Shareswatch Australia

Recently the markets appear to have settled somewhat and the Australian stock market has steadily been heading higher so far in 2012. Could we be seeing the early signs of another bull market taking hold or are we about to see another sharp correction take the ASX All Ordinaries back down towards 4000 and perhaps lower?

Recently the markets appear to have settled somewhat and the Australian stock market has steadily been heading higher so far in 2012. Could we be seeing the early signs of another bull market taking hold or are we about to see another sharp correction take the ASX All Ordinaries back down towards 4000 and perhaps lower?

Prices for hard commodities such as copper, iron ore & coal have risen strongly over the past decade and are now trading well above their long term historical averages.  This in turn drove the ASX All Ordinaries Index to a bull market high in 2007 and has helped put some support under the market ever since.  But is it realistic to expect high commodities prices will keep propping up the Australian stock market?

One of the best investments an Australian investor could have made over the last 10 years would have been to buy a large chunk of BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) stocks.  This is simply because BHP shares have outperformed gold, listed or unlisted property and most ASX listed blue chip stocks I can think of. But have BHP shares now rallied too far and what does it’s share price tell us about the demand for commodities?

BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) is one of the most widely held stocks in Australia and is often a core holding in many stock portfolios. Over the last few years the stock have reflected the fortunes of the commodities boom and as a result the BHP stock price saw a peak last year of over $45 only to come tumbling down to less than $25 a few months later. But maybe at current prices BHP is once again a stock worth looking at?

Well what a terrible first half of 2008 and a shocking close to the financial year. After watching the market over the last week or so, I decided the best course of action was to finish work just after lunch and catch up with some reading and movie watching. One thing I was not doing was selling as I have no idea why people wait until this time of year to sell and take tax losses. In fact I picked up a few small parcels of shares as I hope we will see some upward market movement in July.