Australia | Dec 03 2012
By Max Ludowici, Equities & Derivatives Advisor, 708 Capital
The Aussie market maintained strength today following on from gains last week and a jump in commodities prices on Friday night. Weaker Australian manufacturing and retail sales data failed to slow the uptrend which saw the market close up 25 points or 0.6% to 4531. Continuing chatter amongst US politicians had the US market wavering between gains and losses throughout the Friday overnight session ending in a small gain as expectations continued to grow that lawmakers would at least find a partial resolution to the cliff issue.
On the domestic data front. The Australian Industry Group’s PMI index fell 1.6 points in November to 43.6, showing another contraction in Manufacturing activity (See the comments on Rosella below). October retail sales showed a flat reading vs a consensus expectation of a rise of 0.4%. David Jones ((DJS)) and Myer ((MYR)) were both weaker on the data, down 2% and 1.8% respectively.
The ANZ job ads index showed job advertisements were down 2.9% in November and was the eighth straight negative reading. This is a reliable ‘at the coal face’ indicator of the demand for new employees by firms and will almost certainly be a gauge the RBA will use to determine whether to cut or hold rates tomorrow.
Focus appears to now be shifting to China where continuing signs of stabilisation and strength are injecting confidence into the Asian region. Economic data out today showed the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI hit a 13 month high of 50.5 in November, up from 49.5 in October and the strongest result in seven months. Remember, a reading above 50 shows expansion and a reading below 50 shows contraction. The result was in-line with the Chinese Government’s official reading released on Saturday, which showed the index at 50.6. Market enthusiasm on the back of these numbers helped it shrug off the weaker domestic numbers.
Woodside Petroleum ((WPL)) announced its discovery of one of the biggest gas discoveries in modern times. WPL has a 30% equity stake in the 17 Tcf (Trillion cubic feet) Leviathan gas project in Israel. WPL must contribute approximately US$700 upfront to maintain its interest. WPL closed up 0.9% to $34.11.
All eyes are on the RBA board who meet tomorrow which is expected to cut the cash rate from 3.25%.
Defensives and Financial led the market today with CSL Limited ((CSL)) continuing it’s run closing up 2.4%, ANZ Bank ((ANZ)) up 1.35% and the Commonwealth bank ((CBA)) up 1.88%.Fund manager Perpetual ((PPT)) has continued is strong run of late, closing up another 1.73% to $31.77.
On another note, the Australian icon founded in 1895, Rosella, made famous for its Tomato sauce, today went into receivership. Rosella has joined the likes of Darrell Lea, who in July this year also went into administration as Australian manufacturers struggle with higher costs and overseas competition.
DOW futures, despite being strong all day have weakened in the last hour and point to a stronger start up 25 point.
(For a more comprehensive summary of last night’s market action see FNArena’s Overnight Report.)
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 costconsultation and portfolioreview or to learn more visit www.708capital.com.au. Note: 708 Capital offers wealth management services for Sophisticated and Wholesale Investors only. We can only assist investors who are classified as Sophisticated Investors or have verified assets over AUD$2.5m.
708capital is a holder of AFSL. No. 386279
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