The S&P 500 traded 1.0 per cent higher. Photo / AP
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
US markets were in the green at the time of writing. The S&P 500 traded 1.0 per cent higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 per cent, and the Nasdaq gained 2.1 per cent.
Consumer discretionary led sector gains with a 2.7 per cent rise. Materials climbed 2.3 per cent, and communication services increased 2.2 per cent.
Utilities (-0.5 per cent) was one of only three sectors trading lower at the time of writing. Energy and health were down 0.1 per cent each.
Energy technology companies ranked among the outperformers. SolarEdge Technologies was the top performing single stock, up 10.9 per cent, while Generac Holdings gained 10.8 per cent.
Enphase Energy rounded out the podium of outperformers with a 9.4 per cent improvement. The solar energy technology company announced increased deployment of their microinverter and battery products in Florida, as Floridians prepare for hurricane season power outages.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise dropped 6.6 per cent. The information technology company reported fiscal year 2022 second quarter results, headlined by revenue of US$6.7 billion and earnings per share of US$0.44. This was below market expectations.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals traded 5.7 per cent lower. The biotechnology firm announced the acquisition of global rights to develop, manufacture and market Libtayo, a cancer treatment, from French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. The deal contains an initial payment of US$900 million. Sanofi will also receive an 11 per cent royalty on global net sales, a US$100 million milestone payment upon regulatory approval, and up to US$100 million of sales related milestone payments.
Hormel Foods was also in the red, down 5.4 per cent. The food processor cut its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2022. Hormel forecasts a profit between US$1.87 and US$1.97 per share, tightened from a range of US$1.87 and US$2.03 previously.
Rest of the World
Asian markets were mixed. The Nikkei fell 0.2 per cent, and the Hang Seng declined 1.0 per cent. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.4 per cent.
Japanese conglomerate Toshiba revealed it has received 10 investment proposals, eight of which would take the firm private. Toshiba indicated that the company would provide potential partners with an opportunity for due diligence on and after July 2022, following the conglomerate's annual general meeting on 28 June.
Commodities
WTI Crude Oil prices lifted 1.3 per cent to US$116.73 at the time of writing. OPEC and its oil-producing allies agreed to a 648,000 barrel per day oil production increase during July and August to counteract missing Russian output.
Gold increased 1.2 per cent to US$1,871.90. The US 10-year Treasury Yield slipped 1.8 basis points to 2.913 per cent.
Bitcoin traded 0.1 per cent higher at the time of writing, while Ethereum fell 0.3 per cent.
New Zealand
The NZX 50 closed in the red for the first time this week, down 0.3 per cent yesterday.
Mainfreight was the top performer, up 2.6 per cent. Casino and hotel operator Skycity rose 1.9 per cent and infrastructure investment company Infratil increased 1.7 per cent.
Retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare was the biggest underperformer, down 2.8 per cent. Real estate investment trust company Goodman Property lost 2.6 per cent and Vital Healthcare Property Trust dropped 2.4 per cent.
Air New Zealand closed 1.6 per cent higher after releasing its April investor update. Passengers carried in April were 832,000, down 3.9 per cent from 866,000 in April 2021.
Kiwi Property Group was up 1.0 per cent. The company also disclosed capital change notices relating to the vesting of performance share rights under their share rights plan.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced the end of dividend restrictions on retail banks in NZ from July. A complete restriction on banks paying dividends to their shareholders was put in place in March 2020 to support financial stability during a time of uncertainty in financial markets and the world economy. The ban was eased to a 50 per cent restriction in March 2021.
The Treasury announced rises to the Kiwi Bond interest rates. The one-year rate increases to 2.5 per cent per annum and the two-year rate increases to 3.0 per cent per annum.
Australia
The ASX 200 reversed the previous day's gains, down 0.8 per cent at yesterday's close.
Energy and utilities were the only sectors to close in the green, up 3.0 and 1.1 per cent respectively. Information technology and health care were hit the hardest, down 2.5 and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Woodside Energy leads the index with a 5.2 per cent increase to its share price. Woodside Energy is currently merging with mining company BHP which will make Woodside the largest energy company on the ASX.
Tabcorp Holdings climbed back up 5.0 per cent by market close.
Mining and exploration company IGO Limited rounds out the top three, up 3.9 per cent. This is a small bounce back from IGO's 12.6 per cent fall on Wednesday.
Software-based elastic connectivity provider company Megaport was the biggest underperformer, down 6.0 per cent. This drop brings Megaport down 65.9 per cent year to date.
Medical device developer Polynovo also fell 5.9 per cent. Polynovo remains over 20 per cent up over the past month.
Carsales.com is rounding out the laggards of the day, down 5.6 per cent.
The seasonally adjusted goods and services surplus increased A$757 million over April. This brought the trade surplus to A$10,495 million and was made up of a A$479 million increase in exports and a A$278 million decrease in imports.
Retails sales increased 0.9 per cent in April versus the previous month, representing a 9.6 per cent increase from April 2021.
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Disclaimer: The Jarden Brief is provided for general information purposes only. It reflects views and research available 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. The Jarden 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 financial advice disclosure statement is available free of charge at https://www.jarden.co.nz/our-services/wealth-management/financial-advice-provider-disclosure-statement/ Full disclaimer available at: https://www.jarden.co.nz/wealth-sales-and-research-disclaimer
Shareholders have expressed concerns over the group's performance, and they want grocery.