Australian share market websites

There are various Internet websites available to assist stock traders, some of the best free of charge. These include:

egoli.com is a strictly data and information website dedicated to the ups and downs of the ASX. It provides running coverage of the overall market and industry sectors throughout the stock trading day. Particularly nice are the archived “Snippets” providing in-depth information for individual companies, although the website itself can be a bit clunky and difficult to navigate.

Business Day.com covers financial markets, industry segments, and individual companies. The style is more newsy, with discussions of company internals and market trends. Daily tables break down the ASX, listing the major market movers by company, and industry segments with details and charts. The website is easily navigated, with the quotes screen not too cluttered with distracting advertisements. Particularly nice is the section for portfolios and watchlists, which is customisable and provides a snapshot summary.

Wall Street Journal.com is split between free content and bits reserved for paying subscribers. Unfortunately, much of the market news falls into the latter category. What is available at no charge is oriented more towards news than data or trends, although the generally balanced coverage (centrist rather than left or right) is refreshing.

Bloomberg.com leans a bit left of the WSJ. Also news and trend oriented, the website’s data screens provide little not found and better presented elsewhere. What is unique to Bloomberg is its rendition of the Wall Street market’s perspective and attitude, often the first glimpse of the next trend, the reasoning behind a change in market or sector direction, or a different twist on a common theme.

Trade the News.com is also split between free content and sections reserved for paying subscribers. In this case, however, the information provided includes not only company earnings and stock movements, but also so-called “dealer chatter,” which offers a rare glimpse onto the trading room floors. The free content is released three times daily, with specific coverage for the Asian, European, and U.S. markets.