Shareswatch Australia

The Australian stock market has recovered from what appears to have been the bottom of the bear market back in March, so now seems a good time to look at some stock prices and see if they are creeping up to their 52 week highs or still near their lows.

In looking at these 52 week stock prices ranges what we might be able to detect is if the current rally is across most sectors or is being fuelled mainly by rises in the stock prices of the major banks and mining companies.

52 Week Stock Prices Highs/Lows

(Last trade/closing prices as of 17th July 2009)

Banks

Commonwealth Bank (CBA)           $39.49    High – $46.69    Low – $24.03
National Australia Bank (NAB)     $23.79    High – $30.79  Low – $15.85
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC)        $20.26    High – $24.82    Low – $14.40
ANZ Banking Group (ANZ)             $16.76    High – $20.10    Low – $11.83

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) 12 month stock price chart

Investment Banks

Macquarie Group (MQG)                $37.83      High – $55.90  Low – $15.00
Babcock and Brown (BNB)             De-listed

Investment Management/Wealth Management

Platinum Asset Mgmt (PTM)         $4.22        High – $4.54     Low – $2.60
Wilson Investment Fund (WIL)   $0.625     High – $0.74    Low – $0.41
Perpetual Limited (PPT)                  $29.55     High – $22.44  Low – $21.60

Consumer and Domestic Economy

Goodman Fielder (GFF)                  $1.30         High – $1.70    Low – $0.93
Domino’s Pizza (DMP)                      $3.11         High – $3.65     Low – $2.50
Virgin Blue Holdings (VBA)           $0.30        High – $1.26     Low – $0.15
Telstra Corporation (TLS)               $3.35        High – $4.62     Low – $2.93
Woolworths Limited (WOW)          $27.19     High – $29.80  Low – $23.68
Fairfax Media (FXJ)                           $1.25        High – $3.20     Low – $0.80

Mining

BHP Billiton (BHP)                             $35.20      High – $42.07 Low – $20.00

Property

Australand (ALZ)                               $0.49        High – $1.09    Low – $0.19

Australand Property Group (ALZ) 12 month stock price chart

It is becoming clear by looking at the above stock price information and the charts for a number of stocks that the markets are starting to recover from shock caused by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.  All of the stocks above are off their lows and many by a considerable margin, with the exception of Babcock and Brown which is in the hands of administrators.

In addition it is interesting to note the following:

• The rally off the March lows appears to be fairly broad. Not only have the banks and miners done well but also defensive type stocks such as Goodman Fielder (GFF) and Woolworths (WOW) have crept up over the last few months.

• Despite the current rise in stocks prices being called a “sucker’s rally” by many the fact is the Mach lows have not been tested again.

• As the charts for CBA and ALZ indicate, many stocks are clearly showing a trend upwards as is the wider All Ordinaries index. Back in early 2009 shares in CBA were trading at just over $25, today they are up around $40. So there has certainly been plenty of opportunities to make money from stocks in 2009.

The 52 week high/low prices for the stocks above suggests to me that the worst of this bear market is now behind us. We even have Platinum Asset Management (PTM) and Woolworths (WOW) up near their 52 week highs so clearly some stocks are bouncing back strongly.

I would expect that in a few months we will see some stocks setting new 52 weeks high and that the current upward trend in stocks prices will still be intact. So far this rally looks good and slowly confidence is creeping back into the stock market.