|
INDEX CODE
|
INDEX NAME
|
CLOSING PRICE
|
WEEKLY MOVE ($)
|
WEEKLY MOVE (%)
|
| XAO
|
All Ordinaries
|
3,672.7
|
285.8
|
8.4%
|
| XJO
|
ASX 200
|
3,742.5
|
326.0
|
9.5%
|
| AMP
|
AMP Limited
|
$5.37
|
$0.08
|
1.5%
|
| ANZ
|
ANZ Banking Group Limited
|
$14.80
|
$1.44
|
10.8%
|
| BHP
|
BHP Billiton Limited
|
$31.00
|
$9.10
|
41.6%
|
| BXB
|
Brambles Limited
|
$7.25
|
-$0.25
|
-3.3%
|
| CBA
|
Commonwealth Bank
|
$34.09
|
$3.14
|
10.1%
|
| CSL
|
CSL Limited
|
$34.70
|
$3.85
|
12.5%
|
| FGL
|
Foster's Group
|
$5.48
|
$0.09
|
1.7%
|
| MQG
|
Maquarie Group Limited
|
$29.70
|
$2.64
|
9.8%
|
| NAB
|
National Aust. Bank
|
$20.00
|
$1.00
|
5.3%
|
| NCM
|
Newcrest Mining
|
$24.55
|
$3.09
|
14.4%
|
| ORG
|
Origin Energy
|
$16.00
|
$0.55
|
3.6%
|
| QBE
|
QBE Insurance Group
|
$23.75
|
-$0.16
|
-0.7%
|
| RIO
|
Rio Tinto Limited
|
$46.60
|
-$13.41
|
-22.3%
|
| SUN
|
Suncorp - Metway
|
$7.85
|
$0.94
|
13.6%
|
| TLS
|
Telstra Corporation
|
$4.06
|
$0.08
|
2.0%
|
| WBC
|
Westpac Banking Corp
|
$17.89
|
$1.54
|
9.4%
|
| WDC
|
Westfield Group
|
$14.98
|
$1.74
|
13.1%
|
| WES
|
Wesfarmers Limited
|
$18.60
|
-$0.41
|
-2.2%
|
| WOW
|
Woolworths Limited
|
$26.80
|
$1.25
|
4.9%
|
| WPL
|
Woodside Petroleum
|
$36.05
|
$7.05
|
24.3%
|
Finally the Australian market experienced a positive week! With buyers finally ending their "strike" (even if only temporary), the ASX 200 managed to gain 9.5% for the week and the All Ordinaries put on 8.4% for the week.
So what provided the catalyst for the gains? Positive news out of the Obama camp or pending interest rate cuts? Maybe the fact that the market was so over-sold meant that a snap back rally was on the cards! The fact that the market had dropped almost 25% since early November suggests to me that we were due for a rally.
The big news for the week in Australia was BHP walking away from its take-over of Rio. This was extremely positive for BHP (+41.6%) and extremely negative for Rio (-22.3%). Rio's high level of debt has scared off BHP and investors! The banks managed solid gains of 5% to 10%. Even after these gains, their dividend yields are still compelling.
Whilst global markets seem to have settled down, some profit-taking/consolidation should be expected soon. With the market having rallied 16% (from the lows experienced on the morning of the 21/11/08), nervous investors that missed out on selling during the early part of November, are expected to sell down portions of their portfolios (at a slightly higher level). However with the Reserve Bank of Australia likely to provide us all with a sizeable gift via an interest rate reduction, profit-taking may be short lived. Lets certainly hope so!
