Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The SPX NZ50 was down 0.7 per cent on the day.
Generator retailer Contact Energy was the best performing stock on the market, up 4.5 per cent. Cancer diagnostics company PEB also had another good day, up 4.1 per cent. Mercury Energy and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare were the worst performers on the day, down 5.2 and 3.5 per cent respectively.
Contact Energy released its monthly operating report yesterday. Mass customer market electricity and gas sales were 299-gigawatt hours, compared to 313 in November 2019. Wholesale electricity sales were 616 GWh compared to 596 in November 2019. Both revenue and costs per megawatt hour were up on the previous November, albeit 2019 numbers were low.
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Stride Property Group, down 0.9 per cent, announced that its latest share purchase plan had closed 26 per cent oversubscribed. The SPP will raise $50 million as part of a wider effort to raise $230 million. Stride is "delighted with shareholder support" and will use the funds to finance its acquisition of properties in Wellington. The additional equity will also decrease the loan to value ratio for the group's assets, freeing up Stride to explore future growth opportunities.
The government has agreed in principle to establish a quarantine-free Trans-Tasman travel bubble in the first quarter of 2021. Tourism industry participants are hopeful that the strategy will go some way towards plugging the $12.9 billion economic hole created by the cessation of international tourism due to Covid-19.
INTERNATIONAL
US Markets:
At time of writing, the major US indices were all pushing higher with the S&P 500 up 0.3 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial up 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq performing the best, rising 1.2 per cent.
Technology and Consumer Cyclicals were the best performing sectors, up by 0.6 per cent apiece. On the other hand, Energy and Financials were the weakest sectors, down 2.7 and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Declines in oil stocks led the Energy sector down, with Occidental down 6.7 per cent, Diamondback Energy down 4.2 per cent and Marathon down 3.8 per cent.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals soared by 30.9 per cent, while British pharmaceuticals and Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca dropped 5.7 per cent today after the latter agreed to purchase Alexion for US$39 billion. The deal will see Alexion shareholders receive US$60 cash and circa US$115 in AstraZeneca stock, if successful. The implied value of US$175 per share was a hefty premium to Alexion's last close of US$120.98, and shares are now trading at US$158.29.
Meanwhile, London has confirmed a move back into Tier 3 restrictions on social movement, after the Health Secretary confirmed that authorities have identified a new strain of the virus which has been linked to the faster spread of cases in southeast England.
Asian markets:
The Shanghai (+0.7 per cent) and Nikkei (+0.3 per cent) indices rose yesterday evening, while the Hangseng slid by 0.4 per cent.
Singapore has announced it expects its first shipments of Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccines by the end of next month, with other vaccines also to arrive in the 'coming months'. First priority will be given to high-risk individuals, such as border personnel and the elderly.
Meanwhile, China has fined Alibaba and Tencent over a number of historic transactions. The first fine to be announced was for Alibaba's failure to seek approval from increasing its stake in Intime Retail Group to 73.8 per cent in 2017, while Tencent has been censured over another deal - although details are more obscure. The fines follow recent Chinese regulators statements that they are trying to crack down on internet monopolies
Commodities:
At time of writing, Gold was down 0.9 per cent at US$1,823.40 per ounce. WTI Crude continued to rally, up 0.9 per cent and trading at US$46.99 per barrel.
Australia:
The Australian market was up 0.3 per cent yesterday, despite a muted performance on Wall Street last Saturday.
Bathroom, kitchen and plumbing supplier Reece rose 3.3 per cent today after global indices player confirmed it will be joining the ASX 200. Consumer electronics retailer Kogan (+1.0 per cent) will also join the benchmark index.
Recent IPO cloud computing stock Sovereign Cloud closed at $1.10, up 46.7 per cent from its listing price. Financial services company IOOF was also up by 2.8 per cent after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission advised it will not be opposing its acquisition of MLC from NAB.
However, the star of the day was Afterpay - which closed up 8.8 per cent ahead of its inclusion into the ASX 20 index effective next Monday. The stock led the tech sector to close up 3.04 per cent, the best performing sector of the day.
The gains within the tech sector may have been helped by the Australian financial market regulators announcing plans to change the rules around insider selling in their companies
The proposal, which has been pushed by tech industry leaders and supported by the ASX, will see the Australian market follow a US approach - allowing CEOs, directors, and other senior executives to sell shares in a gradual fashion after signalling their intention to the market.
This differs from the current rules which require insiders to sell in large blocks of stock, at infrequent time periods. The effect is often negative on the share price as investors view this as insiders believing the share price is overvalued.
COMING UP
International
In the US, we will see Empire manufacturing and IP data out today, while in China IP, Retail sales and Fixed Assets Investment data will come out.
Australia
Later today in Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia will be releasing minutes for its fortnightly meeting on monetary policy. In addition, Westpac will be releasing its consumer confidence survey results.
Disclaimer: This Morning Brief has been prepared in good faith and reflects opinions and views at the time of publication, using external sources, systems and other data and information we believe to be accurate, complete and reliable at the time of preparation. We make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, correctness and completeness of that information, and will not be liable or responsible for any error or omission. This Morning Brief is not to be relied upon as a basis for making any investment decision. Please seek specific investment advice before making any investment decision. Jarden Securities Limited is an NZX Firm, a broker disclosure statement is available free of charge at www.jarden.co.nz. Jarden is not a registered bank in New Zealand. Full disclaimer available at: https://www.jarden.co.nz/limitations-and-disclaimer
