STOCK PRICE INDEXES – AUSTRALIA

REITs in major sell-off

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Original article by Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 1-Oct-14

Australia’s listed real estate investment trusts index shed more than five per cent in September 2014. However, Freehold Investment Management’s Andrew Smith notes that a pullback was likely given the sector’s strong gains in the year to date. Stocks that were hard hit include Charter Hall Group, BWP Trust, Mirvac and Scentre Group. Lend Lease and GDI Property Group are among the stocks that posted gains

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 A-REIT INDEX, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, BWP TRUST – ASX BWP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, GDI PROPERTY GROUP – ASX GDI, GROWTHPOINT PROPERTIES AUSTRALIA – ASX GOZ, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, INVESTA OFFICE FUND – ASX IOF, FREEHOLD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, INGENIA COMMUNITIES GROUP – ASX INA

Year’s gains lost in three weeks

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 23-Sep-14

The Australian sharemarket has shed more than five per cent so far in September 2014, paring the S&P/ASX 200’s gains in the year to date to just 0.2 per cent. In contrast, the S&P 500 has gained nearly nine per cent and the Hang Seng Index has risen by three per cent. Banks have borne the brunt of bearish investor sentiment, with all of the four major banks shedding more than the S&P/ASX 200 in September

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Hope for September

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 2-Sep-14

The Australian sharemarket rose by 0.02 per cent in the June 2014 quarter, which may bode well for the market’s outlook in September. Perpetual notes that while it was the first time since 2009 that the market has finished in the red in the June quarter, it has posted gains eight times in the last decade during the September quarter. Meanwhile, the month of September is traditionally seen as a bearish one for sharemarkets, although the Australian bourse rose in both September 2012 and 2013

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, CITIBANK PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Local shares tipped to fall as spring begins

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 1-Sep-14

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to fall by 0.2 per cent when trading resumes on 1 September 2014. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 0.1 per cent during August, and the downward trend is tipped to continue at the start of September. Factors such as the upcoming release of Australian and Chinese economic data are likely to weigh on investor sentiment, while a number of blue-chip stocks will commence trading without a dividend in the coming week

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BANK OF ENGLAND, BANK OF JAPAN, BANK OF CANADA

Forecasts dip as economy slackens

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 20-Aug-14

The Australian sharemarket has gained 3.5 per cent so far in 2014, although it has risen by 27 per cent in the last two years. Tony Brennan of Citigroup forecasts that the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index will end the year at 5,750 points. However, he warns that the market has lowered earnings expectations for 2014-15 by 0.5 per cent so far, and this could be scaled back further

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, BLOOMBERG LP, LEUTHOLD GROUP LLC, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI

Takeover rush fuelled by cheap debt could shrink index

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 7-Aug-14

Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse expects Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index to reach 6,000 points by the end of 2014. He forecasts that the low cost of funding via debt markets will lead to an upturn in takeover activity in Australia. This in turn will result in the number of companies that are acquired or undertake buybacks exceeding IPO and capital raising activity

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DAVID JONES LIMITED – ASX DJS, AUSTRALAND PROPERTY GROUP – ASX ALZ, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BUSINESS 20 (B20), RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Shares rebound and the seven-year itch

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 29-Jul-14

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose to a new high only six years after the 1987 sharemarket correction, and just three years after the correction in 1980. In contrast, the market is approaching the seventh anniversary of its record close in November 2007, and it has yet to return to or surpass this level. The underperforming junk bond market may prove to be the "turning point" that investors are seeking for shares

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES ACCUMULATION INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, NUMERICABLE GROUP SA, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BARCLAYS GLOBAL INVESTORS

The future of mega-cap stocks

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Original article by James Frost|Matthew Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 23-Jul-14

The S&P/ASX 20 Index has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 in the last 12 months, as well as the last three and five years. The composition of the ASX 20 has changed significantly over the last five and 10 years, and astute investors can potentially enjoy big returns by backing the right stocks. Johan Carlberg of Alphinity Investment Management says companies whose focus is the domestic market could be displaced by peers that pursue growth offshore. Paul Taylor of Fidelity says healthcare and technology stocks could potentially be elevated to the top 20 index in coming years

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX|STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX|ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD|FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD|PERENNIAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT|AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT LIMITED – ASX AEF|NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS|FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED|ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED|SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK|WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES|WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW|APPLE INCORPORATED|EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION|FIDELITY AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND|FACEBOOK INCORPORATED|GOOGLE INCORPORATED|HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO|MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED|NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM|FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG|WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL|ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG|SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO|OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH|BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP|RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO|TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL|S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLP|WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD|SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG|SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD|MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Australian rally on Fed statements could be short-lived

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 and 22 : 20-Jun-14

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 1.6 per cent on 19 June 2014, and the All Ordinaries Index was up 1.5 per cent. The bullish sentiment was prompted by indications that US interest rates are set to remain at a historic low in the near-term. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar rose to $US0.9423 and the yield on 10-year government bonds fell by two per cent. George Clapham of Arnhem Investment Management cautions that economic data in China will remain the key influence on the Australian sharemarket

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF ENGLAND, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, WILSON HTM LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Iron ore price jitters, jobs data drag on ASX

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 13-Jun-14

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 12 June 2014, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.5 per cent to close at 5,428.8. The Commonwealth Bank was down 0.4 per cent at $A81.88, while BHP Billiton was 0.6 per cent lower at $A35.71. However, Leighton Holdings was 1.7 per cent higher at $A20.15 and Ramsay Health Care advanced 3.7 per cent to finish at $A46.80

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JOHN HOLLAND PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WORLD BANK, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX