Jarden Brief: More than half of US adult population now vaccinated

The US has been moving fast to vaccinate as many people as possible. Photo / Getty Images

Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden

New Zealand:

The NZX50 rose a slim 0.05 per cent yesterday. This rise was led by Consumer Cyclicals and Utilities, up 1.7 per cent apiece.

Healthcare and Consumer Non-cyclicals were the worst-performing sectors yesterday, down 1.4 and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

Ryman Healthcare recovered from Tuesday's loss, being the top-performing stock of the NZX50 yesterday with a 4.8 per cent gain. Mercury New Zealand rose 3.9 per cent. Kim Gordon was appointed as the Future Director.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare fell 3.8 per cent yesterday, being the worst performer for the second day running. A2 Milk fell 2.8 per cent.

Tower Insurance updated its guidance for the 2021 financial year and rose 1.3 per cent yesterday. Net profit after tax is now expected to be between $25 million to $27 million, with previous guidance being higher and outside this range at over $29.8 million.
Increased claims frequency has resulted in higher costs and driven the underperformance.

Mainfreight released their full-year results for the financial year ended March 2021. Sales revenue increased 14.5 per cent to $3.54 billion. Profit before tax increased to $272.41 million, up by 27.2 per cent. Mainfreight rose 0.4 per cent yesterday.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Monetary Policy Review was released yesterday. The Official Cash Rate remains unchanged, along with other current monetary policy settings. The RBNZ see an improved economic outlook post Covid-19, with general business sentiment rising and the labour market remaining resilient. Annual inflation in New Zealand was 1.5 per cent for the first quarter of 2021 and the unemployment rate was a low 4.7 per cent for the same period. The RBNZ believes that monetary stimulus is still required to support the economy and achieve sustainable employment and inflation of about 2 per cent.

INTERNATIONAL
US:

US markets are in the green this morning as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have advanced 0.2 and 0.5 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained unchanged at the time of writing.

A release of macroeconomic data included consumer confidence for the month of May, with the index falling to 117.2 from 117.5 in April, slightly below expectations. On a lighter note, the survey's 'current situation measure', which measures consumer sentiment on current business and labour market conditions, jumped to 144.3 from 131.9 last month, a 14-month high.

Sector gains include Consumer Cyclicals and Energy, each leading the way with 1.1 and 0.7 per cent increases.

These sector gains were well supported by the single stock winners Ford Motor Company and media organisation, Discovery Inc. Ford traded favourably as investors reacted to an announcement that it now plans to increase spending on the production of electric vehicles to US$30bn by 2025, close to 40 per cent of production volume. Discovery was a benefactor of Amazon's proposed acquisition of MGM Studios, pushing valuations higher across the industry.

In contrast, downward pressure on indices was drawn from sector losses in Healthcare (down 0.5 per cent) and Consumer Non-Cyclicals (down 0.1 per cent).

Rounding out as the single stock loser at the time of writing was packaging company, Ball Corp, which slumped to a 3.9 per cent loss after a series of broker downgrades. Similarly, medical supply retailer, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, fell 3.1 per cent after reports Amazon is considering launching a line of pharmaceutical stores and could be a direct competitor in the medium term.

US markets continue to trade with the ebbs and flows of Covid-19 developments.

However, investors may see an end in sight with today marking a significant milestone as now, more than half of adult American's have received some form of Covid vaccination.
It was Amazon dominating US news flow this morning, as Amazon Founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, today announced at the company's annual shareholder meeting that he will step down as CEO effective July 5th. The announcement did little to hinder the share price, up 0.5 per cent, currently trading at $US 3,274.3.

Rest of the World Markets:

The main Asian indices were up at the close, with the Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite, and Nikkei making 0.9, 0.3 and 0.3 per cent gains respectively.
Commodities:

Among the commonly tracked commodities. Gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$1,894.0 per ounce. Cryptocurrencies rose with Bitcoin advancing another 3.0 per cent to US$38,727.3 while Ethereum followed suit with its own 7.0 per cent increase, now trading at US$2,728.0.

Lastly, the US 10-year yield climbed slightly, now trading at 1.579 per cent, as the Federal Reserve eases inflation concerns.

Australian Markets:

On Wednesday, the ASX200 closed slightly lower, down 0.3 per cent.

The best performing sectors were Information Technology (+1.1 per cent) and Telecommunication Services (+0.8 per cent) and the worst performers were Materials (-1.2 per cent) and Health Care (-1.0 per cent).

ALS Limited booked the biggest gains, increasing 12.8 per cent. The inspection and certification business released its full year 2021 results yesterday, which showed a good recovery in the second half of the year ending 31 March 2021. However, revenue decreased by 5.0 per cent year-on-year to AU$1,761 million. The FY21 total dividend is 23.10 cents per share, up 31.3 per cent compared to FY20 total dividend. Next in line was real estate media and technology services business, Domain Holdings Australia, up 5.3 per cent, followed by data centre operator, Nextdc Limited, rising 5.2 per cent.

Online retailer, Kogan.com, corrected some of the gains from the previous two days, decreasing 5.7 per cent, continuing a volatile streak that started last Thursday. Copper miner, OZ Minerals, was also trading in the red, falling 5.0 per cent. Rounding out the worst performers of the day was online market place for print on demand products, Redbubble Limited, down 4.9 per cent, continuing its downward trend over the last month.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (-0.1 per cent) shares broke through the AU$100 mark for the first time during yesterday's session. The bank has delivered an annualised return of 10.2 per cent over the last 30 years before dividends. At the end of the session the shares dipped just below the record mark and closed at AU$99.58.

In other news, COVID cases in Melbourne keep rising. The now 15 confirmed cases have all been linked to a man who contracted the Indian strain of the virus in hotel quarantine in Adelaide. Concerns are increasing regarding a couple of AFL games, which were attended by two of the people who have now tested positive for the virus.

In New South Wales, farmers and residents in rural towns are battling a mice plague. A summer of heavy rain and cooler weather created perfect breeding grounds for the pests, which are now destroying crops and homes along the east coast of Australia. Many farmers might not be able to return to profitability after having struggled with droughts and other unfavourable conditions over the last few years. The infestation is on track to cause AU$100 million worth of damage.

• For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.

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-disclaimera>