Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL) Soars 1.11% on Nov 5

November 5, 2017 - By Vivian Park

Shares of Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX:WPL) last traded at 31.8, representing a move of 1.11%, or 0.35 per share, on volume of 2.33 million shares. After opening the trading day at 31.57, shares of Woodside Petroleum Limited traded in a close range. Woodside Petroleum Limited currently has a total float of 842.44M shares and on average sees 2.28 million shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 27.01 and high of 33.97.

S&P/ASX 200: Directing Asian Economy Growth

CG Watch has recently named Australia as one of the Asian nations with the best corporate governance, which is essential in carrying out national economic growth prospects. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the perfect reflection of Australia’s thriving national economy.

It includes companies with perfect liquidity like Woodside Petroleum Limited. The ASX is one of Asia’s leading stock exchanges. As of 2014, it has a market capitalization of A$1.60 trillion with over 2,000 companies listed on it. Its benchmark index is the S&P/ASX 200, which weighs its top 200 stocks on a free-float market capitalization basis.

About the S&P/ASX 200

The S&P/ASX 200 was launched in April 2000, starting at 3,133.30 points. Regardless, it continues from the history of the previous Australian benchmark index, All Ordinaries, which was founded in January 1980. Consequently, the S&P/ASX 200 holds an all-time low of 1,358.50 points, which was recorded in November 1992; and an all-time high of 6,828.70 points, which was posted in November 2007.

The S&P/ASX 200 first touched the 6,000 mark in February 2007 as investors began resorting to safe-haven markets such as the ASX with the looming threat of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. An ability to transform assets into cash as in case of Woodside Petroleum Limited was highly appreciated by nervous traders. Australia has always been an ideal market for investors because of its low interest rates and compelling corporate governance. Having low interest rates means that investors can better access capital through loans.

S&P/ASX 200 Composition

The components of the S&P/ASX 200 are reviewed by the Index Committee four times a year, particularly every 16th of March, June, September, and December. The Index Committee is a panel with five members that reviews the companies listed on the ASX, the 200 most active of which are then included in the S&P/ASX 200. Sometimes, depending on several factors such as market capitalization, liquidity, among others, less than 200 companies make it to the S&P/ASX 200. And this is the double reason to be proud for such companies as Woodside Petroleum Limited.

In the latest review of the S&P/ASX 200, the Index Committee had dropped six companies and had added six new companies on the coveted index.

As a free-float, market-capitalization-weighted index, the S&P/ASX 200 is quarterly adjusted with respect to the stock prices of frequently traded stocks. This means that stocks held by the government, venture capitalists, and the likes are not reviewed by the Index Committee.

The S&P/ASX 200 has various sectors with the financial sector being the largest as it makes up roughly 40% of the index. It makes up almost 80% of the overall market capitalization in Australia. Representing the top 200 stocks on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 is a reliable indicator of the Australian economy.

Needless to point out, investing in the ASX is worth considering. With a cheap borrowing environment complemented by a hot equity market, investors can realize their long-term goals by investing in Australia. At a time when the Asian economy is immensely growing, it is just right to bet on Australia’s growth.

More notable recent Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX:WPL) news were published by: Fool.com.Au which released: “Why Woodside Petroleum Limited is facing overseas headwinds” on October 22, 2017, also Fool.com.Au with their article: “Dividend review: Woodside Petroleum Limited” published on September 13, 2017, Fool.com.Au published: “Will Myanmar’s government cancel Woodside Petroleum Limited’s contracts?” on October 11, 2017. More interesting news about Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX:WPL) were released by: Fool.com.Au and their article: “Why the Woodside Petroleum Limited share price jumped 4% on today’s results” published on August 16, 2017 as well as Fool.com.Au‘s news article titled: “Is Woodside Petroleum Limited a buy at this share price?” with publication date: February 22, 2017.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd is an gas and oil company. The company has market cap of $26.79 billion. The Firm is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, evaluation, development, production and marketing. It has a 19.77 P/E ratio. It operates in three divisions: Producing comprising North West Shelf (NWS) Project, Pluto Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Australia Oil; Development comprising Browse floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and Wheatstone LNG, and Other.