Bulks, Trends And Stock-Picking in 2010 BY GREG PEEL - 11/03/2010
Read more here: http://www.sharecafe.com.au/fnarena_news.asp?a=AV&ai=16040
But here is snapshot:
While Australia may have flown out of a brief and shallow dive, not so the rest of the world. China may be our saviour but ongoing sovereign risks in major economies cannot be ignored and will continue to impact on local stock market pricing. Quinn notes the ASX 200 has been range trading for the past six months now and will probably do so for another six months. Patersons' strategists have every sector weighting at ?neutral?, or market-weight, with the exception of materials (which includes the bulks) for which it has an overweight recommendation.
Moving out of the big end of the market cap weightings, JP Morgan has been looking at the performance of so-called small caps ? those stocks outside the ASX 100 which are not real estate investment trusts (REIT).
The reporting season just gone proved to be a bit of a fizzer for this usually more volatile segment of the market, notes JPM, with only 15% of stocks sparking any significant share price upside and 20% any significant downside. In terms of earnings expectations per se, the JPM analysts found half of the small caps in their coverage universe beat their forecasts and half missed.
So the big end's not offering much more than range trading and the small end lacks any spice as well, it would seem. Nevertheless, JPM has singled out some small caps for specific mention.
In cyclicals the analysts like the resource sector service names Ausenco ((AAX)), Boart Longyear ((BLY)) and Monadelphous ((MND)). In defensives they like communication solutions provider Salmat ((SLM)) and health insurer NIB Holdings ((NHF)). ed Campbell Bros ((CPB)) and online real estate advertiser REA Group ((REA)).
BLY Price at posting:
$3.15 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
