A2 Milk has had a rough run on the stock market. Photo / File
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The NZX50 faced a midday sell-off but recovered towards the end of Tuesday's session. The index closed 0.2 per cent lower.
New Zealand's stock exchange operator NZX Limited, was the
best performing stock of the day. It more than recovered losses on Friday and closed 2.4 per cent higher at $2.10.
Energy retailers Mercury NZ and Genesis Energy were also performing well, increasing 2.4 and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
The biggest loser of Tuesday's session was milk powder manufacturer A2 Milk, dropping 5.6 per cent to $7.46. The company continues to struggle with repercussions from the pandemic and may potentially drop out of the MSCI All World Index due to its recent decline in market capitalisation. Investors may be having jitters around the potential sell down to come – especially in light of the volatility in Meridian and Contact just earlier in the month.
Gentailers continue to be volatile with Meridian ending the day down 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, Contact traded flat.
Corporate travel platform Serko was also in the red, decreasing 2.8 per cent.
The FMA has warned fund managers not to use misleading advertisements and urged investors to look at the whole picture. Some fund managers were trying to attract new clients by advertising their extraordinary returns over the past twelve months. However, these returns were off a low base – with markets worldwide plunging in March 2020.
INTERNATIONAL
US Markets
At the time of writing the S&P 500 was flat after rising to a record high, the Nasdaq had lost yesterday's gain, down 0.3 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered yesterday's loss, up 0.1.
The top-performing sectors at the time of writing were Industrials and Energy, which rose 0.8 and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
Logistics company United Parcel Services recovered after being the worst performer of the S&P500 yesterday, up 11.2 per cent. This is a 52-week high for United Parcel Services.
Another outperformer was rival operator FedEx, which rose 4.7 per cent.
The sectors underperforming the most at the time of writing were Utilities and Consumer Staples, falling a respective 0.4 and 0.3 per cent.
Cadence Design Systems fell 7.0 per cent and Centene declined 5.8 per cent. Insurance company Centene fell after its Q1 2021 earnings report was released. Despite beating analyst forecasts slightly, their medical loss ratio which measures the amount of premium revenue spent on medical care and services fell to 86.8 per cent compared to 88.0 per cent in the previous quarter.
All eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee this week in the US, with a decision to be made around the Fed rate and the current level of monetary stimulus.
Rest of world:
Asian indices were mixed overnight. The Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng were flat, while the Nikkei returned a loss of 0.5 per cent.
The caution in the Asian markets is driven by the impending Federal Reserve decision of the Federal Open Market Committee later this week.
The Japanese Central bank released its policy statement, flagging a downgraded inflation outlook. Policy remained unchanged. Japan has now missed its inflation target of 2 per cent per annum for ten years running.
Commodities:
Gold fell 0.2 per cent to US$1,776.50 per ounce. Cryptocurrencies rose, with Bitcoin up 1.7 per cent and Ethereum up 5.9 per cent.
The US-10 year bond currently yields 1.627 per cent.
Lastly, oil price rose 1.7 per cent, with WTI Crude Oil trading at US$62.94.
Australia
The S&P/ASX 200 traded in the red yesterday with the index falling a slim 0.2 per cent to 7033.8 points.
Investor expectations were dampened after the release of the monthly ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey for March which was appropriately titled "little dipper". In summary, the survey saw overall consumer confidence fall by 2 points to 111, which halted a post COVID-19 rebound after the index hit as low as 85 in March last year. Furthermore, the portion of people who believe it is a good time to buy a major household item fell to a net 14%, while inflation expectations eased.
Leading sectors were Basic Materials and Energy, making gains of 0.8 and 0.1 per cent, respectively.
Waste management company Bingo Industries Ltd led the way with a strong performance, up 6.3 per cent at yesterdays close. Reason for the gain was likely news that the company had accepted takeover deal for A$3.45 per share – explaining the rise in stock price to A$3.40.
On the flip side, Industrials (down 1.7 per cent) and Academic & Educational Services (down 0.8 per cent) were the laggard sectors at yesterdays close.
Weighing down index performance was single stock loser Nickel Mines which traded unfavourably (down 12.1 per cent) after a raft of quarterly production statistics which were published yesterday morning. The company produces Nickel Pig Iron with statistics showing production was down 8.7 per cent for the quarter.
Joining Nickel Mines on the single stock losers' podium was biotech company Mesoblast Ltd, which traded down 7.8 per cent. The company continues to underperform after a class action was filed against them last week on behalf of investors. The class action claims the company made several false or misleading claims about its product.
In other news, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has paused all direct flights from India to Australia after a spike in COVID infected arrivals from India entering quarantine facilities. This comes after infections continue to spiral out of control in India, which have caused countries (including New Zealand) to impose similar travel restrictions.
Coming up Today:
Retirement village operator Summerset Holdings will be holding its AGM, while KFC owner and operator Restaurant Brands will be reporting its first-quarter sales and revenue numbers.
Australia's latest inflation numbers will also be released later in the day, while supermarket operator Coles will be releasing a quarterly update. Investors may also be watching Mirvac's quarterly update to gauge the strength of the residential housing market, as one of the few Australian stocks which directly operate in the area.
• 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>
Around 18,500 public servants received a pay rise in the quarter.