OzRant for Tuesday Feb 9 2010

Ords slightly (0.41%) lower; volume above average and losers dominate breadth stats by 1.3:1: sectors mixed with a slight downside bias. The NZSE50 closed down 0.4% for the day.In Japan, the Nikkei225 is currently trading down 0.9% for the session; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 0.2%.The KOSPI has lost 0.8% so far today.

 

Well, I discovered why the auto-magic posting of daily Ranty-goodness was not happening. It was a change to the way sendmail treated mail that originated within the same domain… and to date I have not been able to figure out how to get around the tweak.

Annoying, for the moment – but eventually it will be fixed and I won't have to copy-paste the Daily Rantiness into the CMS.

Major Market Indices

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – declined gently, dropping 18.5 points (0.41%), finishing at 4520.3 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4538.8 at 10:00 am, while the low for the day was 4484 – set at 12:19 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 2.32bn units, 8.8% above its 10-day average of 2.14bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1298 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 461 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 1.11bn units; there were 530 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 760.6m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 178 rose while 228 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.3:1, with 318.5m shares traded in gainers while 398.83m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – fell mildly, losing 16.9 points (0.37%), closing out the session at 4504.5 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4520.30	-18.50 (0.4%)
ASX 20	2733.70	-12.30 (0.4%)
ASX 50	4533.40	-20.60 (0.5%)
ASX 100	3697.10	-14.80 (0.4%)
ASX 200	4504.50	-16.90 (0.4%)
ASX 300	4498.10	-17.90 (0.4%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	4068.40	0.20 (0.0%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2334.40	-8.80 (0.4%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – slid modestly, falling 12.3 points (0.45%), closing out the session at 2733.7 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 13 index components finished to the upside, and 8 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 136.59m units; 13 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 54.31m shares, while the 8 decliners had volume traded totalling 82.28m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.63 (2.79%) to $23.24 on volume of 9.6 million shares;
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL), +$0.79 (1.9%) to $42.31 on volume of 2 million shares;
• AMP Ltd (AMP), +$0.10 (1.63%) to $6.25 on volume of 4 million shares;
• Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM), +$0.41 (1.32%) to $31.56 on volume of 1.8 million shares; and
• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$0.64 (0.96%) to $67.24 on volume of 2.5 million shares.

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

• Fosters Group Ltd (FGL), -$0.07 (1.25%) to $5.53 on volume of 9 million shares;
• Origin Energy Ltd (ORG), -$0.19 (1.17%) to $15.99 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
• Stockland (SGP), -$0.04 (1.03%) to $3.86 on volume of 7.4 million shares;
• CSL Ltd (CSL), -$0.32 (1.01%) to $31.23 on volume of 2 million shares; and
• Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.08 (0.66%) to $12.12 on volume of 11.8 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market fell, but still outperformed its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords slid modestly, falling 8.8 points (0.38%), closing out the session at 2334.4 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 77 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 115 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 340.59m units: volume in the 77 gainers totalling 118.99m shares, with trade totalling 135.41m units in the index's 115 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• TEN Network Hldgs (TEN), +$0.15 (9.57%) to $1.66 on volume of 13.2 million shares;
• Conquest Mining Ltd (CQT), +$0.02 (8.7%) to $0.25 on volume of 2.2 million shares;
• Newmont Mining Corporation. (NEM), +$0.29 (5.84%) to $5.26 on volume of 883.2 thousand shares;
• Molopo Energy Ltd (MPO), +$0.07 (5.83%) to $1.18 on volume of 508.3 thousand shares; and
• Energy Developments Ltd (ENE), +$0.15 (5.81%) to $2.73 on volume of 86.3 thousand shares.

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

• Citigold Corp Ltd (CTO), -$0.02 (16%) to $0.08 on volume of 12.4 million shares;
• PMP Ltd (PMP), -$0.08 (10.27%) to $0.66 on volume of 325.5 thousand shares;
• APN European Retail Prop Group (AEZ), -$0.01 (7.94%) to $0.06 on volume of 384.8 thousand shares;
• IMF (Australia) Ltd (IMF), -$0.09 (5.94%) to $1.43 on volume of 702.2 thousand shares; and
• Macquarie Countrywide Trust (MCW), -$0.04 (5.47%) to $0.61 on volume of 4.7 million shares.

 

Index Changes

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XAO	All Ordinaries	4520.3	-18.5	-0.41	821m
XFL	ASX 50	4533.4	-20.6	-0.45	271.3m
XJO	ASX 200	4504.5	-16.9	-0.37	687.4m
XKO	ASX 300	4498.1	-17.9	-0.4	784.7m
XMD	ASX Mid-Cap 50	4068.4	0.2	0	204.5m
XSO	ASX Small Ordinaries	2334.4	-8.8	-0.38	308.9m
XTL	ASX 20	2733.7	-12.3	-0.45	129.2m
XTO	ASX 100	3697.1	-14.8	-0.4	475.8m

Market Breadth

	ASX20	XTO	XJO	XAO	XSO	Market
Advances	13	44	95	178	77	461
Declines	8	59	133	231	115	530
Advancing Volume	54.3m	210.3m	341.1m	318.5m	119m	1.11bn
Declining Volume	82.3m	285.6m	499.9m	400.4m	135.4m	760.6m

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, it was pretty much even stevens, with a very slight lead to the duds… the 5 that had an "up" day were just shaded by the remaining 6 which didn't.

The best performing index was Healthcare (XHJ), which added 72 points (0.87%) to 8380.7 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 10.72m units; 6 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 6.51m shares, while the 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 2.78m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Healthscope Ltd (HSP), +$0.06 (1.3%) to $4.69 on volume of 465.7 thousand shares;
• Sonic Healthcare Ltd (SHL), +$0.13 (0.9%) to $14.56 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
• ISOFT Group Ltd (ISF), +$0.01 (0.83%) to $0.61 on volume of 803.7 thousand shares;
• ResMed Inc (RMD), +$0.04 (0.63%) to $6.38 on volume of 2.9 million shares; and
• Ansell Ltd (ANN), +$0.06 (0.59%) to $10.22 on volume of 327.4 thousand shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Property Trusts (XPJ), which gained 4.7 points (0.55%) to 864.1 points. The 16 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 151.84m units; 5 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 15.71m shares, while the 11 decliners had volume traded totalling 136.13m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Astro Japan Property Group (AJA), +$0.01 (1.37%) to $0.37 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• Abacus Property Group (ABP), +$0.01 (1.3%) to $0.39 on volume of 1.8 million shares;
• Charter Hall Group (CHC), +$0.01 (0.71%) to $0.71 on volume of 6.3 million shares;
• Bunnings Warehouse Prop Trust (BWP), +$0.01 (0.57%) to $1.76 on volume of 624.7 thousand shares; and
• CFS Retail Property Trust (CFX), +$0.01 (0.53%) to $1.89 on volume of 5.4 million shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Materials (XMJ), which climbed 35.6 points (0.31%) to 11637.4 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 170.21m units; 21 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 135.77m shares, while the 21 decliners had volume traded totalling 22.97m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Avoca Resources Ltd (AVO), +$0.09 (5.31%) to $1.69 on volume of 785.5 thousand shares;
• Independence Group NL (IGO), +$0.19 (5.07%) to $3.94 on volume of 424.4 thousand shares;
• Sundance Resources Ltd (SDL), +$0.01 (4.17%) to $0.13 on volume of 5.6 million shares;
• Platinum Australia Ltd (PLA), +$0.03 (3%) to $1.03 on volume of 1.4 million shares; and
• Alumina Ltd (AWC), +$0.04 (2.24%) to $1.60 on volume of 16.9 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which dipped 66.2 points (1.26%) to 5191.8 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 62.07m units; The 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 11.39m units, and 12 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 40.54m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• FKP Property Group (FKP), -$0.03 (3.65%) to $0.66 on volume of 2.7 million shares;
• Ioof Hldgs Ltd (IFL), -$0.17 (3.15%) to $5.23 on volume of 378.1 thousand shares;
• Challenger Fin Ser (CGF), -$0.11 (2.88%) to $3.71 on volume of 3.8 million shares;
• Henderson Group PLC (HGG), -$0.06 (2.79%) to $2.09 on volume of 1.8 million shares; and
• Lend Lease Group (LLCDA), -$0.19 (2.07%) to $8.97 on volume of 1.5 million shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Utilities (XUJ), which slid 30.6 points (0.75%) to 4076.5 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 11.39m units; The 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.97m units, and 2 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 3.93m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Infigen Energy (IFN), -$0.03 (2.34%) to $1.25 on volume of 2 million shares;
• Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC), -$0.01 (1.82%) to $0.27 on volume of 572.4 thousand shares;
• Duet Group (DUE), -$0.02 (0.85%) to $1.75 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
• AGL Energy Ltd (AGK), -$0.07 (0.51%) to $13.75 on volume of 537 thousand shares; and
• Spark Infrastructure Trust (SKI), -$0.01 (0.38%) to $1.31 on volume of 1.6 million shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Energy (XEJ), which slid 97.6 points (0.69%) to 14133 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 54.3m units; The 13 decliners had volume traded totalling 33.83m units, and 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 15.26m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Nexus Energy Ltd (NXS), -$0.01 (3.85%) to $0.25 on volume of 4.2 million shares;
• Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), -$0.02 (3%) to $0.49 on volume of 3.6 million shares;
• Extract Resources Ltd (EXT), -$0.17 (2.33%) to $7.13 on volume of 156.5 thousand shares;
• ROC Oil Co Ltd (ROC), -$0.01 (1.25%) to $0.40 on volume of 9 million shares; and
• Karoon Gas Australia Ltd (KAR), -$0.07 (1.2%) to $5.76 on volume of 896.5 thousand shares.

Sector Indices

Code	GICS Sector	Close	+/-	%	Volume
XHJ	Healthcare	8380.7	72	0.87	11m
XPJ	Property Trusts	864.1	4.7	0.55	152m
XMJ	Materials	11637.4	35.6	0.31	170m
XSJ	Consumer Staples	7118.5	15	0.21	25m
XTJ	Telecommunications	1143.2	0.1	0.01	49m
XNJ	Industrials	3768.1	-13.4	-0.35	105m
XIJ	Information Technology	671.4	-3	-0.44	1m
XDJ	Consumer Discretionary	1551.5	-7.4	-0.47	47m
XEJ	Energy	14133	-97.6	-0.69	54m
XUJ	Utilities	4076.5	-30.6	-0.75	11m
XXJ	Financials ex Property Trusts	5191.8	-66.2	-1.26	62m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
TLS	Telstra Corp Ltd	3.37	-0.02	-0.59	44.3m
GMG	Goodman Group	0.58	-0.03	-4.17	33.9m
BLY	Boart Longyear Ltd	0.33	0.00	0	28.9m
LGL	Lihir Gold Ltd	2.80	0.06	2.19	26.4m
GPT	GPT Group	0.58	-0.02	-2.52	20.4m

All Ords Percentage Gainers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
ARH	Australasian Resources Ltd	0.55	0.08	15.79	776.9k
CUV	Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals	0.26	0.03	10.87	1.1m
PBT	Prana Biotechnology Ltd	0.16	0.02	10.71	34k
TEN	TEN Network Hldgs	1.66	0.15	9.57	13.2m
CQT	Conquest Mining Ltd	0.25	0.02	8.7	2.2m

All Ords Percentage Losers

Code	Name	Close	+/-	%	Volume
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.08	-0.02	-16	12.4m
PMP	PMP Ltd	0.66	-0.08	-10.27	325.5k
CRK	Carrick Gold Ltd	0.70	-0.08	-9.68	131.6k
AEZ	APN European Retail Prop Group	0.06	-0.01	-7.94	384.8k
FEA	Forest Enterprises Australia	0.05	0.00	-7.02	605k

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