FAQs
ASX Data & Times
What's the delay on Market Index data?
ASX Indices: Real-time
ASX Share Prices: 20 minute delay
ASX Announcements: 20 minute delay
Broker Consensus: Updated weekly
Director Transactions: Updated daily
Foreign Indices: At the close of previous trading day
Commodities: 10-15 minute delay from the timestamp
Currencies: 10 minute delay from the timestamp
Why aren't ASX share prices live?
Free online data (e.g. Google, Yahoo, etc.) is 20 minutes delayed due to licensing restrictions imposed by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Access to “live” and “dynamic” share prices requires an account with a distributer (e.g. stockbroker or financial adviser) and must be behind a login.
Live share prices: (click-to-refresh) will cost a retail investor about $10 per month (some stockbrokers offer it for free).
Dynamic share prices: (auto-refresh) will cost a retail investor about $80 per month.
How does the ASX open work?
Opening takes place at 10:00 a.m. AEST and lasts for approximately 10 minutes.
ASX shares open in five groups, depending on the starting letter of their ASX code:
Group 1 – 10:00:00 a.m. (+/- 15 secs). Letters A-B (e.g. ANZ and BHP).
Group 2 – 10:02:15 a.m. (+/- 15 secs). Letters C-F (e.g. CBA, DJS, EXT, and FMG).
Group 3 – 10:04:30 a.m. (+/- 15 secs). Letters G-M (e.g. GNC, HDF, ILU, JBH, KAR, LYC, and MYR).
Group 4 – 10:06:45 a.m. (+/- 15 secs). Letters N-R (e.g. NAB, OST, PDN, QAN, and RIO).
Group 5 – 10:09:00 a.m. (+/- 15 secs). Letters S-Z (e.g. SEK, TLS, UGL, VBA, WBC, and ZIM).
The opening time is randomly generated and occurs up to 15 seconds either side of the times shown above. For example, Group 1 may open at any time between 9:59:45 a.m. and 10:00:15 a.m. The “match” (explanation below) also occurs during the open to determine the opening price of a share.
How does the ASX close work?
Between 4:00 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. AEST, shares go into Pre-Closing Single Price Auction (CSPA), more commonly referred to as the "match".
During the “match phase”, you can place, remove, or amend an order, but no trades actually take place.
Orders (both buy and sell) are ranked according to their price. Who ever bids the highest (for buyers) or offers the lowest (for sellers) is placed at the front of the queue. Often there is a crossover in the middle (e.g. the lowest seller might offer $1.55 and the highest buyer might bid $1.63). The area in the middle where they cross over is called the “match”.
A random time for the close is then generated by the ASX between 4:10 - 4:12 p.m. AEST.
All “matching” share prices are weighted to find their mid-point, and this becomes the closing (or opening) price of the share. All trades that take place on the close (or open) transact at the same price, regardless of what price an investor bids or offers.
Why is the open and close time randomly generated?
Using a randomly generated time to open and close the ASX prevents traders from manipulating the opening and closing price of a share.
If all shares opened and closed at the exact same time each day, computers could be used to automatically place a trade at the precise moment a share opens or closes, allowing manipulation of the market.
What's a "Star Stock"
The "Star Stock" icon next to a company's name indicates it has a consensus broker recommendation of "Strong Buy".
To see the recommendation breakdown, visit the company's Market Index page by clicking its ASX Ticker Code or by using the Company Search feature in the top right of the Market Index website.
Visit the Consensus Data posts for details on how the Broker Consensus data is compiled.
How can a "Last Trade" timestamp be after 4:10pm (Sydney)
The ASX closes at 4:10pm but the price isn't considered the "offical" closing price.
The "official" closing price is distributed at 7pm (Sydney). The feed incorporates after-market volumes, price corrections and trade reversals.
Data on Individual Company Pages
Share prices and trading data
All ASX share prices and trading data (e.g. volume, turnover, etc.) is 20mins delayed due to licensing restrictions.
Stats - Explanation of each data point
Market Capitalisation (Market Cap)
Market value of all issued company shares. It's calculated by the number of shares on issue multiplied by the previous day’s closing price.
Share Issue
Number of shares issued by the company.
ASX Rank
A company’s rank amongst all ASX listed companies (including ETFs) according to market capitalisation.
% All Ords
How much weight a company’s market capitalisation accounts for as compared to the combined market capitalisation of the ASX top 500 companies.
vs ASX 200 (1yr)
A company’s one year calendar performance subtract the S&P/ASX 200 Index one year calendar performance.
vs Sector (1yr)
A company’s one year calendar performance subtract the company’s sector one year calendar performance.
Short Sold
Percentage of shares on issue currently recorded as short sold by ASIC. See the Short Selling page for more information.
Days to cover
How many days it would take to buy back all the short sold stock. The calculation uses number of shares currently recorded as short sold by ASIC, divided by the 5 day average daily trading volume.
Fundamentals - Explanation of each data point
PE Ratio
Previous day’s closing price divided by earnings per share (EPS).
Earnings Per Share (EPS)
Earnings per share on issue in dollars.
Earning Yield
Earnings per share expressed as a percentage of the previous day’s closing price.
Net Tangible Assets (NTA)
The total assets of a company, minus intangible assets (e.g. goodwill) and liabilities, expressed on a “per share” basis. A.k.a “net asset value” or “book value”.
Dividend Yield
Dividends per share (DPS) expressed as a percentage of the previous closing price.
Dividends Per Share (DPS)
The sum of declared dividends for the last 12 month period, excluding special dividends.
Gross Dividends Per Share (Gross DPS)
Dividends per share (DPS) plus franking credits.
Gross Dividend Yield
Dividends per share (DPS) plus franking credits expressed as a percentage of the previous closing price.
Dividend History
All dividends announced to the ASX will appear here.
See the Dividend Yield Basics page for information on dividends.
Announcements
ASX announcements are delayed 20 minutes.
The price sensitive icon "$" indicates the ASX believe the announcement's content could impact the share price.
See all ASX Company Announcements for the most recent trading day.
Broker Consensus
Broker consensus is updated weekly from FNArena.
Data from eight stockbrokers / analysts is compiled to form a "consensus recommendation"
See the Consensus Data posts for more information.
Directors' Transactions
Transactions are updated daily. See the Directors’ Transactions page for more information.
General Questions About Indices
What is the difference between the S&P/ASX 200 and the All Ordinaries?
The S&P/ASX 200 index is rebalanced every quarter and has a set minimum market capitalisation and liquidity requirement.
The All Ordinaries index is rebalanced annually and consists of the 500 largest ASX listed stocks by market capitalisation. No liquidity requirement needs to be met.
Visit the Index Methodology & Calculation page for more information.
Why was the All Ordinaries replaced?
Australia moved to the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) suite of indices in April 2000, joining a group of major global indices (e.g. Dow Jones).
The move brought Australia’s share market into the global investment spotlight, as the S&P indices are noted for their emphasis on size, liquidity, and suitability for investment.
Why don't indices always have the right number of constituents?
There are two main reasons.
1) The S&P/ASX 300 and All Ordinaries do not immediately replace the removal of a constituent. They wait until the next rebalance date.
2) If a deletion occurs close to the next rebalance date then the Selection Comittee may decide to wait until the rebalance to make an addition.
3) In an addition occurs close to the next rebalance date (e.g. due to a split) then the Selection Comittee may decide to wait until the rebalance to make an addition.
How often are indices rebalanced?
ASX 20, ASX 50, ASX 100, ASX 200 - Rebalances occur quarterly (March, June, September and December) on the third Friday of the month.
ASX 300 - Rebalances occur quarterly every six months (March and September) on the third Friday of the month.
All Ordinaries - Rebalances occur annually on the third Friday of March.
The market receives two weeks notice of upcoming changes.
Go to the Index Methodology & Calculation page for more details.
What makes a company eligible for inclusion in an index?
Constituents are selected based on their float-adjusted market capitalisation and liquidity level.
An average market capitalisation and liquidity benchmark for the preceding six-month period is used to determine a securities eligibility for inclusion in an index. For example, a security in the ASX 200 index that is ranked 98 by market capitalisation, could be considered for inclusion in the ASX 100 index if an adequate liquidity level is met.
To reduce the amount of index turnover (changes to an indices constituents), a security is only considered for inclusion when another security is removed due to a sufficiently low rank or liquidity level.
The effect each constituent has on the index value (i.e. numerical level) is proportional to the float-adjusted, weighted average, of the index constituent’s market capitalisation.
See the Index Methodology & Calculation page for more details.
Why are companies removed from an index?
Generally due to mergers, takeovers, bankruptcies, or because they no longer meet liquidity or market capitalisation thresholds.
A deletion (which generally invokes an addition) can occur at any time depending on the situation (e.g. merger or corporate action). Two to five business days notice is generally given.
Do corporate actions affect the S&P/ASX indices?
No. Corporate actions (e.g. share splits and dividends) do not affect the index as these are accounted for in the calculations.
What is the CHI-X Exchange?
There are officially two "stock markets" in Australia; the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the Chi-X. When a company wants to publicly list, they must choose which exchange they would like to be listed on.
Basically, it is simply a choice as to which governing body will be responsible for oversight of the listed company. From an investors perspective there is no difference. Both are equally available to trade on with no decision to make. The ASX is significantly larger than the Chi-X.
Specific S&P/ASX 200 Questions
What is the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index?
It is the S&P/ASX 200 index including dividends.
Dividends in a portfolio of large blue chip companies can often add 3-6% on top of a share portfolio’s return. The Accumulation Index adds the dividends paid to its constituents when calculating the index level. The Accumulation Index is sometimes referred to as the “Total Return” index. The ASX code is “XNT”.
What is the S&P/ASX 200 VIX?
It is an index that represents the expected future volatility in the S&P/ASX 200.
The likely market direction is calculated by using implied volatility from the bid and ask prices of XJO call and put options. Investor confidence is then calculated, with a high level indicating uncertainty, and a low level indicates strong investor confidence. The ASX code is XVI.
What is the SPDR S&P/ASX 200?
It is an Exchange Traded Fund [ETF] that replicates the S&P/ASX 200 index.
Investors can indirectly gain exposure to the top 200 shares in the Australian share market without being exposed to specific (unsystematic) risk. The ASX code is STW.
The advantages of an index fund are:
1) Transparency – Shares held (and their weighted percentages) are known.
2) Measurable – Correct management will typically produce returns 2% below the index return.
3) Low Fees – The investment process is mechanical and has low turn over, so fees are kept to a minimum. Visit SPDR for more details.