Sky TV recorded first half revenue down 7 per cent year on year, although EBITDA was improved by 30 per cent. Profit was a solid 233 per cent up from last year's first half, although this was off a low base. Although their full year guidance remained, the market seemed to be disappointed with the result - selling off the stock and causing a 4.4 per cent tumble in its price.
Meanwhile, vaccine-led optimism saw reopen-favoured stocks Air New Zealand go up 2.6 per cent to $1.60, Auckland International Airport rally 3.9 per cent to $3.93 and Vista Group up 2.0 per cent to $1.55. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare dropped another 4.1 per cent.
Sanford fell 4.7 per cent after a court decision ordering the seizure of a $20 million trawler owned by Sanford for illegally fishing in a protected area - with an additional cash fine of $36,000. Sanford will be appealing the result.
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS:
United States:
At the time of writing the S&P 500 was down 0.7 per cent. The Dow Jones was down 0.6 per cent and the Nasdaq was down 2.3 per cent as the technology sector underperformed the market.
Self-administered REIT Extra Space Storage was the best performing company on the day, up 7.0 per cent. The company's fourth quarter results surprised the market. Funds from operations per share was US$1.48, beating out consensus estimates of US$1.35 per share. The figure is up 16.5 per cent on the previous comparable quarter. Revenue of US$353.5 million was also up 5.3 per cent on the previous comparable quarter.
Defence contractor Leidos Holdings was the worst performer on the day, down 9.4 per cent. The slump came on a fourth quarter result that missed revenue estimates (US$3,252 million verses 3,400 million), and which beat adjusted earnings per share estimates (US$1.63 verses 1.60). It was also admitted that Leidos is being investigated for possible securities laws violations.
Asia:
At time of writing the Shenzhen index was down 0.9 per cent and the Shanghai index was down 0.2 per cent.
The Chinese government insists that the onus on repairing the US-Sino relationship rests on the US. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that the Biden administration should reopen dialogue, remove "unreasonable tariffs and abandon "irrational suppression" of China's technological process.
However, Biden has signalled that he wants to retain some of his predecessor's Chinese policies. His Chinese policy team has been filled with people who, in the past, have taken a tough stance on China. Additionally, Wally Adeyemo, nominee for the number two position at the treasury department, has indicated that the US is open to using Trump-era investment bans to punish China for international trade violations.
Commodities:
At time of writing, gold was down 0.1 per cent to US$1807.6 per ounce. Bitcoin was down 13.3 per cent to US$47,500 while Ethereum was down 13.6 per cent to US$1,550. WTI Crude oil was down 0.2 per cent to US$61.6 per barrel. US 10-year treasury yields were down fractionally to 1.361 per cent.
Australian Markets:
The ASX 200 rebounded strongly yesterday, up 0.9 per cent despite a poor performance in the tech sector.
Energy stocks led the way up, with the sector advancing 4.9 per cent off the back of Beach Energy (+7.0 per cent), Santos (+5.9 per cent) and Oil Search (+6.4 per cent) despite reporting a A$407 million full year loss.
Insurance company AUB Group rose by 10.0 per cent after lifting their full year profit guidance to A$63 to $65 million, while Bank of Queensland gained 12.8 per cent after further digestion of its A$1.35 billion ME Bank acquisition.
Tech stocks lagged the market, tumbling 4.1 per cent. Buy now pay later stocks led the downward momentum, with giant Afterpay dropping 7.2 per cent and competitors Zip Co (-3.4 per cent) and Sezzle (-6.6 per cent) also faltering.
Online job-seeker platform Seek fell 7.1 per cent after a series of bombshell announcements - with the company set to split out its business into a venture capital side and core business side. Notably, Seek also reported that it was in talks to reduce its investment in Zhaopin - the Chinese jobs website which short-sellers had previously claimed were forging false job advertisements last year.
Stocks that seemed to dominate the recent earnings season also experienced a correction, with Domino's Pizza (-8.9 per cent) and Nick Scali (-7.7 per cent) both down.
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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
