The S&P 500 was up by 7.25points or 0.36%on Wednesday to 1995.69. A rebound in Apple shares helped push U.S. stocks higher on Wednesday while the energy sector lagged as crude prices fell. Apple jumped 3.1 percent, the most since April, as it rebounded from declines after unveiling new products yesterday. Garmin Ltd. rallied 4 percent for the second-best performance in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. 

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was flat after its Asia Pacific peer slid 0.7% as concerns grew about the health of China’s economy. Tokyo stocks initially fell after figures from Japan’s cabinet office showed Japanese machine orders rose more slowly than expected in July, suggesting companies are still investing cautiously. However Nikkei 225 recovered its poise to add 0.3% as additional weakness in the YEN was noted.


S&P 500 Daily Chart (Source – Thomson Reuters)

S&P ASX 200was down by 33.6points or 0.60%on Wednesday and closed at 5574.3 points. Melbourne Institute and Westpac’s index of consumer sentiment plunged 4.6 per cent in September after a 3.8 per cent rise in August. Households were more concerned about employment and the economic outlook. JB Hi-fi and Harvey Norman eased 0.2 and 1.3 per cent to $17.05 and $3.72 respectively.

Iron oreshed a further 1.2 per cent to $US82.20. World oil prices have dropped after OPEC trimmed its oil demand growth forecast and a US supply report showed surprisingly high inventories. Today Myer full year results, Sigma Pharmaceuticals interim results would be released. The following stocks will tradeex-dividend today:

Goodman Fielder, Homeloans, IRESS, Lindsay Aust, Melbourne IT, Northern Star Resources, Retail Food Group, Shine Corporate.


J B Hi Fi Daily Chart (Source – Thomson Reuters)

The top gainers on ASX 200 were:- 


Stock of the Day – McMillan Shakespeare (MMS)

McMillan Shakespeare is a leading Australian provider of salary packaging and motor vehicle leasing services. It has been a strong performer since listing in 2004 generating impressive returns on invested capital. The business model is semi scalable with each new McMillan consultant enabling it to grow the number of employee accounts under management up to a point before it has to hire another consultant.


MMS Normalised Earnings Per Share (Source – Company Reports)

A tumultuous year in which McMillan Shakespeare suffered a 34% decline in first half normalized net profit ended well with fiscal 2014 full year normalized net profit ending down 10% to AUD 56.1 million. Indeed the second half bottom line lifted 12% year on year to AUD 36.4 million, as the key remuneration services division delivered a 14% increase in earnings before interest and tax or EBIT. It enjoyed a return to business as usual as the coalition government maintained the status quo on treatment of fringe benefits tax.


Normalised NPAT Performance (Source – Company Reports)
 
Accounting for 35% of the earnings base the asset management division suffered a 3% fall in full year EBIT to AUD 31.7 million. Still it posted a 9% lift in assets under finance and management to AUD334 million. Fundamentals remain sound with staff productivity improving and customer satisfaction remaining high for remuneration services, fleet assets continuing to grow in asset management and the balance sheet is in solid shape.



MMS Daily Chart (Source – Thomson Reuters)

Notwithstanding McMillan’s solid returns on invested capital and rapid growth, it is important to bear in mind that most of its core business only exists because of tax concession. This could easily be removed in the future as governments wonder pressure to produce budget surplus target such concessions which effectively reduce government revenues. We believe the stock is expensive at the current price and would review the stock at a later date.

---

Disclaimer
The advice given by Kalkine Pty Ltd and provided on this website is general information only and it does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider whether the advice is appropriate to your investment objectives, financial situation and needs before acting upon it. You should seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice) as necessary before acting on any advice. Not all investments are appropriate for all people.
Kalkine.com.au and associated pages are published by Kalkine Pty Ltd ABN 34 154 808 312 (Australian Financial Services License Number 425376).
The information on this website has been prepared from a wide variety of sources, which Kalkine Pty Ltd, to the best of its knowledge and belief, considers accurate. You should make your own enquiries about any investments and we strongly suggest you seek advice before acting upon any recommendation.
Kalkine Pty Ltd has made every effort to ensure the reliability of information contained in its newsletters and websites. All information represents our views at the date of publication and may change without notice. To the extent permitted by law, Kalkine Pty Ltd excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this website and any information published (including any indirect or consequential loss, any data loss or data corruption). If the law prohibits this exclusion, Kalkine Pty Ltd hereby limits its liability, to the extent permitted by law to the resupply of services. There may be a product disclosure statement or other offer document for the securities and financial products we write about in Kalkine Reports. You should obtain a copy of the product disclosure statement or offer document before making any decision about whether to acquire the security or product.
The link to our Terms & Conditions has been provided please go through them and also have a read of the Financial Services Guide.