The following economic data was released during the session:

• Gross Domestic Product Price Index for December A 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 0.4% falling 2.2 compared to the last data point (2.6%) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 1.9%.
• Core Personal Consumption Expenditure q/q for December A 2012 was released in the US; the result was 1.1% a decline of 1 compared to the last data point (2.1%) – above expectations of 0.9%.
• Personal Consumption for December A 2012 was released in the US; the result was 2.0% rising 0.3 from the prior reading of 1.7% , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of 2.4%.
• U. of Michigan Confidence for January F 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 75.0 rising 1 from the prior reading of 74.0 – above the consensus estimate of 74.0.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.17 points (0.58%) to 12,660.46 points. The high print for the session was 12,733.95, which happened less than 15 minutes after the open, and the low of 12,630.87 was touched mid-session.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 673.16m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 6.5 to one, with 26 decliners to 4 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 605.09m to 68.07m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Chevron (CVX) -2.63 (2.5%) to $103.96 on volume of 10.53m shares;
• Citigroup (C) +0.49 (1.6%) to $30.87 on volume of 37.49m shares;
• General Motors (GM) -0.35 (1.4%) to $24.37 on volume of 14.73m shares;
• Exxon-Mobil (XOM) -0.94 (1.1%) to $85.83 on volume of 15.84m shares; and
• Boeing (BA) -0.76 (1%) to $74.55 on volume of 4.75m shares.

The S&P500 Index dropped 2.11 points (0.16%) to 1316.32 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.71bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1 to one, with 223 decliners to 222 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 1.53bn to 1.14bn shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Robert Half International (RHI) -2.01 (6.8%) to $27.75 on volume of 4.46m shares;
• Federated Investors Inc. (FII) -1.11 (5.9%) to $17.6 on volume of 3.65m shares;
• Legg Mason (LM) -1.3 (4.8%) to $26.02 on volume of 4.99m shares;
• JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) -0.63 (4.7%) to $12.84 on volume of 10.51m shares; and
• Chubb Corp. (CB) -2.93 (4.2%) to $67.42 on volume of 5.07m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite rose +11.27 points (0.4%) to 2816.55 points. while the Nasdaq100 advanced +7.14 points (0.29%) to 2461.77 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 613.39m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.3 to one, with 50 advancers to 40 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 340.5m to 272.89m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Baidu.com (BIDU) +7.46 (6%) to $131.36 on volume of 8.54m shares;
• Logitech International (LOGI) +0.4 (5.6%) to $7.6 on volume of 1.14m shares;
• KLA-Tencor (KLAC) +2.07 (4.1%) to $52.33 on volume of 6.83m shares;
• Research in Motion (RIMM) +0.54 (3.3%) to $16.8 on volume of 20.3m shares; and
• NII Holdings (NIHD) +0.51 (2.6%) to $20.43 on volume of 4.46m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index slid 0.04 points (0.22%) to 18.53 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index dipped 0.25 points (1.28%) to 19.31 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3164 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 3.85bn shares. A total of 1980 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.95bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1073 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.82bn shares. 177 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 8 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2593 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.7bn shares. A total of 1599 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.94bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 869 losers, and total declining volume was 0.74bn shares. 69 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 12 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Alcoa (AA) +0.07 (0.7%) to $10.43 on volume of 21.5m units
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.21 (0.3%) to $77.62 on volume of 4.1m units

Dow Duds:

• Chevron (CVX) -2.63 (2.5%) to $103.96 on volume of 10.5m units
• Exxon-Mobil (XOM) -0.94 (1.1%) to $85.83 on volume of 15.8m units
• Boeing (BA) -0.76 (1%) to $74.55 on volume of 4.8m units
• AT&T (T) -0.29 (1%) to $29.16 on volume of 36.3m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) -0.27 (0.9%) to $29.23 on volume of 44m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC)-0.01 (0.1%) to $7.29 on volume of 229.2m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.27 (0.9%) to $29.23 on volume of 44m units
• AT&T (T)-0.29 (1%) to $29.16 on volume of 36.3m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.02 (0.1%) to $26.73 on volume of 35.3m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.04 (0.2%) to $19.03 on volume of 32.5m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) gained 2.75 points (1.38%) to 202.68 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 75.89m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 15 to one, with 15 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 60.46m to 15.43m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +0.85 (5.1%) to $17.68 on volume of 1.19m shares;
• Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) +1.5 (4%) to $39.29 on volume of 2.02m shares;
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) +1.08 (3.1%) to $35.7 on volume of 6.04m shares;
• Coeur d'Alene (CDE) +0.86 (3.1%) to $28.97 on volume of 1.28m shares; and
• Harmony Gold (HMY) +0.35 (3%) to $12.17 on volume of 2.11m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) added 2.99 points (1.26%) to 239.65 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 84.51m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 11 to one, with 11 advancers to 1 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 84.04m to 0.48m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Oceaneering International (OII) +1.44 (3.1%) to $48.54 on volume of 0.75m shares;
• Halliburton (HAL) +0.94 (2.6%) to $37.1 on volume of 24.47m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.45 (2.6%) to $17.93 on volume of 8.24m shares;
• Baker Hughes (BHI) +1.21 (2.5%) to $49.31 on volume of 7.05m shares; and
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +1.41 (1.9%) to $77.4 on volume of 3.24m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.2%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.04 (0.21%) to $19.03 on volume of 32.47m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.49 (1.61%) to $30.87 on volume of 37.49m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.26 (0.43%) to $60.71 on volume of 6.28m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.52 (0.27%) to $190.46 on volume of 3.35m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.02 (0.07%) to $26.73 on volume of 35.32m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.27 (1.36%) to $19.56 on volume of 43.45m units.
• Google (GOOG) +11.88 (2.09%) to $579.98 on volume of 3.6m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) advanced 0.31 points (0.73%) to 42.87 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 445.17m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 4.3 to one, with 17 advancers to 4 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 261.11m to 184.06m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Regions Financial (RF) +0.14 (2.7%) to $5.31 on volume of 18.75m shares;
• Wells Fargo (WFC) +0.55 (1.9%) to $29.6 on volume of 30.84m shares;
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.31 (1.9%) to $16.89 on volume of 3.1m shares;
• Keycorp (KEY) +0.13 (1.6%) to $8.01 on volume of 19.18m shares; and
• Citigroup Inc (C) +0.49 (1.6%) to $30.87 on volume of 37.49m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) added 1.4 points (0.34%) to 413.34 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 187.2m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 10 advancers to 6 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 106.44m to 80.76m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) +2.07 (4.1%) to $52.33 on volume of 6.83m shares;
• Teradyne (TER) +0.54 (3.3%) to $16.95 on volume of 6.3m shares;
• ST Microelectronic (STM) +0.15 (2.2%) to $7.09 on volume of 1.34m shares;
• Novellus Systems (NVLS) +0.87 (1.9%) to $47.67 on volume of 2.8m shares; and
• Texas Instruments (TXN) +0.42 (1.3%) to $32.61 on volume of 8.42m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) lost 1.22 points (0.32%) to 375.7 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 53.07m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2.2 to one, with 11 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 47.6m to 5.47m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Raytheon (RTN) -1.25 (2.5%) to $48.64 on volume of 2.46m shares;
• General Dynamics (GD) -1.16 (1.6%) to $70.35 on volume of 1.4m shares;
• Teledyne Tech (TDY) -0.78 (1.4%) to $55.4 on volume of 0.19m shares;
• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) -0.29 (1%) to $27.44 on volume of 0.93m shares; and
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -0.61 (1%) to $58.71 on volume of 1.43m shares.

All Ords up modestly, adding 0.45%; volume above average with breadth evenly split: sector indices mixed. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 0.4% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 is currently trading down 0.1% for the session; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is showing a 0.3% gain.The KOSPI has added 0.4% for the session thus far.

There was no economic data of note released in the region today.

Major Market Indices

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – advanced modestly, rising 19.4 points (0.45%), finishing at 4348.5 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4373.3 at 1:12 pm, while the low for the day was 43395 – set at 4:05 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.6bn units, 6.4% above its 10-day average of 1.5bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1272 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 538 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 732.4m units; there were 420 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 559.9m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 184 rose while 136 fell. Aggregate volume within the All Ords was evenly split – 334.47m shares traded in gainers while 323.21m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – posted a modest rise of 17.1 points (0.40%), closing out the session at 4288.4 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4348.50	19.40 (0.4%)
ASX 20	2585.20	10.70 (0.4%)
ASX 50	4297.00	15.10 (0.4%)
ASX 100	3499.10	12.20 (0.3%)
ASX 200	4288.40	17.10 (0.4%)
ASX 300	4284.90	17.30 (0.4%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	3803.50	11.70 (0.3%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2390.70	23.00 (1.0%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – advanced by under a percent, adding 10.7 points (0.42%), closing out the session at 2585.2 points.

Among the 20 big guns, the outcome favoured the upside, but only just – the 11 advancing sectors just triumphed the losing sectors. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 399.16m units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 71.87m shares, while the 8 decliners had volume traded totalling 69.84m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM), +$1.25 (3.77%) to $34.40 on volume of 7 million shares;
• Origin Energy Ltd (ORG), +$032 (2.31%) to $14.15 on volume of 5.5 million shares;
• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$1.43 (2.09%) to $69.78 on volume of 4.3 million shares;
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL), +$0.51 (1.5%) to $34.48 on volume of 2.6 million shares; and
• Suncorp-Metway Ltd (SUN), +$0.12 (1.44%) to $8.48 on volume of 4.1 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• Brambles Industries Ltd (BXB), -$0.06 (0.82%) to $7.30 on volume of 4 million shares;
• Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS), -$0.02 (0.6%) to $3.32 on volume of 36.9 million shares;
• Woolworths Ltd (WOW), -$0.14 (0.56%) to $24.77 on volume of 4.1 million shares;
• National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), -$0.12 (0.5%) to $24.08 on volume of 7.7 million shares; and
• CSL Ltd (CSL), -$0.09 (0.29%) to $30.87 on volume of 1.7 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market absolutely wiped the floor with its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords advanced by under a percent, adding 23 points (0.97%), closing out the session at 2390.7 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 92 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 53 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 308.36m units: volume in the 92 gainers totalling 134.59m shares, with trade totalling 82.05m units in the index's 53 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Reverse Corp (REF), +$0.01 (16.67%) to $0.04 on volume of 280.5 thousand shares;
• Moly Mines (MOL), +$0.04 (13.33%) to $0.34 on volume of 472.8 thousand shares;
• Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (KCN), +$0.58 (8.61%) to $7.32 on volume of 989.2 thousand shares;
• Ramelius Resources Ltd (RMS), +$0.08 (7.69%) to $1.05 on volume of 4.7 million shares; and
• ResMed Inc (RMD), +$0.19 (7.48%) to $2.73 on volume of 7.6 million shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• Apex Minerals NL (AXM), -$0 (16.67%) to $0.01 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
• Mintails (MLI), -$0.01 (11.11%) to $0.08 on volume of 106.4 thousand shares;
• Deep Yellow Ltd (DYL), -$0.02 (10.71%) to $0.13 on volume of 5 million shares;
• Nexus Energy Ltd (NXS), -$0.02 (6.82%) to $0.21 on volume of 6.1 million shares; and
• Citigold Corp Ltd (CTO), -$0.01 (6.74%) to $0.08 on volume of 2.2 million shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, 7 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 4 lost ground.

The best performing index was Materials (XMJ), which added 151.7 points (1.32%) to 11668.1 points. The 46 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 222.24m units; 23 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 99.25m shares, while the 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 108.07m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (KCN), +$0.58 (8.61%) to $7.32 on volume of 989.2 thousand shares;
• Medusa Mining Ltd (MML), +$0.30 (5.41%) to $5.85 on volume of 1.3 million shares;
• Aquarius Platinum (Bermuda) (AQP), +$0.14 (5.19%) to $2.84 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• Gunns Ltd (GNS), +$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.11 on volume of 2.3 million shares; and
• Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), +$0.20 (4.12%) to $5.06 on volume of 35 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Industrials (XNJ), which gained 29.4 points (0.83%) to 3573.4 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 41.52m units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 16.37m shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 8.12m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Monadelphous Group Ltd (MND), +$0.78 (3.57%) to $22.60 on volume of 407.7 thousand shares;
• Bradken Ltd (BKN), +$0.23 (2.99%) to $7.93 on volume of 1 million shares;
• Leighton Hldgs Ltd (LEI), +$0.36 (1.54%) to $23.73 on volume of 944.9 thousand shares;
• Downer EDI Ltd (DOW), +$0.04 (1.09%) to $3.70 on volume of 1.1 million shares; and
• Australian Infrastructure Grp (AIX), +$0.02 (1%) to $2.02 on volume of 865.7 thousand shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Utilities (XUJ), which climbed 33.5 points (0.72%) to 4662.7 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 17.56m units; 3 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 5.22m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 4.89m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• APA Group (APA), +$0.30 (6.55%) to $4.88 on volume of 3.7 million shares;
• Infigen Energy (IFN), +$0.01 (1.82%) to $0.28 on volume of 402.4 thousand shares; and
• Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF), +$0.03 (1.48%) to $2.06 on volume of 1.2 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Information Technology (XIJ), which dipped 3 points (0.61%) to 491.6 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 1.96m units; The 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 1.75m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.21m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• SMS Management & Technology Ltd (SMX), -$0.03 (0.6%) to $4.99 on volume of 81.4 thousand shares; and
• Computershare Ltd (CPU), -$0.04 (0.51%) to $7.75 on volume of 1.7 million shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Telecommunications (XTJ), which slid 6.8 points (0.6%) to 1133.1 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 44.99m units; The 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 42.1m units, – none of the index components ended with a gain. The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Telecom Corporation Of New Zealand Ltd (TEL), -$0.03 (1.52%) to $1.62 on volume of 5.2 million shares; and
• Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS), -$0.02 (0.6%) to $3.32 on volume of 36.9 million shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), which slid 6.5 points (0.53%) to 1218.6 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 26.26m units; The 12 decliners had volume traded totalling 20.15m units, and 7 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 4.41m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Fairfax Media Ltd (FXJ), -$0.02 (2.63%) to $0.74 on volume of 5.2 million shares;
• APN News & Media Ltd (APN), -$0.02 (1.97%) to $0.75 on volume of 726.3 thousand shares;
• News Corporation Ltd (NWS), -$0.37 (1.96%) to $18.46 on volume of 1.9 million shares;
• Flight Centre Ltd (FLT), -$0.32 (1.65%) to $19.12 on volume of 284.9 thousand shares; and
• Harvey Norman Hldgs Ltd (HVN), -$0.03 (1.48%) to $2.00 on volume of 1.4 million shares.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Leading Indicators for December 2012 was released in the US; the result was 0.4% adding 0.2 from the prior reading of 0.2% , which was lower than expectations of 0.7%.
• Kansas City Fed Manf. Activity for January 2012 was released in the US; the result was 7 gaining 9 from the prior reading of -2 – above the market's pre-release guess of 2.
• EIA Natural Gas Storage Change for January 20 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -192 declining 105 compared to the last data point (-87) , which was lower than expectations of -175.
• Initial Jobless Claims for January 21 2012 was released in the US; the result was 377K gaining 21 from the prior reading of 356K – above the consensus estimate of 370K.
• Continuing Claims for January 14 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 3554K an increase of 88 from the prior reading of 3466K – above expectations of 3500K.
• Cap Goods Orders Nondef Ex Air for December 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 2.9% gaining 4.1 from the prior reading of -1.2% – above expectations of 1.0%.
• Durables Ex Transportation for December 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 2.1% a gain of 1.6 from the prior reading of 0.5% – above the market's pre-release guess of 0.9%.
• Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index for December 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 0.17 a gain of 0.63 from the prior reading of -0.46 – above the market's pre-release guess of -0.10.
• New Home Sales m/m for December 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of -2.2% sliding 4.5 compared to the last data point (2.3%) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 1.9%.
• New Home Sales for December 2012 was released in the US; the result was 307K sliding 7 compared to the last data point (314K) , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of 321K.
• Cap Goods Shipments Nondef Ex Air for December 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 2.9% an increase of 3.9 from the prior reading of -1.0% – above the consensus estimate of 1.0%.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 28.73 points (0.23%) to 12,728.23 points. The index high of the session was 12,841.87, set about a minute before 11 a.m. New York time; the low at 12,695.54 was set half an hour before the end of the session.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 795.01m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 4 to one, with 24 decliners to 6 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 689.16m to 105.85m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• AT&T (T) -0.76 (2.5%) to $29.45 on volume of 55.94m shares;
• Caterpillar (CAT) +2.26 (2.1%) to $111.31 on volume of 18.49m shares;
• Citigroup (C) +0.42 (1.4%) to $30.38 on volume of 50.42m shares;
• 3M Co (MMM) +1.1 (1.3%) to $87.58 on volume of 4.85m shares; and
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.33 (1.2%) to $27.99 on volume of 11.38m shares.

The S&P500 Index dropped 7.6 points (0.57%) to 1318.45 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.33bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2.4 to one, with 313 decliners to 133 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 2.52bn to 761.5m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) -1.37 (14.6%) to $7.99 on volume of 34.06m shares;
• SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) -5.952 (11.4%) to $46.39 on volume of 31m shares;
• Range Resources Corp. (RRC) -3.94 (6.6%) to $55.92 on volume of 4.38m shares;
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK) -1.48 (6.3%) to $21.9 on volume of 29.6m shares; and
• MGIC Investment (MTG) -0.26 (6.3%) to $3.87 on volume of 7.6m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite dipped 13.03 points (0.46%) to 2805.28 points. while the Nasdaq100 lost 11.03 points (0.45%) to 2454.63 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 709.32m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2.5 to one, with 63 decliners to 25 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 459.4m to 122.46m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Logitech International (LOGI) -0.98 (12%) to $7.2 on volume of 1.82m shares;
• SanDisk (SNDK) -5.952 (11.4%) to $46.39 on volume of 31m shares;
• Leap Wireless International (LEAP) -0.49 (5%) to $9.25 on volume of 1.32m shares;
• Citrix Systems (CTXS) -2.61 (3.9%) to $65 on volume of 6.06m shares; and
• Apollo Group (APOL) -1.63 (2.9%) to $54.34 on volume of 1.46m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index advanced +0.26 points (1.42%) to 18.57 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index added +0.19 points (0.98%) to 19.55 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3178 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4.52bn shares. A total of 1513 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.52bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1571 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 2.96bn shares. 245 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 9 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2627 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 2.01bn shares. A total of 1140 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.64bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1372 losers, and total declining volume was 1.22bn shares. 98 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 13 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Caterpillar (CAT) +2.26 (2.1%) to $111.31 on volume of 18.5m units
• 3M Co (MMM) +1.1 (1.3%) to $87.58 on volume of 4.8m units
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +0.48 (0.7%) to $65.7 on volume of 12.5m units
• Du Pont (DD) +0.35 (0.7%) to $50.94 on volume of 7.3m units
• Merck (MRK) +0.1 (0.3%) to $38.78 on volume of 12.4m units

Dow Duds:

• AT&T (T) -0.76 (2.5%) to $29.45 on volume of 55.9m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.33 (1.2%) to $27.99 on volume of 11.4m units
• Alcoa (AA) -0.12 (1.1%) to $10.36 on volume of 27.1m units
• Chevron (CVX) -1.14 (1.1%) to $106.59 on volume of 7m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.35 (0.9%) to $37.34 on volume of 16.7m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC)-0.05 (0.7%) to $7.3 on volume of 264.1m units
• AT&T (T)-0.76 (2.5%) to $29.45 on volume of 55.9m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.06 (0.2%) to $29.5 on volume of 48.9m units
• Intel (INTC)-0.15 (0.6%) to $26.75 on volume of 44.5m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.06 (0.3%) to $19.07 on volume of 42.3m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) advanced 2.23 points (1.13%) to 199.93 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 119.75m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 7 to one, with 14 advancers to 2 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 114.63m to 5.12m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Royal Gold (RGLD) +2.23 (3.1%) to $74.02 on volume of 1.5m shares;
• GoldCorp (GG) +1.16 (2.4%) to $48.61 on volume of 9.05m shares;
• Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) +0.22 (1.3%) to $16.56 on volume of 4.43m shares;
• AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +0.59 (1.3%) to $45.06 on volume of 2.08m shares; and
• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.14 (1.2%) to $11.41 on volume of 19.37m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) dropped 3.02 points (1.26%) to 236.66 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 86.78m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 11 to one, with 11 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 77.07m to 9.71m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Cameron International (CAM) -1.25 (2.3%) to $52.95 on volume of 3.7m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) -0.36 (2%) to $17.48 on volume of 14.1m shares;
• Oceaneering International (OII) -0.88 (1.8%) to $47.1 on volume of 0.65m shares;
• Rowan Co (RDC) -0.62 (1.7%) to $34.82 on volume of 1.77m shares; and
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) -1.21 (1.6%) to $75.99 on volume of 3.69m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.06 (0.31%) to $19.07 on volume of 42.33m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.42 (1.4%) to $30.38 on volume of 50.42m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.5 (0.81%) to $60.97 on volume of 7.33m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.75 (0.39%) to $190.98 on volume of 3.97m units.
• Intel (INTC) -0.15 (0.56%) to $26.75 on volume of 44.52m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0 (0%) to $19.83 on volume of 36.6m units.
• Google (GOOG) -1.39 (0.24%) to $568.10 on volume of 3.21m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) declined 0.97 points (2.23%) to 42.56 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 589.78m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 9 to one, with 18 decliners to 2 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 529.59m to 52.92m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Zions Bancorp (ZION) -0.94 (5.4%) to $16.58 on volume of 8.96m shares;
• Suntrust Banks (STI) -1.12 (5.2%) to $20.5 on volume of 12.16m shares;
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) -0.3 (5.1%) to $5.64 on volume of 24.09m shares;
• Comerica Inc (CMA) -1.3 (4.5%) to $27.89 on volume of 8.03m shares; and
• Keycorp (KEY) -0.36 (4.4%) to $7.88 on volume of 23.33m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) slid 4.51 points (1.08%) to 411.94 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 244.07m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.7 to one, with 10 decliners to 6 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 169.22m to 74.85m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Sandisk (SNDK) -5.952 (11.4%) to $46.39 on volume of 31m shares;
• Micron Technology (MU) -0.31 (3.9%) to $7.55 on volume of 42.14m shares;
• Novellus Systems (NVLS) -1.33 (2.8%) to $46.8 on volume of 3.73m shares;
• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) -0.98 (1.9%) to $50.26 on volume of 3.74m shares; and
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) -0.26 (1.6%) to $15.76 on volume of 11.31m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) dropped 3.63 points (0.95%) to 376.92 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 68.27m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 6.5 to one, with 13 decliners to 2 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 61.31m to 6.76m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Alliant Tech (ATK) -1.32 (2.2%) to $58.39 on volume of 0.3m shares;
• Teledyne Tech (TDY) -1.2 (2.1%) to $56.18 on volume of 0.29m shares;
• Rockwell Collins (COL) -1.03 (1.7%) to $58.62 on volume of 1.05m shares;
• FLIRr Systems (FLIR) -0.39 (1.5%) to $26.1 on volume of 0.63m shares; and
• Esterline Tech (ESL) -0.86 (1.4%) to $60.99 on volume of 0.08m shares.

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Teranet/National Bank HPI m/m for November 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was -0.2% dropping 0.2 compared to the last data point (0.0%) , in line with the market's pre-release guess of -0.2%.
• Teranet/National Bank HPI y/y for November 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 7.1% rising 0.1 from the prior reading of 7.0% , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 7.3%.
• Teranet/National Bank HPI Index for November 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was 149.11 losing 0.35 compared to the last data point (149.46)
• House Price Index m/m for November 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 1.0% gaining 1.7 from the prior reading of -0.7% – above expectations of 0.0%.
• DOE U.S. Distillate Inventory for January 20 2012 was released in the US; the result was -2456K dropping 2894 compared to the last data point (438K) , which was lower than expectations of -125K.
• DOE U.S. Crude Oil Inventories for January 20 2012 was released in the US; the result was 3558K advancing 6996 from the prior reading of -3438K – above expectations of 1450K.
• DOE Cushing OK Crude Inventory for January 20 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was 374K gaining 1206 from the prior reading of -832K
• MBA Mortgage Applications for January 20 2012 was released in the US; the outcome was -5.0% dropping 28.1 compared to the last data point (23.1%)
• Pending Home Sales y/y for December 2012 was released in the US; the result was 4.4% falling 2.5 compared to the last data point (6.9%)
• Pending Home Sales m/m for December 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of -3.5% losing 10.8 compared to the last data point (7.3%) , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of -1.0%.
• DOE U.S. Gasoline Inventories for January 20 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 2000K a drop of 1717 compared to the last data point (3717K) – above expectations of -390K.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 83.10 points (0.66%) to close at 12,758.85 points. The index low for the day – yet again, set at the end of the first half hour – was 12,580.20; the market rallied consistently from then on, with the high registered within 15 minutes of the close, at 12,778.26 points.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 778.82m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.3 to one, with 23 advancers to 7 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 687.09m to 91.73m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Caterpillar (CAT) +2.76 (2.6%) to $109.05 on volume of 10.57m shares;
• Du Pont (DD) +1.18 (2.4%) to $50.59 on volume of 8.12m shares;
• Alcoa (AA) +0.21 (2%) to $10.48 on volume of 30.1m shares;
• American Express (AXP) +0.94 (1.9%) to $50.17 on volume of 6.65m shares; and
• General Electric (GE) +0.29 (1.5%) to $19.13 on volume of 50.9m shares.

The S&P500 Index rose +11.41 points (0.87%) to 1326.06 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.26bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.6 to one, with 352 advancers to 98 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 2.39bn to 831.79m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Textron Inc. (TXT) +3.15 (14.6%) to $24.76 on volume of 17.84m shares;
• CAInc. (CA) +2.21 (9.7%) to $25.03 on volume of 19.12m shares;
• Terex Corp." (TEX) +1.67 (8.7%) to $20.97 on volume of 6.63m shares;
• AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS) +0.75 (8.1%) to $10.04 on volume of 13.66m shares; and
• Apple Inc. (AAPL) +26.25 (6.2%) to $446.66 on volume of 34.09m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite added +31.67 points (1.14%) to 2818.31 points. while the Nasdaq100 advanced +31.70 points (1.3%) to 2465.66 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 757.29m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.2 to one, with 68 advancers to 21 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 580.83m to 137.4m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• CA Inc (CA) +2.21 (9.7%) to $25.03 on volume of 19.12m shares;
• Research in Motion (RIMM) +1.29 (8.6%) to $16.3 on volume of 45.96m shares;
• Apple (AAPL) +26.25 (6.2%) to $446.66 on volume of 34.09m shares;
• NII Holdings (NIHD) +1.055 (5.6%) to $19.98 on volume of 4.32m shares; and
• Level 3 Communications (LVLT) +0.93 (4.9%) to $19.81 on volume of 2.76m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index declined 0.6 points (3.17%) to 18.31 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index fell 0.38 points (1.93%) to 19.36 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3193 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 4.41bn shares. A total of 2370 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 3.37bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 727 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 0.96bn shares. 157 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 10 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2640 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.91bn shares. A total of 1674 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.34bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 854 losers, and total declining volume was 0.51bn shares. 95 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 12 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Caterpillar (CAT) +2.76 (2.6%) to $109.05 on volume of 10.6m units
• Du Pont (DD) +1.18 (2.4%) to $50.59 on volume of 8.1m units
• Alcoa (AA) +0.21 (2%) to $10.48 on volume of 30.1m units
• American Express (AXP) +0.94 (1.9%) to $50.17 on volume of 6.6m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.29 (1.5%) to $19.13 on volume of 50.9m units

Dow Duds:

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.195 (0.7%) to $28.33 on volume of 12.7m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.1 (0.3%) to $37.69 on volume of 18.8m units
• Merck (MRK) -0.1 (0.3%) to $38.68 on volume of 14.4m units
• United Technologies (UTX) -0.13 (0.2%) to $77.65 on volume of 7.1m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.06 (0.2%) to $37.6 on volume of 29.5m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.06 (0.8%) to $7.35 on volume of 247.2m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.22 (0.7%) to $29.56 on volume of 58.9m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.005 (0%) to $26.9 on volume of 54.6m units
• General Electric (GE) +0.29 (1.5%) to $19.13 on volume of 50.9m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.06 (0.3%) to $21.72 on volume of 34.7m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) gained 11.36 points (6.1%) to 197.7 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 133.97m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 16 of the 16 index components rose, with total upside volume of 133.97mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +1.5 (9.8%) to $16.79 on volume of 2.19m shares;
• Yamana Gold (AUY) +1.51 (9.8%) to $16.92 on volume of 14.86m shares;
• Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) +3.11 (9%) to $37.58 on volume of 2.71m shares;
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) +2.55 (8%) to $34.48 on volume of 10.93m shares; and
• GoldCorp (GG) +3.07 (6.9%) to $47.45 on volume of 10.14m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) added 3.92 points (1.66%) to 239.68 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 85.66m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 12 of the 15 index components rose, with total upside volume of 85.66mshares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Transocean Inc (RIG) +1.53 (3.3%) to $47.36 on volume of 7.73m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.47 (2.7%) to $17.84 on volume of 7.1m shares;
• Rowan Co (RDC) +0.88 (2.5%) to $35.44 on volume of 1.68m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) +1.6 (2.1%) to $76.19 on volume of 10.4m shares; and
• Cameron International (CAM) +1.13 (2.1%) to $54.2 on volume of 3.26m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers declined on average by 0%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) +0.29 (1.54%) to $19.13 on volume of 50.9m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.06 (0.2%) to $29.96 on volume of 38.95m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.08 (0.13%) to $61.47 on volume of 5.84m units.
• IBM (IBM) -0.18 (0.09%) to $191.75 on volume of 3.96m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.005 (0.02%) to $26.90 on volume of 54.63m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.015 (0.08%) to $19.83 on volume of 37.02m units.
• Google (GOOG) -11.44 (1.97%) to $569.49 on volume of 4.97m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) rose 0.06 points (0.14%) to 43.53 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 512.95m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.6 to one, with 13 advancers to 8 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 400.34m to 112.61m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.37 (2.2%) to $17.52 on volume of 5.2m shares;
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) +0.125 (2.1%) to $5.94 on volume of 17.73m shares;
• Regions Financial (RF) +0.09 (1.7%) to $5.32 on volume of 27.35m shares;
• Suntrust Banks (STI) +0.33 (1.6%) to $21.62 on volume of 9.67m shares; and
• Keycorp (KEY) +0.11 (1.4%) to $8.24 on volume of 19.65m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) rose 1.91 points (0.46%) to 416.45 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 230.31m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.2 to one, with 11 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 182.25m to 48.06m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.2 (3.1%) to $6.73 on volume of 36.72m shares;
• Sandisk (SNDK) +1.152 (2.3%) to $52.342 on volume of 7.67m shares;
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.27 (1.7%) to $16.02 on volume of 12.81m shares;
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) +0.23 (1.7%) to $14.16 on volume of 8.93m shares; and
• Broadcom (BRCM) +0.57 (1.6%) to $35.79 on volume of 16.89m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) advanced 1.05 points (0.28%) to 380.55 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 90.95m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 10 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 77.13m to 13.81m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• ITT Corporation (ITT) +0.38 (1.8%) to $21.52 on volume of 1.13m shares;
• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +0.44 (1.6%) to $27.83 on volume of 1.48m shares;
• Teledyne Tech (TDY) +0.88 (1.6%) to $57.38 on volume of 0.13m shares;
• General Electric (GE) +0.29 (1.5%) to $19.13 on volume of 50.9m shares; and
• Rockwell Collins (COL) +0.39 (0.7%) to $59.65 on volume of 1.35m shares.

All Ords posts solid 1.00% gain; volume above average and breadth favours the gainers by 2.3:1: sector indices mixed. The NZSE50 closed with a gain of 0.4% for the day. In Japan, the Nikkei225 has added 1.1% so far; Hong Kong's Hang Seng is showing a 0.8% gain.The KOSPI has added 0.1% for the session thus far.

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Consumer Prices Index q/q for December 2012 was released in Australia; the result was 0.0% dropping 0.6 from the prior reading of 0.6% – less than the consensus estimate of 0.2%.
• Consumer Prices Index RBA Trimmed Mean q/q for December 2012 was released in Australia; the result was 0.6% advancing 0.2 from the prior reading of 0.4% – above expectations of 0.5%.
• Consumer Prices Index RBA Trimmed Mean y/y for December 2012 was released in Australia; the result was 2.6% rising 0.2 from the prior reading of 2.4% – above the consensus estimate of 2.4%.
• Consumer Prices Index RBA Weighted Median q/q for December 2012 was released in Australia; the outcome was 0.5% gaining 0.1 from the prior reading of 0.4% – less than the consensus estimate of 0.5%.
• Consumer Prices Index RBA Weighted Median y/y for December 2012 was released in Australia; the series posted a reading of 2.6% dropping 0.1 from the prior reading of 2.7% – above the consensus estimate of 2.4%.
• Consumer Prices Index y/y for December 2012 was released in Australia; the series posted a reading of 3.1% a decline of 0.4 from the prior reading of 3.5% – less than the market's pre-release guess of 3.3%.
• DEWR Internet Skilled Vacancies m/m for December 2012 was released in Australia; the result was -1.1% gaining 0.3 from the prior reading of -1.4%
• Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index for December 2012 was released in New Zealand; the result was 51.9 an increase of 5.9 from the prior reading of 46.0
• Credit Card Spending s.a. m/m for December 2012 was released in New Zealand; the result was 0.9% rising 5.1 from the prior reading of -4.2%
• Credit Card Spending y/y for December 2012 was released in New Zealand; the outcome was 5.9% rising 2.9 from the prior reading of 3.0%

Major Market Indices

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – rose strongly, registering a gain of 42.7 points (1.00%), finishing at 4329.1 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4329.5 at 2:09 pm, while the low for the day was 4310.3 – set at 12:10 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.63bn units, 9% above its 10-day average of 1.5bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1232 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 466 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 812.5m units; there were 420 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 451m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 178 rose while 130 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 2.3:1, with 524.45m shares traded in gainers while 22946m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – managed a solid gain, adding 47.1 points (1.12%), closing out the session at 4271.3 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4329.10	42.70 (1.0%)
ASX 20	2574.50	38.60 (1.5%)
ASX 50	4281.90	53.90 (1.3%)
ASX 100	3486.90	40.40 (1.2%)
ASX 200	4271.30	47.10 (1.1%)
ASX 300	4267.60	46.30 (1.1%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	3791.80	12.80 (0.3%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2367.70	7.00 (0.3%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – performed solidly, in moving up 38.6 points (1.52%), closing out the session at 2574.5 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 19 index components finished to the upside, and 0 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 451.76m units; 19 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 197.98m shares, – none of the index components fell. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.72 (3.5%) to $21.30 on volume of 26.9 million shares;
• Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.23 (2.78%) to $8.49 on volume of 9.1 million shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), +$1.20 (2.41%) to $51.00 on volume of 14.3 million shares;
• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), +$0.57 (2.28%) to $25.57 on volume of 3.3 million shares; and
• ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.47 (2.24%) to $21.42 on volume of 12.1 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market significantly underperformed its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords advanced by under a percent, adding 7 points (0.30%), closing out the session at 2367.7 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 88 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 61 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 351.84m units: volume in the 88 gainers totalling 192.63m shares, with trade totalling 70.23m units in the index's 61 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• APN European Retail Prop Group (AEZ), +$0.00 (33.33%) to $0.00 on volume of 8.9 million shares;
• Apex Minerals NL (AXM), +$0.00 (20%) to $0.01 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
• Alliance Resources Ltd (AGS), +$0.03 (7.35%) to $0.37 on volume of 5.4 million shares;
• Kagara Zinc Ltd (KZL), +$0.03 (7.35%) to $0.37 on volume of 5.6 million shares; and
• Alesco Corp (ALS), +$0.09 (7.33%) to $1.25 on volume of 1 million shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• HFA Holdings (HFA), -$0.05 (5.88%) to $0.80 on volume of 21.2 thousand shares;
• Mirabela Nickel Ltd (MBN), -$0.06 (5.69%) to $1.00 on volume of 5.6 million shares;
• Mintails (MLI), -$0.01 (5.26%) to $0.09 on volume of 315.5 thousand shares;
• Atlas Iron Ltd (AGO), -$0.14 (4.29%) to $3.12 on volume of 13.6 million shares; and
• Elders Ltd (ELD), -$0.01 (4%) to $0.24 on volume of 405.3 thousand shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, 9 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 2 lost ground.

The best performing index was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which added 103.4 points (2.26%) to 4673.3 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 99.75m units; 15 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 90.62m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.39m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), +$0.72 (3.5%) to $21.30 on volume of 26.9 million shares;
• Ioof Hldgs Ltd (IFL), +$0.15 (2.75%) to $5.60 on volume of 442.1 thousand shares;
• Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), +$1.20 (2.41%) to $51.00 on volume of 14.3 million shares;
• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), +$0.57 (2.28%) to $25.57 on volume of 3.3 million shares; and
• ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), +$0.47 (2.24%) to $21.42 on volume of 12.1 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Property Trusts (XPJ), which gained 10 points (1.23%) to 821.1 points. The 16 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 96.46m units; 10 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 57.9m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 36.9m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.23 (2.78%) to $8.49 on volume of 9.1 million shares;
• Commonwealth Property Office (CPA), +$0.02 (2.08%) to $0.98 on volume of 11.5 million shares;
• CFS Retail Property Trust (CFX), +$0.03 (1.47%) to $1.73 on volume of 6 million shares;
• Abacus Property Group (ABP), +$0.02 (1.1%) to $1.84 on volume of 114.1 thousand shares; and
• Astro Japan Property Group (AJA), +$0.02 (0.98%) to $2.06 on volume of 12.8 thousand shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Industrials (XNJ), which climbed 38.5 points (1.1%) to 3544 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 52.8m units; 15 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 30.61m shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 5m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Alesco Corp (ALS), +$0.09 (7.33%) to $1.25 on volume of 1 million shares;
• Boart Longyear Ltd (BLY), +$0.17 (4.89%) to $3.65 on volume of 5.3 million shares;
• Macmahon Holdings Ltd (MAH), +$0.03 (3.88%) to $0.67 on volume of 3.4 million shares;
• Bradken Ltd (BKN), +$0.18 (2.39%) to $7.70 on volume of 647.5 thousand shares; and
• Downer EDI Ltd (DOW), +$0.08 (2.23%) to $3.66 on volume of 806.3 thousand shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Utilities (XUJ), which dipped 5.7 points (0.12%) to 4629.2 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 16.11m units; The 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 7.41m units, and 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 7.81m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• APA Group (APA), -$0.05 (1.08%) to $4.58 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
• Spark Infrastructure Trust (SKI), -$0.01 (0.74%) to $1.35 on volume of 5 million shares;
• Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC), -$0.01 (0.68%) to $0.74 on volume of 278.4 thousand shares; and
• AGL Energy Ltd (AGK), -$0.01 (0.07%) to $14.56 on volume of 1.1 million shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), which slid 0.1 points (0.01%) to 1225.1 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 32.4m units; The 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.63m units, and 10 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 20.74m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ALL), -$0.1 (3.79%) to $2.54 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
• Jb Hi-Fi (JBH), -$0.33 (2.75%) to $11.69 on volume of 1 million shares;
• Wotif.com Holdings (WTF), -$0.07 (1.83%) to $3.76 on volume of 491.8 thousand shares;
• Harvey Norman Hldgs Ltd (HVN), -$0.01 (0.49%) to $2.03 on volume of 2 million shares; and
• Consolidated Media Holdings (CMJ), -$0.01 (0.37%) to $2.70 on volume of 70.3 thousand shares.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

• Retail Sales Less Autos m/m for November 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was 0.3% a drop of 0.3 compared to the last data point (0.6%) – above expectations of 0.1%.
• Retail Sales m/m for November 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 0.3% declining 0.6 compared to the last data point (0.9%) – above the market's pre-release guess of 0.2%.
• Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for January 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 12 advancing 9 from the prior reading of 3 – above the consensus estimate of 6.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 33.07 points (0.26%) to 12,675.75 points. The index high for the day was 12,708.52, and was set just after 11:45a.m. NY time, less than an hour after the low (12,613.76) which was set bang-on 11 a.m. NY time.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 696.06m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.5 to one, with 16 decliners to 11 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 391.02m shares to 258.25m. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• McDonalds (MCD) -2.2 (2.2%) to $98.75 on volume of 11.62m shares;
• Verizon (VZ) -0.61 (1.6%) to $37.79 on volume of 29.46m shares;
• Microsoft (MSFT) -0.39 (1.3%) to $29.34 on volume of 51.22m shares;
• United Technologies (UTX) +0.92 (1.2%) to $77.78 on volume of 5.59m shares; and
• IBM (IBM) +1.95 (1%) to $191.93 on volume of 5.31m shares.
•  

The S&P500 Index slid 1.37 points (0.1%) to 1314.63 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.68bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.2 to one, with 239 advancers to 204 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.52bn to 1.09bn shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Zions Bancorp (ZION) -1.4 (7.5%) to $17.15 on volume of 10.03m shares;
• The Travelers CompaniesInc. (TRV) -2.29 (3.8%) to $58 on volume of 6.63m shares;
• CSX Corp. (CSX) -0.84 (3.7%) to $21.85 on volume of 24.36m shares;
• Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) -0.08 (3.6%) to $2.17 on volume of 53.52m shares; and
• Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) -1.61 (3.4%) to $45.78 on volume of 3.94m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced +2.47 points (0.09%) to 2786.64 points. while the Nasdaq100 slid 3.26 points (0.13%) to 2433.96 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 581.07m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.1 to one, with 61 advancers to 29 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 312.05m to 269.02m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Research in Motion (RIMM) -0.55 (3.5%) to $15.01 on volume of 36.14m shares;
• Sears Holdings (SHLD) -1.61 (3.4%) to $45.78 on volume of 3.94m shares;
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) -0.87 (2.4%) to $34.99 on volume of 3.21m shares;
• NII Holdings (NIHD) -0.445 (2.3%) to $18.925 on volume of 3.98m shares; and
• Baidu.com (BIDU) -2.18 (1.8%) to $121.75 on volume of 4.82m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index gained +0.24 points (1.29%) to 18.91 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index gained +0.32 points (1.65%) to 19.74 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3170 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 3.67bn shares. A total of 1648 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 1.96bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1411 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.63bn shares. 98 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 11 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2623 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.6bn shares. A total of 1490 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.86bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 998 losers, and total declining volume was 0.71bn shares. 56 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 16 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• United Technologies (UTX) +0.92 (1.2%) to $77.78 on volume of 5.6m units
• IBM (IBM) +1.95 (1%) to $191.93 on volume of 5.3m units
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.48 (0.8%) to $61.39 on volume of 7.3m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.185 (0.7%) to $26.9 on volume of 55.9m units
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.04 (0.6%) to $7.29 on volume of 225.9m units

Dow Duds:

• McDonalds (MCD) -2.2 (2.2%) to $98.75 on volume of 11.6m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.61 (1.6%) to $37.79 on volume of 29.5m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) -0.39 (1.3%) to $29.34 on volume of 51.2m units
• AT&T (T) -0.31 (1%) to $30.09 on volume of 24.3m units
• Coca-Cola (KO) -0.63 (0.9%) to $67.9 on volume of 7.3m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.04 (0.6%) to $7.29 on volume of 225.9m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.185 (0.7%) to $26.9 on volume of 55.9m units
• Microsoft (MSFT)-0.39 (1.3%) to $29.34 on volume of 51.2m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.1 (0.5%) to $18.84 on volume of 39.6m units
• Verizon (VZ)-0.61 (1.6%) to $37.79 on volume of 29.5m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) fell 3.65 points (1.92%) to 186.34 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 71.7m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 15 to one, with 15 decliners to 1 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 56.84m to 14.86m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) -0.58 (3.7%) to $15.29 on volume of 1.05m shares;
• Barrick Gold (ABX) -1.47 (3.1%) to $45.48 on volume of 6.88m shares;
• Newmnt Mining (NEM) -1.78 (3%) to $57.48 on volume of 8.2m shares;
• Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) -1.02 (2.9%) to $34.47 on volume of 1.38m shares; and
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) -2.81 (2.6%) to $107.3 on volume of 0.34m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) rose 1.7 points (0.73%) to 235.76 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 91.8m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.7 to one, with 8 advancers to 3 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 66.69m to 21.8m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Halliburton (HAL) +0.92 (2.6%) to $36.36 on volume of 24.9m shares;
• Transocean Inc (RIG) +0.63 (1.4%) to $45.83 on volume of 16.54m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.19 (1.1%) to $17.37 on volume of 6.88m shares;
• Schlumberger (SLB) +0.43 (0.6%) to $74.59 on volume of 7.38m shares; and
• Noble Corp (NE) +0.18 (0.5%) to $34.55 on volume of 3.15m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.1 (0.53%) to $18.84 on volume of 39.59m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.05 (0.17%) to $29.90 on volume of 37.04m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.48 (0.79%) to $61.39 on volume of 7.33m units.
• IBM (IBM) +1.95 (1.03%) to $191.93 on volume of 5.31m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.185 (0.69%) to $26.895 on volume of 55.95m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.015 (0.08%) to $19.815 on volume of 30.65m units.
• Google (GOOG) -4.59 (0.78%) to $580.93 on volume of 3.01m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) dipped 0.13 points (0.3%) to 43.47 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 484.73m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.2 to one, with 11 decliners to 9 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 362.98m shares to 96.57m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Zions Bancorp (ZION) -1.4 (7.5%) to $17.15 on volume of 10.03m shares;
• Capital One Financial (COF) -1.05 (2.3%) to $45.04 on volume of 7.15m shares;
• Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) -0.4 (1.8%) to $21.24 on volume of 8.55m shares;
• Wells Fargo (WFC) -0.38 (1.2%) to $30.54 on volume of 28.05m shares; and
• State Street (STT) -0.48 (1.1%) to $41.31 on volume of 3.6m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) advanced 1.45 points (0.35%) to 414.54 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 223.24m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.2 to one, with 11 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 165.74m to 57.5m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Novellus Systems (NVLS) +1.45 (3.1%) to $47.97 on volume of 2.58m shares;
• Broadcom (BRCM) +0.755 (2.2%) to $35.22 on volume of 10.65m shares;
• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) +0.69 (1.4%) to $51.26 on volume of 3.19m shares;
• Teradyne (TER) +0.2 (1.2%) to $16.3 on volume of 7.04m shares; and
• Altera (ALTR) +0.44 (1.1%) to $40.12 on volume of 5.38m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) dipped 0.54 points (0.14%) to 379.5 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 60.8m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 3 to one, with 12 decliners to 4 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 53.59m to 7.21m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Alliant Tech (ATK) -0.68 (1.1%) to $61.3 on volume of 0.16m shares;
• Embraer Empresa (ERJ) -0.29 (1%) to $27.39 on volume of 0.81m shares;
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -0.49 (0.8%) to $60 on volume of 1.44m shares;
• ITT Corporation (ITT) -0.15 (0.7%) to $21.14 on volume of 0.88m shares; and
• General Dynamics (GD) -0.4 (0.6%) to $71.34 on volume of 1.89m shares.

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Bank of Japan Rate Decision for January 24 2012 was released in Japan; the result was 0.10% losing 0 from the prior reading of 0.10% – less than the market's pre-release guess of 0.10%.

Major Market Indices

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – declined gently, dropping 1.2 points (0.03%), finishing at 4286.4 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4306.3 at 11:42 am, while the low for the day was 4282.2 – set at 3:54 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.62bn units, 9% above its 10-day average of 1.49bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1232 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 450 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 609.4m units; there were 454 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 560m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 154 rose while 158 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.1:1, with 297.1m shares traded in gainers while 262.47m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – fell mildly, losing 0.9 points (0.02%), closing out the session at 4224.2 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4286.40	-1.20 (0.0%)
ASX 20	2535.90	2.40 (0.1%)
ASX 50	4228.00	3.00 (0.1%)
ASX 100	3446.50	0.80 (0.0%)
ASX 200	4224.20	-0.90 (0.0%)
ASX 300	4221.30	-0.70 (0.0%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	3779.00	-14.90 (0.4%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2360.70	-9.50 (0.4%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – advanced by under a percent, adding 2.4 points (0.09%), closing out the session at 2535.9 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 13 index components finished to the upside, and 7 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 357.01m units; 13 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 83.41m shares, while the 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 26.91m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM), +$0.64 (1.99%) to $32.84 on volume of 3.6 million shares;
• Stockland (SGP), +$0.03 (0.9%) to $3.38 on volume of 6.3 million shares;
• QBE Insurance Group Ltd (QBE), +$0.09 (0.78%) to $11.61 on volume of 6.5 million shares;
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL), +$0.25 (0.74%) to $33.95 on volume of 1.7 million shares; and
• Westfield Group (WDC), +$0.06 (0.73%) to $8.26 on volume of 8.2 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• CSL Ltd (CSL), -$0.69 (2.21%) to $30.56 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
• AMP Ltd (AMP), -$0.03 (0.7%) to $4.24 on volume of 5.2 million shares;
• National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), -$0.13 (0.55%) to $23.72 on volume of 4.6 million shares;
• BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP), -$0.16 (0.43%) to $37.08 on volume of 8.3 million shares; and
• Woolworths Ltd (WOW), -$0.04 (0.16%) to $24.69 on volume of 2.3 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) swam in the opposite direction to the big fish today. lost ground even as the Top20 posted a gain. The Small Ords slid modestly, falling 9.5 points (0.4%), closing out the session at 2360.7 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 65 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 81 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 242m units: volume in the 65 gainers totalling 71.8m shares, with trade totalling 84.93m units in the index's 81 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• APN European Retail Prop Group (AEZ), +$0.00 (50%) to $0.00 on volume of 9.4 million shares;
• Arafura Resources Ltd (ARU), +$0.04 (9.09%) to $0.48 on volume of 32 million shares;
• Citigold Corp Ltd (CTO), +$0.01 (7.23%) to $0.09 on volume of 1.2 million shares;
• Mintails (MLI), +$0.01 (5.56%) to $0.10 on volume of 24 thousand shares; and
• Alesco Corp (ALS), +$0.06 (4.98%) to $1.16 on volume of 232.7 thousand shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• Mirabela Nickel Ltd (MBN), -$0.16 (13.17%) to $1.06 on volume of 8.6 million shares;
• Photon Group (PGA), -$0 (7.27%) to $0.05 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
• Carbon Energy Ltd (CNX), -$0.01 (6%) to $0.09 on volume of 779.1 thousand shares;
• Carbon Energy Ltd (CNX), -$0.01 (6%) to $0.09 on volume of 779.1 thousand shares; and
• Service Stream Ltd (SSM), -$0.02 (5.97%) to $0.32 on volume of 101.2 thousand shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, it was pretty much even stevens, with a very slight lead to the duds… the 5 that had an "up" day were just shaded by the remaining 6 which didn't.

The best performing index was Property Trusts (XPJ), which added 6.1 points (0.76%) to 811.1 points. The 16 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 101.4m units; 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 85.25m shares, while the 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 9.35m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• CFS Retail Property Trust (CFX), +$0.05 (2.72%) to $1.70 on volume of 7 million shares;
• Commonwealth Property Office (CPA), +$0.01 (1.05%) to $0.96 on volume of 5.4 million shares;
• Stockland (SGP), +$0.03 (0.9%) to $3.38 on volume of 6.3 million shares;
• Mirvac Group (MGR), +$0.01 (0.81%) to $1.24 on volume of 7.1 million shares; and
• ING Office Fund (IOF), +$0.01 (0.79%) to $0.64 on volume of 6.4 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Energy (XEJ), which gained 66.4 points (0.48%) to 13823.5 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 71.49m units; 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 33.66m shares, while the 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 13.94m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• OIL Search Ltd (OSH), +$0.18 (2.7%) to $6.84 on volume of 5.6 million shares;
• Australian Worldwide Explorat (AWE), +$0.03 (2.06%) to $1.49 on volume of 5.1 million shares;
• Paladin Energy Ltd (PDN), +$0.03 (1.38%) to $1.84 on volume of 11 million shares;
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL), +$0.25 (0.74%) to $33.95 on volume of 1.7 million shares; and
• Beach Petroleum Ltd (BPT), +$0.01 (0.67%) to $1.50 on volume of 5 million shares.

The bronze medal for today goes to Telecommunications (XTJ), which climbed 3.3 points (0.29%) to 1136.1 points. This index only contains 3 stocks; they traded a total of 37.09m units today. The lone rising index component had volume amounting to 30.43m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.66m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS), +$0.01 (0.3%) to $3.33 on volume of 30.4 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Healthcare (XHJ), which dipped 79.8 points (1.01%) to 7811.9 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 7.46m units; The 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 3.82m units, and 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 3.64m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SIP), -$0.03 (4.88%) to $0.59 on volume of 709.9 thousand shares;
• CSL Ltd (CSL), -$0.69 (2.21%) to $30.56 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
• Ramsay Health Care Ltd (RHC), -$0.33 (1.73%) to $18.73 on volume of 332.7 thousand shares; and
• Ansell Ltd (ANN), -$0.04 (0.27%) to $14.92 on volume of 208.1 thousand shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Information Technology (XIJ), which slid 2.8 points (0.56%) to 493.6 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 1.91m units; The 3 decliners had volume traded totalling 1.91m units, – none of the index components ended with a gain. The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Iress Market Technology Ltd (IRE), -$0.11 (1.55%) to $6.97 on volume of 146.4 thousand shares;
• SMS Management & Technology Ltd (SMX), -$0.03 (0.6%) to $5.01 on volume of 107.9 thousand shares; and
• Computershare Ltd (CPU), -$0.03 (0.38%) to $7.77 on volume of 1.7 million shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), which slid 6.6 points (0.54%) to 1225.2 points. The 23 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 42.83m units; The 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 25.93m units, and 8 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 5.24m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Billabong Intl Ltd (BBG), -$0.12 (6.05%) to $1.87 on volume of 2.1 million shares;
• David Jones Ltd (DJS), -$0.08 (3.31%) to $2.34 on volume of 6.9 million shares;
• Wotif.com Holdings (WTF), -$0.11 (2.79%) to $3.83 on volume of 214.3 thousand shares;
• Fairfax Media Ltd (FXJ), -$0.02 (1.97%) to $0.75 on volume of 10.1 million shares; and
• Invocare Ltd (IVC), -$0.13 (1.72%) to $7.43 on volume of 126.6 thousand shares.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

Note to the Faithful: the issues with the data for the Dow continue to plague the MentatSpace – the Mentat High Council is aware of the issue, and a contingency plan (possibly involving atomic monsters or a suicide squad of junior, expendable Mentats) is being formulated.

Bear in mind that we do not have the benefit of our own Sardaukar, so an all-out frontal assault by bad-ass armoured sociopaths wielding some sort of Death Ray… well, that is sadly not possible (Imagine if it was? Imagine the chicks we would get).

Did you see that? That prior paragraph was close to – but not actually – prefatory waffle.

I know, right? Mind… BLOWN.

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Leading Indicators m/m for December 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 0.8% falling 0.1 compared to the last data point (0.9%) – above the market's pre-release guess of 0.6%.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.66 points (0.09%) to 12708.82 points. The index high for the day was 12764 and change, set at the end of the first half-hour – while the low was 12,665.87 set an hour after the low (almost to the minute).

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 867.45m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.3 to one, with 17 decliners to 13 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 642.28m shares to 225.18m. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.18 (2.5%) to $7.25 on volume of 337.26m shares;
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.55 (2%) to $28.68 on volume of 22.1m shares;
• Procter & Gamble (PG) -1.23 (1.9%) to $65 on volume of 14.82m shares;
• Verizon (VZ) -0.57 (1.5%) to $38.4 on volume of 18.99m shares; and
• Intel (INTC) +0.33 (1.3%) to $26.71 on volume of 68.69m shares.

The S&P500 Index rose +0.62 points (0.05%) to 1316.00 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 2.8bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.1 to one, with 237 decliners to 207 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.5bn shares to 1.28bn. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Southwestern Energy (SWN) +3.03 (10.3%) to $32.46 on volume of 15.61m shares;
• Range Resources Corp. (RRC) +4.98 (9.2%) to $59 on volume of 6.35m shares;
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) +3.96 (6.5%) to $65.08 on volume of 6.94m shares;
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK) +1.32 (6.3%) to $22.28 on volume of 31.97m shares; and
• Noble EnergyInc (NBL) +5.89 (6.1%) to $102.21 on volume of 2.81m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 2.53 points (0.09%) to 2784.17 points. while the Nasdaq100 added +0.20 points (0.01%) to 2437.22 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 676.63m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.6 to one, with 53 decliners to 33 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 331.11m to 284.47m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) +0.44 (2.8%) to $15.97 on volume of 20.06m shares;
• NVIDIA (NVDA) +0.39 (2.7%) to $14.61 on volume of 13.5m shares;
• Logitech International (LOGI) +0.2 (2.5%) to $8.25 on volume of 0.7m shares;
• Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) +1.08 (2%) to $55.83 on volume of 1.77m shares; and
• Apple (AAPL) +7.109 (1.7%) to $427.409 on volume of 10.83m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index added +0.39 points (2.13%) to 18.67 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index advanced +0.45 points (2.37%) to 19.42 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3174 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 3.74bn shares. A total of 1790 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 2.24bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1289 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.47bn shares. 158 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 5 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2610 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.67bn shares. A total of 1107 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 0.74bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1349 losers, and total declining volume was 0.85bn shares. 54 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 9 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.

Dow Darlings

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.18 (2.5%) to $7.25 on volume of 337.3m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.55 (2%) to $28.68 on volume of 22.1m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.33 (1.3%) to $26.71 on volume of 68.7m units
• Home Depot (HD) +0.37 (0.8%) to $44.88 on volume of 13.7m units
• JPMorganChase (JPM) +0.3 (0.8%) to $37.66 on volume of 27.2m units

Dow Duds:

• Procter & Gamble (PG) -1.23 (1.9%) to $65 on volume of 14.8m units
• Verizon (VZ) -0.57 (1.5%) to $38.4 on volume of 19m units
• American Express (AXP) -0.6 (1.2%) to $49.44 on volume of 7.2m units
• Merck (MRK) -0.43 (1.1%) to $38.77 on volume of 13.4m units
• General Electric (GE) -0.21 (1.1%) to $18.94 on volume of 49.7m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.18 (2.5%) to $7.25 on volume of 337.3m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +0.02 (0.1%) to $29.73 on volume of 75.4m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.33 (1.3%) to $26.71 on volume of 68.7m units
• General Electric (GE)-0.21 (1.1%) to $18.94 on volume of 49.7m units
• Pfizer (PFE)-0.19 (0.9%) to $21.71 on volume of 32.7m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) rose 2.97 points (1.59%) to 189.99 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 81.53m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 7 to one, with 14 advancers to 2 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 69.46m to 12.07m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Kinroos Gold (KGC) +0.46 (4.5%) to $10.67 on volume of 13.3m shares;
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) +1.08 (3.4%) to $32.58 on volume of 7.23m shares;
• Yamana Gold (AUY) +0.4 (2.6%) to $15.74 on volume of 5.75m shares;
• Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +0.38 (2.5%) to $15.87 on volume of 1.23m shares; and
• Barrick Gold (ABX) +1.12 (2.4%) to $46.95 on volume of 9.69m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) advanced 0.14 points (0.06%) to 234.06 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 90.22m shares. Advancers and decliners were split evenly, 6 decliners to 6 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 63.55m to 26.67m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Tidewater (TDW) +0.91 (1.7%) to $54.59 on volume of 0.57m shares;
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) +1.18 (1.6%) to $75.98 on volume of 2.61m shares;
• Transocean Inc (RIG) +0.48 (1.1%) to $45.2 on volume of 5.56m shares;
• Nabors Industries (NBR) +0.17 (1%) to $17.18 on volume of 7.77m shares; and
• Rowan Co (RDC) +0.31 (0.9%) to $34.86 on volume of 1.38m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0.21 (1.1%) to $18.94 on volume of 49.69m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.21 (0.71%) to $29.85 on volume of 39.35m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.1 (0.16%) to $60.91 on volume of 6.98m units.
• IBM (IBM) +1.46 (0.77%) to $189.98 on volume of 5.72m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.33 (1.25%) to $26.71 on volume of 68.69m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) -0.09 (0.45%) to $19.83 on volume of 49.88m units.
• Google (GOOG) -0.47 (0.08%) to $585.52 on volume of 3.4m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) rose 0.1 points (0.23%) to 43.6 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 592.47m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 2.3 to one, with 14 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 521.87m to 67.17m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.18 (2.5%) to $7.25 on volume of 337.26m shares;
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) +0.23 (1.7%) to $13.4 on volume of 21.62m shares;
• Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) +0.36 (1.7%) to $21.64 on volume of 11.18m shares;
• Wells Fargo (WFC) +0.38 (1.2%) to $30.92 on volume of 34.68m shares; and
• Washington Mutual (WM) +0.36 (1.1%) to $34.31 on volume of 2.53m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) lost 1.25 points (0.3%) to 413.09 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 226.13m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.7 to one, with 10 decliners to 6 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 156.04m shares to 70.09m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Applied Materials (AMAT) -0.25 (2%) to $12.22 on volume of 18.78m shares;
• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) -0.93 (1.8%) to $50.57 on volume of 2.91m shares;
• Altera (ALTR) -0.67 (1.7%) to $39.68 on volume of 6.08m shares;
• Broadcom (BRCM) -0.535 (1.5%) to $34.465 on volume of 10m shares; and
• Texas Instruments (TXN) -0.45 (1.3%) to $33.19 on volume of 13.14m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) dropped 1.68 points (044%) to 380.04 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 69.79m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 4.3 to one, with 13 decliners to 3 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 65.11m to 4.68m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• ITT Corporation (ITT) -0.38 (1.8%) to $21.29 on volume of 1.38m shares;
• Northrop Grummanl (NOC) -0.9 (1.5%) to $60.49 on volume of 1.76m shares;
• Rockwell Collins (COL) -0.69 (1.2%) to $59.18 on volume of 0.95m shares;
• General Electric (GE) -0.21 (1.1%) to $18.94 on volume of 49.69m shares; and
• General Dynamics (GD) -0.73 (1%) to $71.74 on volume of 1.74m shares.

The following economic data was released during the session:

• Producer Price Index q/q for December 2012 was released in Australia; the outcome was 0.3% falling 0.3 from the prior reading of 0.6% – less than the consensus estimate of 0.4%.
• Producer Price Index y/y for December 2012 was released in Australia; the result was 2.9% adding 0.2 from the prior reading of 2.7% – less than the market's pre-release guess of 3.0%.
• Supermarket Sales y/y for December 2012 was released in Japan; the outcome was -0.6% a gain of 1.7 from the prior reading of -2.3%

Major Market Indices

The broad market – the All Ordinaries (XAO) – declined gently, dropping 15.4 points (0.36%), finishing at 4287.6 points. The index hit an intraday high of 4297.1 at 12:20 pm, while the low for the day was 4287.5 – set at 12:53 pm Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 1.3bn units, 12.5% below its 10-day average of 1.49bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 1188 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 420 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 549.2m units; there were 478 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 494.9m shares.

Of the 497 All Ordinaries components, 122 rose while 175 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the losers by a margin of 1.3:1, with 225.8m shares traded in gainers while 284.14m shares traded in the day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures – the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) – fell mildly, losing 14.5 points (0.34%), closing out the session at 4225.1 points.

Name	Close	+/-(%)
All Ordinaries	4287.60	-15.40 (0.4%)
ASX 20	2533.50	-9.30 (0.4%)
ASX 50	4225.00	-15.20 (0.4%)
ASX 100	3445.70	-12.70 (0.4%)
ASX 200	4225.10	-14.50 (0.3%)
ASX 300	4222.00	-14.80 (0.3%)
ASX Mid-Cap 50	3793.90	-16.50 (0.4%)
ASX Small Ordinaries	2370.20	-4.10 (0.2%)

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market – the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) – slid modestly, falling 9.3 points (0.37%), closing out the session at 2533.5 points.

Among the 20 big guns, 4 index components finished to the upside, and 16 lost ground. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 340.65m units; 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 19.33m shares, while the 16 decliners had volume traded totalling 74.63m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• QBE Insurance Group Ltd (QBE), +$0.23 (2.04%) to $11.52 on volume of 12.1 million shares;
• Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG), +$0.43 (1.76%) to $24.93 on volume of 2.8 million shares;
• RIO Tinto Ltd (RIO), +$0.36 (0.53%) to $67.89 on volume of 3.1 million shares; and
• Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), +$0.03 (0.1%) to $30.27 on volume of 1.3 million shares.

On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:

• Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.15 (1.8%) to $8.20 on volume of 7 million shares;
• Brambles Industries Ltd (BXB), -$0.09 (1.23%) to $7.24 on volume of 1.6 million shares;
• AMP Ltd (AMP), -$0.05 (1.16%) to $4.27 on volume of 5.4 million shares;
• Westpac Banking Corp (WBC), -$0.22 (1.06%) to $20.46 on volume of 5.1 million shares; and
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL), -$0.29 (0.85%) to $33.70 on volume of 1.7 million shares.

The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) The small end of the market , while still dropping overall, did significantly better than its large-cap counterpart. The Small Ords slid modestly, falling 4.1 points (0.17%), closing out the session at 2370.2 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 57 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 89 closed lower for the session.

The 235 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 230.67m units: volume in the 57 gainers totalling 64.56m shares, with trade totalling 96.76m units in the index's 89 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Perilya Ltd (PEM), +$0.03 (7.25%) to $0.37 on volume of 836.6 thousand shares;
• Australian Worldwide Exploration (AWE), +$0.08 (5.43%) to $1.46 on volume of 2.9 million shares;
• Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd (CFU), +$0.01 (4.76%) to $0.11 on volume of 6.2 million shares;
• Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), +$0.01 (4%) to $0.13 on volume of 957.3 thousand shares; and
• Boom Logistics (BOL), +$0.01 (3.92%) to $0.27 on volume of 628.9 thousand shares.

In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):

• Nexus Energy Ltd (NXS), -$0.04 (13.46%) to $0.23 on volume of 17.9 million shares;
• Carbon Energy Ltd (CNX), -$0.02 (13.04%) to $0.10 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
• Carbon Energy Ltd (CNX), -$0.02 (13.04%) to $0.10 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
• Deep Yellow Ltd (DYL), -$0.01 (6.67%) to $0.14 on volume of 1.6 million shares; and
• Mirabela Nickel Ltd (MBN), -$0.09 (6.54%) to $1.22 on volume of 1.2 million shares.

Index Changes

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, 2 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 9 lost ground.

The best performing index was Utilities (XUJ), which added 10.3 points (0.22%) to 4632.2 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 10.84m units; 4 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 5.67m shares, while the 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 2.83m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Infigen Energy (IFN), +$0.01 (3.85%) to $0.27 on volume of 160.7 thousand shares;
• APA Group (APA), +$0.07 (1.55%) to $4.60 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
• Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC), +$0.01 (0.69%) to $0.73 on volume of 2.5 million shares; and
• Spark Infrastructure Trust (SKI), +$0.01 (0.37%) to $1.37 on volume of 1.6 million shares.

Second in the index leadership stakes was Industrials (XNJ), which gained 5.5 points (0.16%) to 3507.6 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 44.7m units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 24.98m shares, while the 12 decliners had volume traded totalling 10.4m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were

• Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN), +$0.05 (2.94%) to $1.58 on volume of 6 million shares;
• Toll Hldgs Ltd (TOL), +$0.12 (2.55%) to $4.82 on volume of 8 million shares;
• Boart Longyear Ltd (BLY), +$0.08 (2.41%) to $3.40 on volume of 3.6 million shares;
• Leighton Hldgs Ltd (LEI), +$0.35 (1.57%) to $22.70 on volume of 892.7 thousand shares; and
• Asciano Group (AIO), +$0.05 (1.07%) to $4.71 on volume of 3.9 million shares.

The worst-performed index for the session was Property Trusts (XPJ), which dipped 10.8 points (1.32%) to 805 points. The 16 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 119.3m units; The 10 decliners had volume traded totalling 61.23m units, and 2 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 58.06m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• CFS Retail Property Trust (CFX), -$0.05 (2.65%) to $1.66 on volume of 13.1 million shares;
• Dexus Property Group (DXS), -$0.02 (2.22%) to $0.88 on volume of 12.3 million shares;
• Commonwealth Property Office (CPA), -$0.02 (2.06%) to $0.95 on volume of 8.2 million shares;
• Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.15 (1.8%) to $8.20 on volume of 7 million shares; and
• Abacus Property Group (ABP), -$0.03 (1.63%) to $1.82 on volume of 493.9 thousand shares.

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Healthcare (XHJ), which slid 72.5 points (0.91%) to 7891.7 points. The 10 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 6.24m units; The 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 4.86m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 1.38m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Ramsay Health Care Ltd (RHC), -$0.69 (3.49%) to $19.06 on volume of 412 thousand shares;
• Primary Health Care Ltd (PRY), -$0.06 (1.99%) to $2.96 on volume of 780.5 thousand shares;
• CSL Ltd (CSL), -$0.25 (0.79%) to $31.25 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
• Cochlear Ltd (COH), -$0.46 (0.76%) to $59.84 on volume of 104.5 thousand shares; and
• Sonic Healthcare Ltd (SHL), -$0.05 (0.44%) to $11.35 on volume of 718.3 thousand shares.

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Information Technology (XIJ), which slid 3.7 points (0.74%) to 496.4 points. The 3 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 1.32m units; The 2 decliners had volume traded totalling 1.27m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.05m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were

• Iress Market Technology Ltd (IRE), -$0.11 (1.53%) to $7.08 on volume of 401.7 thousand shares; and
• Computershare Ltd (CPU), -$0.06 (0.76%) to $7.80 on volume of 871.9 thousand shares.

Sector Indices

All Ordinaries Major Movers

All Ords Volume Leaders

All Ords Percentage Gainers

All Ords Percentage Losers

• Wholesale Sales m/m for November 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was -0.4% dropping 1.3 compared to the last data point (0.9%) , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of 0.5%.
• Consumer Price Index y/y for December 2012 was released in Canada; the result was 2.3% falling 0.6 compared to the last data point (2.9%) , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of 2.7%.
• Bank Canada Consumer Price Index Core y/y for December 2012 was released in Canada; the series posted a reading of 1.9% dropping 0.2 compared to the last data point (2.1%) , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of 2.2%.
• Consumer Price Index m/m for December 2012 was released in Canada; the result was -0.6% declining 0.7 compared to the last data point (0.1%) , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of -0.2%.
• Bank Canada Consumer Price Index Core m/m for December 2012 was released in Canada; the outcome was -0.5% dropping 0.6 compared to the last data point (0.1%) , which was lower than the consensus estimate of -0.2%.
• Existing Home Sales for December 2012 was released in the US; the series posted a reading of 4.61M rising 0.22 from the prior reading of 4.39M , which was lower than the consensus estimate of 4.65M.
• Existing Home Sales m/m for December 2012 was released in the US; the result was 5.0% advancing 1.7 from the prior reading of 3.3% , which was lower than the market's pre-release guess of 5.2%.

Headline Indices

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0 points (0%) to 0.00 points. The index high for the day was N/A, while the low was N/A.

Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 985.2m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.6 to one, with 18 advancers to 11 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 779.89m to 113.88m shares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -

• Microsoft (MSFT) +1.59 (5.7%) to $29.71 on volume of 165.16m shares;
• IBM (IBM) +8 (4.4%) to $188.52 on volume of 12.63m shares;
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.98 (3.6%) to $28.13 on volume of 22.34m shares;
• Intel (INTC) +0.75 (2.9%) to $26.38 on volume of 100.78m shares; and
• Home Depot (HD) -0.9 (2%) to $44.51 on volume of 12.49m shares.

The S&P500 Index gained +0.88 points (0.07%) to 1315.38 points..

Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.12bn shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1 to one, with 227 decliners to 220 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.86bn shares to 1.15bn. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) +5.65 (13%) to $49 on volume of 6.59m shares;
• Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) +1.59 (5.7%) to $29.71 on volume of 165.16m shares;
• SunTrust Banks (STI) +1.05 (5.2%) to $21.29 on volume of 14.28m shares;
• International Bus. Machines (IBM) +8 (4.4%) to $188.52 on volume of 12.63m shares; and
• Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK) +0.28 (4.1%) to $7.1 on volume of 10.21m shares.

The Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.63 points (0.06%) to 2786.70 points. while the Nasdaq100 lost 4.68 points (0.19%) to 2437.02 points..

Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 824.64m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.1 to one, with 47 decliners to 42 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 543.7m shares to 272.06m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Google (GOOG) -53.58 (8.4%) to $585.99 on volume of 10.52m shares;
• Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -28.97 (6.1%) to $445.68 on volume of 1.61m shares;
• Focus Media Holding (FMCN) -1.2 (5.7%) to $20.02 on volume of 5.1m shares;
• Level 3 Communications (LVLT) -0.72 (3.8%) to $18.28 on volume of 1.6m shares; and
• DISH Network (DISH) -1.13 (3.8%) to $28.86 on volume of 2.74m shares.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index lost 1.6 points (8.05%) to 18.27 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index dipped 1.31 points (6.46%) to 18.96 points..

Breadth and Internals

A total of 3175 issues traded today on the NYSE; today's total volume was 3.91bn shares. A total of 1777 stocks posted gains for the day, and volume in advancing issues totalled 2.1bn shares. Exerting downwards pressure on the index were 1280 losers, which accounted for a total declining volume of 1.67bn shares. 134 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 15 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.

On the Nasdaq 2614 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 1.93bn shares. A total of 1512 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.09bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 996 losers, and total declining volume was 0.8bn shares. 55 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 10 shares dipped to new 1-year lows

Dow Darlings

• Microsoft (MSFT) +1.59 (5.7%) to $29.71 on volume of 165.2m units
• IBM (IBM) +8 (4.4%) to $188.52 on volume of 12.6m units
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) +0.98 (3.6%) to $28.13 on volume of 22.3m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.75 (2.9%) to $26.38 on volume of 100.8m units
• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.11 (1.6%) to $7.07 on volume of 233.7m units

Dow Duds:

• Home Depot (HD) -0.9 (2%) to $44.51 on volume of 12.5m units
• American Express (AXP) -0.91 (1.8%) to $50.04 on volume of 12.6m units
• United Technologies (UTX) -0.5 (0.6%) to $76.69 on volume of 6.4m units
• Disney Corp (DIS) -0.13 (0.3%) to $39.31 on volume of 7.6m units
• 3M Co (MMM) -0.15 (0.2%) to $85.65 on volume of 3.5m units

Most Traded Dow stocks:

• Bank Of America (BAC) +0.11 (1.6%) to $7.07 on volume of 233.7m units
• Microsoft (MSFT) +1.59 (5.7%) to $29.71 on volume of 165.2m units
• Intel (INTC) +0.75 (2.9%) to $26.38 on volume of 100.8m units
• General Electric (GE) unchanged at $19.15 on volume of 91.4m units
• Pfizer (PFE) +0.06 (0.3%) to $21.9 on volume of 39.1m units

Precious Metals

Precious metals futures performed as follows -

The Gold Bugs index (XAU) fell 1.02 points (0.54%) to 187.02 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 94.46m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7 to one, with 10 advancers to 6 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 48.4m to 46.05m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Freeport McMoran (FCX) -1.27 (2.9%) to $43.1 on volume of 20.47m shares;
• Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) -0.85 (2.4%) to $35.14 on volume of 2.06m shares;
• Barrick Gold (ABX) -0.63 (1.4%) to $45.83 on volume of 14.12m shares;
• RandGold Resources (GOLD) -0.72 (0.7%) to $109.13 on volume of 0.37m shares; and
• Newmnt Mining (NEM) -0.33 (0.6%) to $59.27 on volume of 8.25m shares.

Energy Complex

Energy futures performed as follows -

The Oil Services index (OSX) slid 1.59 points (0.68%) to 233.92 points. Total volume traded in the 15 components of the index was 87.59m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.4 to one, with 7 decliners to 5 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 49.08m shares to 38.5m. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• Cameron International (CAM) -0.9 (1.7%) to $53.35 on volume of 2.85m shares;
• National Oilwell Varco (NOV) -1 (1.3%) to $74.8 on volume of 3.5m shares;
• Oceaneering International (OII) -0.58 (1.2%) to $47.8 on volume of 0.77m shares;
• Tidewater (TDW) -0.52 (1%) to $53.68 on volume of 0.7m shares; and
• Transocean Inc (RIG) -0.32 (0.7%) to $44.72 on volume of 5.87m shares.

Currency Futures

Currency futures performed as follows -

Bellwethers

The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.2%. The fallout occurred as follows:

• General Electric (GE) -0 (0%) to $19.15 on volume of 91.43m units.
• Citigroup (C) +0.31 (1.06%) to $29.64 on volume of 55.44m units.
• Wal-Mart (WMT) +0.40 (0.66%) to $61.01 on volume of 10.26m units.
• IBM (IBM) +8.00 (4.43%) to $188.52 on volume of 12.63m units.
• Intel (INTC) +0.75 (2.93%) to $26.38 on volume of 100.78m units.
• Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.13 (0.66%) to $19.92 on volume of 41.56m units.
• Google (GOOG) -53.58 (8.38%) to $585.99 on volume of 10.52m units.
• Fannie Mae (FNM) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) -0 (0%) to $0.00 on volume of 0m units.

Other Indices of Interest…

The Banks index (BKX) rose 0.31 points (0.72%) to 43.5 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 547.88m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3 to one, with 15 advancers to 5 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 453.48m to 81.02m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Suntrust Banks (STI) +1.05 (5.2%) to $21.29 on volume of 14.28m shares;
• Comerica Inc (CMA) +0.9 (3.1%) to $29.58 on volume of 7m shares;
• Northern Trust (NTRS) +0.95 (2.3%) to $43.07 on volume of 1.46m shares;
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) +0.13 (2.2%) to $5.92 on volume of 27.57m shares; and
• Bank Of NY Mellon (BK) +0.37 (1.8%) to $21.28 on volume of 10.8m shares.

The Semiconductor index (SOX) gained 2.23 points (0.54%) to 414.34 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 268.62m shares. Advancers and decliners were split evenly, 8 decliners to 8 advancers. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 188.58m shares to 80.04m. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) +0.2 (3.2%) to $6.42 on volume of 28.63m shares;
• Intel (INTC) +0.75 (2.9%) to $26.38 on volume of 100.78m shares;
• Applied Materials (AMAT) +0.16 (1.3%) to $12.47 on volume of 19.53m shares;
• KLA-Tencor Cp (KLAC) +0.47 (0.9%) to $51.5 on volume of 4.61m shares; and
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) +0.07 (0.5%) to $15.53 on volume of 11.15m shares.

The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) slid 1.23 points (0.32%) to 381.72 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 116.58m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2 to one, with 10 decliners to 5 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 19.43m to 5.72m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -

• ITT Corporation (ITT) -0.62 (2.8%) to $21.67 on volume of 1.55m shares;
• Alliant Tech (ATK) -0.83 (1.3%) to $61.78 on volume of 0.14m shares;
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) -0.93 (1.1%) to $82.78 on volume of 2.44m shares;
• United Technologies (UTX) -0.5 (0.6%) to $76.69 on volume of 6.44m shares; and
• Raytheon (RTN) -0.1 (0.2%) to $49.88 on volume of 1.6m shares.