Tesla had a strong day on the market. Photo / File
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The NZX rose 0.5 per cent yesterday. The top performing sectors were financials, up 2.0 per cent, and utilities, up 1.2 per cent.
Vista Group International was the top performer of the day. It advanced 5.3 per cent on the back of Monday's news that their CEO had significantly increased his personal share ownership in the company. Gentailers dominated the next two podium spots. Meridian Energy recovered 4.1 per cent on their position on the previous day, while Genesis Energy rose 3.7 per cent.
ANZ Business Outlook survey preliminary results for March were released yesterday, which showed a fall in business confidence. Despite this, businesses expect 2 per cent inflation for the year and higher prices. Special concern was noted for busy sectors such as construction, which are running up against constraints in terms of the availability of labour and imported material.
The property sector was the worst-performing sector yesterday, declining 1.3 per cent after staying somewhat resilient throughout the increasing bond yield environment. Consumer cyclicals were down 1.1 per cent. Property companies were some of the worst performers. Stride Property was the worst performer yesterday, falling 4.6 per cent and Investore Property fell 2.9 per cent.
The third worst performing company was Mercury NZ, down 2.7 per cent.
Mobile engagement company Plexure Group rose 4.5 per cent during yesterday's session when they released a Market Guidance Update. They are now expecting to better their financial guidance provided on 11 November 2020. The result of 1 per cent higher revenue than expected, up $0.2 million, and lower costs has culminated in a forecast EBITDA loss of $5.6 million. This loss is 20 per cent less than the original forecast, which was well received by investors.
Community Finance announced 'The Aotearoa Pledge' in a media release yesterday, which involves the raising of $100 million for new housing supply in 2021. The funds would provide community housing providers and investors collaborating to do their part addressing the housing crisis in New Zealand.
INTERNATIONAL
US Markets:
A solid run for US stocks overnight as all three of the S&P500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq indices are trading up 2.1, 1.0, and 3.8 per cent respectively at the time of writing.
Top sectors include Consumer Discretionary up 4.7 per cent and Information Technology up 3.7 per cent, while Energy currently the worst performing sector overnight, down 0.7 per cent.
Best performers today were Tesla Inc and Enphase Energy Inc, up 15.1 and 11.8 per cent at the time of writing.
Like investor favourite Gamestop Inc, a new stock, has seen extreme price movement this last week, which can also be attributed to attention stemming from news aggregation forum Reddit. Mass media company Discovery Inc is currently the worst performer, down 5.7 per cent. Similar to GameStop, significant short interest from large institutional investors lead to a fight back from retail investors, temporarily propping up its stock pricepodu which has still rallied 110 per cent over this year.
In other news, European markets were buoyant yesterday after a commitment from several governments (including Germany and France) to significantly increase the speed of their vaccination programmes.
The renewed fervour comes after messaging from both the WHO and the general public that vaccination rollouts were lagging behind the speeds of close neighbours. For example, earlier this week France had vaccinated 3.58 million out of their population of around 67 million whilst on the other hand, the UK had vaccinated close to 23 million people. Prospects of a nearing end to the pandemic enthused investors. In light of this, the DAX and CAC are in the green today, both up about 0.4 per cent respectively.
Commodities:
In commodities today, Gold was up 2.2 per cent at US$1,715.40 per ounce. Bitcoin is currently trading higher at $53,783.90 even after hitting its highest level in 2 weeks yesterday, topping over USD$1 trillion in total value. Ethereum is also up 2.7 per cent to US$1,822.52 at the time of writing. WTI Crude oil fell to US$64.16 per barrel after yesterday's surge. Lastly, US 10-year treasury yields are down today at 1.549 per cent.
Australia
The ASX 200 was up 0.5 per cent on Tuesday.
The best performing sectors were Utilities and Industrials respectively, up 1.2 and 1.1 per cent. The ones lagging the most were Information Technology (down 1.7 per cent) and Energy (down 0.5 per cent).
The best performing stock for the session was telecommunications company Vocus Group, up 8.6 per cent to A$5.43. This increase occurred after Vocus signed a deal with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and superannuation fund manager Aware Super to sell its business at A$5.50 per share. The Enterprise Value of Vocus is A$4.6 billion.
Business travel manager Corporate Travel and commercial real estate company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield rounded out the second and third best performers, up 7.5 and 6.1 per cent, respectively.
The stock that underperformed the market the most was medical imaging company Pro Medicus, which fell 5.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, internet service provider Megaport and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) fell 4.4 and 4.0 per cent, respectively. IAG closed at A$4.62, recovering more 10 per cent after dropping more than 10.0 per cent during Tuesday's session, causing a trading halt at A$4.32. Investors are concerned about IAG's involvement with Greensill Capital, a supply chain financing firm, which has filed for administration and is facing a collapse. The rebound of IAG stock towards the end of the session occurred after the firm released an announcement confirming its insurance exposure to Greensill was fully reinsured when it sold its stake in the trade underwriting agency during 2019.
The OpenMarkets Group, a financial services, advice and education provider is planning on becoming publicly listed sometime this year and has raised A$10 million in pre-initial public offering funding. With the rapid digitization happening worldwide, the company intends to use the momentum to grow and further extend its capabilities.
Yesterday, the National Australia Bank (NAB) published its monthly business survey for February. Business confidence increased to 16 index points, and business conditions bounced up to 15 index points. These are positive indicators for the economy, and they underline the recovery of the business sector.
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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
Scott Carr has had many leadership roles over a 35-year span.