|
INDEX CODE
|
INDEX NAME
|
CLOSING PRICE
|
WEEKLY MOVE ($)
|
WEEKLY MOVE (%)
|
| XAO
|
All Ordinaries
|
3,427.2
|
-245.5
|
-6.7%
|
| XJO
|
ASX 200
|
3,489.9
|
-252.6
|
-6.7%
|
| AMP
|
AMP Limited
|
$5.16
|
-$0.21
|
-3.9%
|
| ANZ
|
ANZ Banking Group Limited
|
$14.60
|
-$0.20
|
-1.4%
|
| BHP
|
BHP Billiton Limited
|
$26.15
|
-$4.85
|
-15.6%
|
| BXB
|
Brambles Limited
|
$7.40
|
$0.15
|
2.1%
|
| CBA
|
Commonwealth Bank
|
$30.90
|
-$3.19
|
-9.4%
|
| CSL
|
CSL Limited
|
$31.57
|
-$3.13
|
-9.0%
|
| FGL
|
Foster's Group
|
$5.40
|
-$0.08
|
-1.5%
|
| MQG
|
Maquarie Group Limited
|
$30.08
|
$0.38
|
1.3%
|
| NAB
|
National Aust. Bank
|
$19.81
|
-$0.19
|
-1.0%
|
| NCM
|
Newcrest Mining
|
$25.08
|
$0.53
|
2.2%
|
| QBE
|
QBE Insurance Group
|
$24.83
|
$1.08
|
4.5%
|
| RIO
|
Rio Tinto Limited
|
$32.00
|
-$14.60
|
-31.3%
|
| ORG
|
Origin Energy
|
$15.73
|
-$0.27
|
-1.7%
|
| SUN
|
Suncorp - Metway
|
$7.87
|
$0.02
|
0.3%
|
| TLS
|
Telstra Corporation
|
$4.12
|
$0.06
|
1.5%
|
| WBC
|
Westpac Banking Corp
|
$16.85
|
-$1.04
|
-5.8%
|
| WDC
|
Westfield Group
|
$13.22
|
-$1.76
|
-11.7%
|
| WES
|
Wesfarmers Limited
|
$16.51
|
-$2.09
|
-11.2%
|
| WOW
|
Woolworths Limited
|
$26.09
|
-$0.71
|
-2.6%
|
| WPL
|
Woodside Petroleum
|
$30.46
|
-$5.59
|
-15.5%
|
After a positive run the prior week, the market looked prime for a sell-off. And sell-off it did. These uncertain times we live in ensure any rally is sold into. With market volumes extremely thin, the market continued its downward move with the All Ordinaries & ASX 200 both down 6.7%.
So what spooked the markets? Confirmation that the USA is in recession and a continued flow of poor economic data across the globe! Whilst the USA being in recession (officially) was no real surprise, the poor data coming out of the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia certainly disappointed the markets. With share markets off 50% from their 2007 highs, one would assume that all this bad news is already factored into share prices!
In Australia, the BHP / Rio non-merger continued to be the head line act. The big news for the week in Australia was BHP walking away from its take-over of Rio. With fear surrounding Rio's debt levels, Rio managed to shed another 31.3% for the week. BHP, down 15.6%, succumbed to profit-taking (after gaining over 41% the previous week). The banks faired better than their mining counterparts with losses of 1% to 10%. If we adjust future bank dividends down by 30%, at these prices their dividend yields are still almost twice the level of a term deposit. Amazing to say the least!
What to expect for the remainder of 2008? All eyes and ears will be on Barack Obama and his USA stimulus package. If the package is viewed as large enough to make an impact, then a year-end rally is a possibility. Australia is hostage to global events. Therefore movements in Australian markets will unfortunately depend on Wall Street.
