Australian Stocks: What Happened Today?

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By Max Ludowici, Equities & Derivatives Advisor, 708 Capital

A news release before market that an agreement had been reached on the provision of Greek aid sent positive waves through the market early on following a weak lead from offshore overnight. The XJO had a strong uptrend in the first couple of hours before bouncing sideways for the afternoon. We managed to hold the gains however and finish the day up 32 points or 0.74% to 4456 points on a strong volume where $4B worth of stock changed hands. $1.2B (30%) of this went through in the last half of trade just as US futures made another run higher. Some bigger players getting set in anticipation of a Santa Rally?

The deal with the Greeks is as follows: The IMF has given Greece an additional 15 years to repay their outstanding loans however, creditors to the country have refused to take a haircut on their loans. The agreement aims to cut Greece’s debt to GDP by 124% by 2020 and will allow Greece to receive loan payments of 44B euros that will be paid in three instalments. Other actions included a cut in interest rates and an extension of loan maturities. Greek bonds had been rallying on the past week as traders anticipated this outcome. Hopefully that will put Greece at the back of everyone’s mind once again.

The euro news gave the market an upbeat tone from the get-go and coupled with a positive announcement from CSL Limited ((CSL)) (updated profit guidance) got investors feeling good after weeks (feels like months) of uncertainty. CSL hit an ALL TIME high today and was up 6.9% at the close to finish at $50.01. This story has been building and building and is not really a surprise but is a stellar result nonetheless. 

The miners moved up nicely with BHP Billiton ((BHP)) closing up 0.5% to $34.20 and Rio Tinto ((RIO)) up 1% to $57.78

DRP selling from Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation ((ANZ)) and the National Australia Bank ((NAB)) finished today and both banks had a nice move, ANZ in particular was strong all day and closed up 1% to $23.81, NAB closed on its highs up 0.55% to $23.83.

In news just out, there are murmurs out of China that they will revise the annual contract pricing mechanism on coal imports. If you can recall what happened to Iron ore when Kloppers threatened the Chinese with this back in 2009 (the price of iron ore and iron ore stocks went nuts) then we need to keep a close watch on our coal exporters tomorrow. 

DOW futures are pointing to a stronger day in the US, currently up 21 points
 

This article produced at the request of and is published by FNArena with the expressed permission of 708 Capital.
 

708 Capital is a full service stockbroking and investment advisory firm. 708 offers investment and market advice to high-net-worth Private and Institutional clients in Australia and across the globe. 708's extensive network of contacts gives its clients exclusive access to ground-level fundraising opportunities and new company listings in a variety of small and large cap ASX listed companies. 708 has a longstanding track record of generating exceptional returns for its clients. Click here 708capital.com.au/contact-us/ for a no cost consultation and portfolio review or to learn more visit www.708capital.com.au. Note: 708 Capital offers wealth management services for Sophisticated and Wholesale Investors only. We cannot assist investors who aren’t classified as Sophisticated Investors or have verified assets over AUD$2.5m.

708capital is a holder of AFSL. No. 386279

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