Australian Stocks: What Happened Today?

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This story features JB HI-FI LIMITED.
For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: JBH
The company is included in ASX100, ASX200, ASX300 and ALL-ORDS

Download related file: afternoon_report_2013-02-11

The analyst principally responsible for the production of this research report is: Howard Humphreys, Director & Lead Research Analyst, Seismic Research

ASX slumps on weak home loan data

The ASX 200 reversed an early advance today and US futures pared gains as a report showed Australian home loan approvals fell for a third straight month in December.

The ASX 200 index briefly touched the highest level since April 2010 today on a strong lead from Wall Street and Europe, but quickly reversed gains along with the Aussie dollar after the ABS said loans to purchase houses or apartments unexpectedly fell 1.5% in December. This is in-line with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s data, which shows that housing credit growth fell in December to the weakest annual pace since records began in 1977.

Consumer stocks were just about the only bright spot today, adding 1.5% as a group as JB Hi-Fi ((JBH)) surged 17% after reporting a 3% increase in net profit to $82.1 million for 2H 2012, beating analysts’ estimates.

Volume was low on the local exchange today with most Asian markets were closed for public holidays; China’s market will remain closed for the rest of the week for the Lunar New Year.

To read today's report in PDF in full, see link at the top of this story.

(For a more comprehensive summary of last night’s market action see FNArena’s Overnight Report.)

Analyst Certification: Any views expressed in this research report by Seismic Research Solutions Pty Ltd (‘Seismic Research’) accurately reflect the personal views of the analyst(s) about the subject securities or issuers and no part of the compensation of the analyst(s) was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the inclusion of specific recommendations or views in this research. The analyst principally responsible for the preparation of this research report receives compensation based on overall revenues of Seismic Research and has taken reasonable care to achieve and maintain independence and objectivity in making any recommendations.

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