Australian Stocks: What Happened Today?

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This story features RIO TINTO LIMITED.
For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: RIO
The company is included in ASX20, ASX50, ASX100, ASX200, ASX300 and ALL-ORDS

By Ashley Jessen, director of LearnCFDs.com and author of CFDs Made Simple

Commodity prices, US economic news and poor Chinese data hit the headlines today for all the wrong reasons, sending the local S&P/ASX 200 to record the biggest fall in 4 weeks despite a late rally with the index falling 45.63 points or 0.91% to close at 4967.9.

Gold prices fell an astounding 4% providing little prospect for our gold miners on open today with the likes of Newcrest Mining ((NCM)) falling heavily with some talking about capitulation selling, as many stocks broke well below key support levels. Chinese growth data came in weaker than expected, showing growth of 7.7% in the March quarter which falls short of the 8% expected.

Telecommunications and Financials were the only two bright sectors among a sea of red, recording a 0.81% and 0.14% gain respectively. Basic Materials were by far hit the hardest falling an incredible 4.17% with the likes of BHP Billiton ((BHP)) and Rio Tinto ((RIO)) shedding index points at the fastest rate. Technology stocks fell 1.69% collectively and Oil and Gas were close behind, falling 1.64%.

Looking over the charts

Resistance around the key 5000 – 5035 mark proved insurmountable with traders driving the price down as the market pushed into overbought territory and we got a bearish cross on the stochastic oscillator. Support at the 4925 level would be worth watching but it is only minor support with the 4900 level the more significant level to look for the potential of a strong risk reward trade.

S&P/ASX 200 Gainers and Losers

Federation Centres ((FDC)), a newly listed stock, posted the best result to open the trading week, rising 2.04% with a break into new recent highs on much stronger than average volume. Harvey Norman ((HVN)) rebounded from Friday’s mediocre session, with the stock up 1.94% but volume was extremely light, giving traders reason for caution.

Alacer Gold ((AQG)) led the way for gold mining stocks and unfortunately that direction was heavily down, falling a massive 17.25%. Today’s mining sector was hit so hard we have more than 10 stocks falling by more than 10% with Medusa Mining ((MML)) falling an equally unimpressive 16.04% and breaking through all levels of support to hit the lowest level since March 2010.
 

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

Disclaimer: There is a high degree of risk involved in trading various financial instruments. It is possible to lose significant amounts of money when trading the markets. As your trading decisions are beyond my control, I accept no responsibility for your trading results. Please seek professional financial advice to determine if trading is for you.

While Ashley Jessen attempts to ensure that the information herein is accurate at the date the information was produced, however, Ashley Jessen does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the information provided herein and under no circumstances are they to be considered an offer, solicitation to invest or be construed as giving investment advice.

Technical limitations

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