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OzRant for Wednesday, December 23rd

Posted by GT on December 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

All Ords up modestly, adding 0.67% on below-average volume and breadth favours the gainers by 2.4:1: every sector index rose. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 1% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 has added 1.9% so far; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is showing a 0% gain.The KOSPI has added 0.1% for the session thus far.

There was no economic data of note released in the region today.

Major Market Indices

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – advanced modestly, rising 31.7 points (0.67%), finishing at 4756.1 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4757.9 at 12:07 pm, while the low for the day was 4715.7 – set at 10:20 am Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.49bn units, 24.7% below its 10-day average of 1.98bn shares.The ASX’s daily listing of all stocks included 1241 different 3-letter FPO’s which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 551 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 751.4m units; there were 407 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 324.8m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 236 rose while 166 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2.4:1, with 404.72m shares traded in gainers while 171.69m 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 351 points (0.75%), closing out the session at 4739.3 points.

GT Intraday Chart
Name Close +/-(%)
All Ordinaries 4756.10 31.70 (0.7%)
ASX 20 2866.90 27.10 (1.0%)
ASX 50 4749.60 36.80 (0.8%)
ASX 100 3881.70 28.40 (0.7%)
ASX 200 4739.30 35.10 (0.7%)
ASX 300 4736.90 34.40 (0.7%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50 4339.80 17.70 (0.4%)
ASX Small Ordinaries 2543.80 17.30 (0.7%)

The “heavy hitters” of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – advanced by under a percent, adding 27.1 points (0.95%), closing out the session at 2866.9 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 16 index components finished to the upside, and 4 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 86.23m units; 16 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 65.89m shares, while the 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 15.69m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

  • Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), +$0.95 (3.26%) to $30.05 on volume of 3.1 million shares;
  • Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM), +$0.90 (2.64%) to $34.96 on volume of 892.5 thousand shares;
  • Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.53 (2.19%) to $24.68 on volume of 6.3 million shares;
  • Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.24 (2%) to $12.25 on volume of 5.9 million shares; and
  • AMP Ltd (AMP), +$0.13 (1.98%) to $6.68 on volume of 5.4 million shares.

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

  • Stockland (SGP), -$0.06 (1.52%) to $3.88 on volume of 6.7 million shares;
  • Origin Energy Ltd (ORG), -$0.22 (1.33%) to $16.30 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
  • QBE Insurance Group Ltd (QBE), -$0.24 (0.96%) to $24.70 on volume of 3.2 million shares; and
  • Brambles Industries Ltd (BXB), -$0.03 (0.44%) to $6.75 on volume of 4.1 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 17.3 points (0.68%), closing out the session at 2543.8 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 108 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 89 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 299.04m units: volume in the 108 gainers totalling 143.92m shares, with trade totalling 63.04m units in the index’s 89 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were
  • Babcock & Brown Power (BBP), +$0.01 (18.42%) to $0.09 on volume of 20.4 million shares;
  • Boom Logistics (BOL), +$0.05 (12.2%) to $0.46 on volume of 2 million shares;
  • Karoon Gas Australia Ltd (KAR), +$0.96 (11.24%) to $9.50 on volume of 2 million shares;
  • Apex Minerals NL (AXM), +$0.00 (9.68%) to $0.03 on volume of 22 million shares; and
  • Graincorp Ltd A (GNC), +$0.41 (7.62%) to $5.79 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):

  • Redflex Holdings Ltd (RDF), -$0.22 (9.57%) to $2.08 on volume of 403.4 thousand shares;
  • RHG Ltd (RHG), -$0.04 (6.36%) to $0.52 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
  • Minemakers Ltd (MAK), -$0.03 (6.12%) to $0.46 on volume of 6.9 million shares;
  • Astro Japan Property Group (AJA), -$0.03 (5.81%) to $0.41 on volume of 1.5 million shares; and
  • Reverse Corp (REF), -$0.02 (4.88%) to $0.39 on volume of 58.6 thousand shares.

Index Changes
Code Name Close +/- % Volume
XAOAll Ordinaries4756.131.70.67699.7m
XFLASX 504749.636.80.78212.3m
XJOASX 2004739.335.10.75545.7m
XKOASX 3004736.934.40.73633.2m
XMDASX Mid-Cap 504339.817.70.41169.9m
XSOASX Small Ordinaries2543.817.30.68251.1m
XTLASX 202866.927.10.9579.5m
XTOASX 1003881.728.40.74382.2m
Market Breadth
ASX20 XTO XJO XAO XSO Market
Advances1668146239108551
Declines4328016689407
Advancing Volume65.9m266.3m460.6m405.2m143.9m751.4m
Declining Volume15.7m111.6m212.7m171.7m63m324.8m
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 Consumer Staples (XSJ), which added 125.8 points (1.68%) to 7605.9 points. The 11 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 22.52m units; 9 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 17.05m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 5.48m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

  • Graincorp Ltd A (GNC), +$0.41 (7.62%) to $5.79 on volume of 1.9 million shares;
  • Australian Agricultural Co (AAC), +$0.06 (4.2%) to $1.49 on volume of 462.9 thousand shares;
  • Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), +$0.95 (3.26%) to $30.05 on volume of 3.1 million shares;
  • AWB Ltd (AWB), +$0.02 (1.85%) to $1.10 on volume of 2.9 million shares; and
  • Viterra Inc (VTA), +$0.14 (1.35%) to $10.53 on volume of 16.9 thousand shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Healthcare (XHJ), which gained 80.7 points (0.94%) to 8666.2 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 9.69m units; 9 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 9.58m shares, while the sole declining stock traded 0.11m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

  • ISOFT Group Ltd (ISF), +$0.03 (3.31%) to $0.78 on volume of 3 million shares;
  • Ramsay Health Care Ltd (RHC), +$0.36 (3.27%) to $11.38 on volume of 289.6 thousand shares;
  • Healthscope Ltd (HSP), +$0.09 (1.83%) to $5.00 on volume of 470 thousand shares;
  • Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SIP), +$0.02 (1.58%) to $0.97 on volume of 1.3 million shares; and
  • ResMed Inc (RMD), +$0.09 (1.52%) to $6.02 on volume of 965.6 thousand shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which climbed 48.3 points (0.9%) to 5421.7 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 60.09m units; 14 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 43.96m shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 8.84m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

  • Ioof Hldgs Ltd (IFL), +$0.23 (3.87%) to $6.18 on volume of 517.8 thousand shares;
  • Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.53 (2.19%) to $24.68 on volume of 6.3 million shares;
  • Platinum Asset Management Ltd (PTM), +$0.11 (2.11%) to $5.33 on volume of 218.4 thousand shares;
  • AMP Ltd (AMP), +$0.13 (1.98%) to $6.68 on volume of 5.4 million shares; and
  • Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), +$0.73 (1.56%) to $47.44 on volume of 935.1 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
Code GICS Sector Close +/- % Volume
XSJConsumer Staples7605.9125.81.6823m
XHJHealthcare8666.280.70.9410m
XXJFinancials ex Property Trusts5421.748.30.960m
XTJTelecommunications1143.48.20.7222m
XMJMaterials12428.281.10.66116m
XPJProperty Trusts875.64.40.51145m
XDJConsumer Discretionary1609.96.80.4227m
XEJEnergy1576954.30.3539m
XUJUtilities4265.95.60.1312m
XNJIndustrials3917.52.50.0692m
XIJInformation Technology660.20.30.051m

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders
Code Name Close +/- % Volume
BLYBoart Longyear Ltd0.340.00037.3m
GPTGPT Group0.600.022.5924.3m
AXMApex Minerals NL0.030.009.6822m
GMGGoodman Group0.600.010.8421.7m
BBPBabcock & Brown Power0.090.0118.4220.4m
All Ords Percentage Gainers
Code Name Close +/- % Volume
BBPBabcock & Brown Power0.090.0118.4220.4m
BOLBoom Logistics0.460.0512.22m
KARKaroon Gas Australia Ltd9.500.9611.242m
NRTNovogen Ltd0.590.0610.3815.2k
AXMApex Minerals NL0.030.009.6822m
All Ords Percentage Losers
Code Name Close +/- % Volume
RDFRedflex Holdings Ltd2.08-0.22-9.57403.4k
CWTChallenger Wine Trust (The)0.29-0.03-9.3845.8k
CGXCGA Mining Ltd2.15-0.20-8.5156.1k
RHGRHG Ltd0.52-0.04-6.361.7m
MAKMinemakers Ltd0.46-0.03-6.126.9m

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