The top performing company was Fonterra Shareholders Fund, which rose by 2.7 per cent. This comes as high milk prices have been reflected by strong dairy sentiment.
Retirement village and aged care operator, Arvida Group, increased by 2.3 per cent yesterday, and was the second-best performing stock on the NZX50. It was announced that the board's chair, Peter Wilson, has elected to not stand for re-election at the AGM in July and will instead retire from the board. He will be replaced by Anthony Beverley.
Genesis Energy and Z Energy were the biggest underperformers of yesterday's session. They declined 3.2 and 3.0 per cent, respectively.
The REINZ Monthly Property Report was released yesterday which showed the property market is still running hot. Median House prices in New Zealand increased by 24.3 per cent for the year to March 2021, with the average residential property reaching a record $826,300, while the percentage of homes sold for $1 million or more increased from 20 per cent in March 2020 to 34.8 per cent in March. This is a New Zealand record, along with the portion of New Zealand properties sold for less than $500,000, at 15.3 per cent, down from 27.9 per cent a year ago. These records in house price come off the back of the Government's recent measures taken to relieve the pressure on the housing market in New Zealand. First home buyers will be hoping that the effects of these measures are reflected in house prices in the coming months.
INTERNATIONAL
US Markets
US markets are advancing past record highs set earlier in the week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8 per cent, the Nasdaq up 1.2 per cent, and the S&P500 up around 1.0 per cent at the time of writing.
Overall index returns climbed after the release of strong economic data, in combination with a solid start to the first quarter reporting season.
Highlights include retail sales being 9.8 per cent greater in March than February in 2021, (far in excess of consensus estimates) whilst unemployment insurance filings and jobless claims were also lower than expected.
Not surprisingly, Technology and Healthcare sectors led the way, outperforming 1.7 per cent each at the time of writing.
Usually, tech stocks will trade higher when yields are falling, due to greater future cash flows, lower yields lead to future cashflow's being discounted at a lower rate, hence, present cash flows of tech companies become proportionately more valuable.
Today's single stock winners were both tech related. Semiconductor manufacturer's Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Xilinx Inc outperformed with gains of 6.6 and 6.1 per cent respectively.
In contrast, Financials and Energy were the only two sectors in the red, down 0.7 and 0.9 per cent at the time of writing. Financial holding's company Trust Financial Corp traded poorly after its quarterly earnings release (down 5 per cent) also, energy company Enphase Energy Inc fell 4.8 per cent.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were mixed at the time of writing. The Shenzhen fell 0.54 per cent, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5 per cent, and the Nikkei advanced a slim 0.07 per cent.
Commodities
Among the main commodities today, Gold increased its value by 1.8 per cent to US$1,767.9 per ounce. US treasury yields fell in response to a stronger macroeconomic outlook, with the 10-year yield currently sitting at 1.532 per cent, down from 1.64 per cent yesterday morning.
The Jarden brief continues to follow Crypto exchange platform 'Coinbase' after its IPO on Thursday morning (NZT). Coinbase is currently trading at US$325, down from yesterday's closing price of US$328, valuing the company at US$65 billion at the time of writing.
Crypto movements include Bitcoin trading up 1.6 per cent at US$62,802.9 joined by Ethereum, up 8.1 per cent to US$2,470.84 at the time of writing.
Lastly, WTI Crude oil nudged forward 0.3 per cent, to US$63.3 per barrel.
Australian Markets:
Yesterday, the ASX200 continued its upward trend and increased a further 0.5 per cent edging closer to its 52-week high.
Materials was the biggest winner of the day, rising 1.8 per cent, while Utilities decreased by 0.9 per cent.
Petroleum company Ampol rose 5.4 per cent to A$25.73, after releasing its strong unaudited financial results for 1Q 2021. Metal miner IGO was next in line on the leader board, increasing 5.3 per cent to A$7.17, followed by iron ore mining firm Champion Iron, up 5.2 per cent to A$6.27.
Coal miner Whitehaven Coal suffered a 15.5 per cent drop to A$1.56, caused by the release of the March 2021 Quarterly Report, which described a mixed performance across the firm.
Despite the successful completion of an institutional placement, said to raise A$650 million, gold miner Regis Resources slumped 15.1 per cent to A$2.69.
Zip Co booked further losses today (-6.9 per cent to A$8.95) after it successfully priced A$400 million senior convertible notes due in 2028. The notes were sold at a 35.0 per cent conversion premium.
In other news, US-based banking giant Citi is said to be looking for acquirers for its Australian consumer banking operations, which include credit cards, loans, retail banking, wealth management for high-net-worth individuals and mortgages. The firm wants to focus more on the institutional side and capital markets businesses.
Yesterday, windfarm operator Tilt Renewables put its shares in a trading halt until Monday, while management considers to pursue a better offer than the $2.96 billion deal that was reached with AGL Energy's renewable energy fund and Mercury NZ earlier this year.
Later today, shareholders of Coca-Cola Amatil (current share price A$ 13.46) will meet virtually to discuss the approval of Coca-Cola European Partners' A$13.50 a share offer. This would amount to a A$9.8 billion takeover and result in the delisting of Coca-Cola Amatil from the ASX. If approved by the Supreme Court next week, Coca-Cola Europe would resume control on 10 May.
• 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-disclaimer