Not my desk...
With Christmas over and a New Year around the corner, the Australian market was set to respond to the earlier return on US and European markets, which closed slightly up or mixed, but instead reacted negatively to Japanese data, where household spending shrank by 3.4% in November, industrial output fell 2.6% from October and retail sales fell 2.1%
As a result, the S&P/ASX 200 Index closed down 1.2% or 51 points to 4088 wiping out the pre-Xmas ebullience. In after hours trading, the SPI futures have lost another 10 points after the close.
The Asian equity markets also reacted badly to the data, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.3% to 8417 points, the volatile Hang Seng down 0.8% to 18484 points and the Shanghai Composite is down 0.4%, currently trading at 2156 points, striking new lows:
The AUD was flat today, currently trading at 1.0151 against the USD, whilst WTI crude was similar and remains above $100 USD a barrel at $101.38 after climbing during the Christmas break, possibly on Iranian tensions.
Gold fell further in the Asian session having been sold off below $1600USD throughout the 24hr session prior and is currently trading at $1587USD per ounce, still below its 200 DMA (see chart below). In Australian dollars, the fall has been exarcebated and is now at $1563 AUD an ounce.
Movers and Shakers
All sectors but health care and telecomms were sold off today, with materials and REIT’s (real estate trusts) the biggest losers.
The banks were all sold off on light volume, with ANZ down 0.6%, Commonwealth (CBA) down 1% exactly, National Australia Bank (NAB) down just over 1% and Westpac (WBC) the worst off losing 2 percent.
Macquarie (MQG) lost just over 1%, slipping below $24 per share whilst healthcare favourite Cochlear (COH) was a green outcast on the board, up 0.6% to $62.60 a share.
Meanwhile, its “twin” CSL also finished up, almost 1.5% higher at $32.60 a share and provided most of the gains for the healthcare sector, whilst Telstra (TLS) also put on some runs, up 0.3%, on half daily average volume.
To the resources, BHP Billiton (BHP) fell over 1.5% to finish below $35 a share again, whilst its “twin” Rio Tinto (RIO) fell over 2% for the day. Not looking like a good year for the Holes.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining (NCM) also lost over 2% falling further than gold itself and continues to bounce along a bottom around $31-32 per share. Fortescue (FMG) fell further – over 3% as worries mounted over iron ore demand going into 2012 and to finish out the ASX8, Woodside Petroleum (WPL) fell almost 1%, even on the back of higher oil prices.
Defensive stocks Wesfarmers (WES) and Woolworths (WOW) did not escape the selloff, both falling around 0.8% probably in continued response to further weakness in the retail sector.
Futures are pointing to lower opens on the US and Euro equity markets, down about 0.2 to 0.6% across the board. Watch tomorrow’s “Market Morning” post for full coverage.