STOCK PRICE INDEXES – AUSTRALIA

Upbeat run-in to reporting season puts 6000 target back on radar

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Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 22-Jul-15

Just 16 Australian-listed companies have issued earnings downgrades in the lead-up to the August 2015 profit-reporting season. Nader Naeimi of AMP says there is potential for the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index to reach the 6,000-point level during the reporting season, although he doubts that it will rise much further. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse has scaled back its end-of-year forecast for the S&P/ASX 200 from 6,500 to 6,000 points.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, AFFINITY EDUCATION GROUP LIMITED – ASX AFJ, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

ASX back on track after a scorching quarter

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 7-Jul-15

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 5.5 per cent in June 2015, which Chris Caton of BT Financial Group attributes to the debt crisis in Greece. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank estimates that the Australian sharemarket is trading at around fair value again, with the price-earnings ratio now at 15.25 times. The market had peaked at 16.5 times earlier in 2015.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

All eyes on Greece as markets await result

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Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 6-Jul-15

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index shed 0.14 per cent in the week ended 3 July 2015. The debt crisis in Greece and the country’s referendum referendum are likely to be the key issue for investors when trading resumes on 6 July. Meanwhile, Stephen Walters of JP Morgan expects the Reserve Bank to leave the cash rate unchanged on 7 July, while Rob Rennie of Westpac forecasts that the Australian dollar will fall below $US0.75 in the near-term.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Late rally ends dismal three months for ASX

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 1-Jul-15

The Australian sharemarket posted solid gains on 30 June 2015, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 36 points to close at 5,459. Newcrest Mining was down 0.8 per cent at $A13.02 and Slater & Gordon was five per cent lower. However, the Commonwealth Bank advanced 0.5 per cent to end the session at $A85.15 and Kathmandu Holdings rose by 25.6 per cent to finish at $A1.57 in response to a takeover bid. The S&P/ASX 200 fell by 4.8 per cent in June and 7.3 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2014-15.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, BRISCOE GROUP LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX

Grexit fears wipe $38b from ASX

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 30-Jun-15

The Australian dollar and the domestic sharemarket were sold down on 29 June 2015, as Greece’s debt crisis deepened and Chinese shares fell. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 123 points or 2.2 per cent at 5,422.5, while the dollar fell to $US0.7643. Kapstream Capital’s Kumar Palghat says investors can expect more volatility in financial markets, while federal Treasurer Joe Hockey says there will be minimal impact on Australia if Greece leaves the eurozone.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, KAPSTREAM CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GREECE. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, CHINEXT COMPOSITE INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, PM CAPITAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, AQUASIA PTY LTD

The year that ‘defied the doomsayers’

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 23-Jun-15

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index has gained 3.7 per cent so far in 2014-15, with one week left of the financial year. The broader All Ordinaries Index has risen by 3.9 per cent, while the total return for stocks in the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index has risen by 8.2 per cent. CommSec’s Craig James says the fiscal year has been "good" but not "great" for investors.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES ACCUMULATION INDEX, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Tough times present high-quality opportunities, says Clime

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 12-Jun-15

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rebounded to 5,557 points on 11 June 2015, having fallen below the 5,500-point level earlier in the week. Clime Asset Management’s Clime John Abernethy notes that the local market is now at its level of mid-2014, and says some stocks now offer value. Abernethy favours National Australia Bank, Telstra, Woolworths, Wesfarmers and CSL. He cites factors such as healthy earnings, strong dividends and expectations of a double-digit rate of return for each of these stocks in the next year.

CORPORATES
CLIME ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EVIDENTE, MONEY MATTERS FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS PTY LTD

Stock index ‘loaded with risk’

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 27-May-15

The head of Australian equities at Lazard, Rob Osborn, is concerned about the S&P/ASX 200’s weighting toward banks. The sector comprised nearly 42 per cent of the benchmark index in March 2015, and Osborn notes that one sector has had a significant weighting in the index on just two other occasions in the last 15 years – the technology boom in 2000 and the resources boom in 2008. In both instances a correction resulted in these sectors falling sharply. Meanwhile, bank stocks have fallen by nearly 10 per cent since March.

CORPORATES
LAZARD PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, DAVNET LIMITED, ECORP LIMITED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Capex in focus amid hopes for outlook

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 25-May-15

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to shed nine points when trading resumes on 25 May 2015. The market is likely to take its cue from the US, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 losing ground on 22 May. Meanwhile, investors will be awaiting the release of the capital expenditure survey data for the March quarter, which Paul Bloxham of HSBC expects to be similar to the data for the December 2014 quarter.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BLOOMBERG LP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Market to take cue from Hockey budget

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 11-May-15

The Australian sharemarket is tipped to take its lead from the US when trading resumes on 11 May 2015. Futures traders have priced in a 43-point rise for the S&P/ASX 200, after it shed 3.1 per cent in the previous week. Investors will be awaiting the Federal Budget on 12 May, as well as the upcoming release of wages and housing finance data.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS AND SCIENCES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BANK OF ENGLAND, CONSERVATIVE PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN), RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB