Shareswatch Australia

For the last few years I have been warning that steps needed to be taken to prepare the Australian economy for when the commodities cycles would turn downwards. Back when I first started writing about this, it was almost considered treason to even suggest the mining boom may draw to a close. But these days even the RBA, Treasury and Wayne Swan are talking about the end of the commodities boom.

At the moment there is so much confusion across the global markets that is makes me less reluctant to take long term positions. One day we see Chinese trade data which appears good, but there are questions about its reliability. Over in the U.S the economy appears to be improving, but what will happen when the Fed starts to wind back quantitative easing measures? Meanwhile in Japan, Abenomics is shaking up the markets and there is considerable pressure on leaders across the EU to ease up on austerity measures.

Since mid last year, the Australian stock market has staged a fairly impressive rally with the ASX All Ordinaries Index moving from a decidedly bearish level of down near 4000 to a bull market level of just under 5200 points. But of late the market has slipped back which will worry some investors, while others see this a simply a pause before the rally upwards continues.

WorleyParsons Ltd (ASX: WOR), in line with a recent theme, announced–on the same day it revealed results for the first half of fiscal 2013–a new contract award, this one to provide engineering services at the Fort Hills oil sands project. The work, which will begin immediately, will generate AUD140 million of revenue for WorleyParsons. Fort Hills is jointly owned by Suncor Energy Inc (TSX: SU, NYSE: SU), Total SA (France: FP, NYSE: TOT) and Teck Resources Ltd (TSX: TCK/B, NYSE: TCK).

Once again it is time to dust off the crystal ball, stick a finger in the air and toss some chicken bones over my shoulder in a vain attempt to forecast what the Australian stock market will do in 2013.  Last year the ASX All Ordinaries and S&P/ASX 200 posted respectable gains, but will they do so again this year?

In 2012 the Australian stock market finished the year higher with the ASX All Ordinaries Index posting a gain of around 12% to close at 4663.30 points.  Unsurprisingly much of the financial media excitedly churned out headlines suggesting stocks were soaring and many commentators focused on the annual rally being the best since 2009.  However if we look past the nonsensical rambling of much of the mainstream media the reality is  that All Ords has in reality simply moved back up to a level below where it finished at the end of 2009 and is still way below the pre-GFC market high.

Finally it seems the Reserve Bank of Australia and Treasury have had to accept that the mining boom has peaked or is peaking, which is something I have been talking about on this site for some years.  However the RBA, Treasury and Gillard Government all still appear to be relatively upbeat about the outlook for the Australian economy next year which is surprising,  since I don’t see a lot to be optimistic about as I review the stock market, housing market or a few other economic indicators.

As we enter the last quarter of trading for 2012 we are confronted by a market which appears to be trending upwards since bottoming out in June on one hand, and a gloomy outlook for the global economy on the other. Surprisingly if we have another good few months the ASX All Ordinaries Index could be up near 5000 by the end of the year which just a few months ago, appeared very unlikely.

It is an endless debate for investors interested in gold. Should they buy a direct play on the gold price, either gold bullion itself or even so-called paper gold with an ETF such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD)? Or should they invest into gold equities, particularly the larger, higher quality gold mining companies?

The Australian stock market has been as exciting to watch over the last month as a Julia Gillard speech.  Over a few days stocks grind out modest gains and then when bad news roll in, the gains are basically given up and the market slides back down again. But if we scratch under the surface and look at some candlestick charts these may help us understand what is driving this type of share market trading.

So far this year the Australian stock market had managed to edge slowly upwards and the All Ordinaries Index appears poised to settle above 4400 during the next week or so. Although the risks of a major Eurozone economic implosion appear to be fading, the signs are that the economy in China continues to slow and it appears the U.S. economy is still struggling. The situation in China in particular is likely to have a major impact on where the Australian stock market heads next over the following few months.

It wasn’t that long ago when ex-Treasury Head Ken Henry talked about the Australian economy being in a ‘Golden Age’. I guess when you can retire on a lucrative public service pension and then parachute into a highly paid job as an advisor to the Prime Minister the future does probably seem bright. But now in early 2012 as unemployment appears set to rise and the economy is showing signs of weakness, Ken Henry’s ‘Golden Age’ comment might end up in the same category as Tim Flannery’s ‘Dams will no longer fill’ prediction.

The ASX All Ordinaries Index and S&P/ASX 200 Index finished much lower than I expected in 2011, so this makes me somewhat reluctant to go on record and make an Australian stock market forecast for 2012. However the process of looking at the various economic data and trying to guess where the market will end is a useful one, so foolishly I will outline once again my Australian stock market forecast for the year ahead.

Over the last six months stock markets globally have become more volatile as Europe and the U.S. struggle to revive their economies.  To make things more complicated many advanced economies have racked up so much debt during the ‘good times’ that they now don’t have the capacity to spend their way out of trouble.  There will be no quick fixes and the situation is worrying enough to even rattle the commodities bulls.

A sure sign that an economic trend has been established is when the OECD finally jumps on the trend bandwagon and recently the OECD has joined the group of recently converted economic pessimists. Gone are the days when big borrowing, big spending governments would save the day – the theme of the day now is hang onto your hats because we might be in for a bumpy ride.

This week was quite a ride for stock market investors with the ASX All Ords and ASX 200 both trading at one stage under 4000 points.  However as the week progressed the markets started to claw their way back up and things are not quite as worrying as they were a few days ago.  What investors will be trying to work out now is if the stock market rout is over, or is it just having a rest before it once again sends stocks falling?