3.9 million shares; and
• Blue Energy Ltd (BUL), -$0.01 (4%) to $0.12 on volume of 910.3 thousand shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

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 Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which added 111.5 points (2.31%) to 4936.7 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 64.17m units; 20 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 63.11m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 1.06m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Platinum Asset Management Ltd (PTM), +$0.20 (4.19%) to $4.97 on volume of 375.4 thousand shares;
• Australand Property Group (ALZ), +$0.11 (4.09%) to $2.80 on volume of 788.7 thousand shares;
• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), +$1.34 (3.67%) to $37.84 on volume of 1.8 million shares;
• Bank Of Queensland Ltd (BOQ), +$0.34 (3.5%) to $10.06 on volume of 531 thousand shares; and
• FKP Property Group (FKP), +$0.03 (3.36%) to $0.77 on volume of 2.3 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Materials (XMJ), which gained 245.4 points (2.11%) to 11849.6 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 285.63m units; 42 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 275.88m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 0.17m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• St Barbara Ltd (SBM), +$0.03 (7.81%) to $0.35 on volume of 18.6 million shares;
• Lynas Corporation Ltd (LYC), +$0.07 (7.22%) to $1.04 on volume of 31.5 million shares;
• Equinox Resources Ltd (EQN), +$0.28 (5.83%) to $5.08 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
• Mirabela Nickel Ltd (MBN), +$0.10 (5.69%) to $1.77 on volume of 2 million shares; and
• OZ Minerals Ltd (OZL), +$0.07 (5.42%) to $1.27 on volume of 26.7 million shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Industrials (XNJ), which climbed 63.9 points (1.86%) to 3497.9 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 121.78m units; 29 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 121.62m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 0.07m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Ausenco (AAX), +$0.18 (8.49%) to $2.30 on volume of 728.4 thousand shares;
• Alesco Corp (ALS), +$0.15 (5.6%) to $2.83 on volume of 210.1 thousand shares;
• Macmahon Holdings Ltd (MAH), +$0.03 (5.22%) to $0.61 on volume of 2.9 million shares;
• Spotless Group Ltd (SPT), +$010 (4.93%) to $2.13 on volume of 669.9 thousand shares; and
• Transpacific Industries Group (TPI), +$0.04 (3.86%) to $1.08 on volume of 1.8 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

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers