There are concerns that the AstraZeneneca vaccine causes bloodclots. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand:
The NZX 50 was up 0.6 per cent in yesterday's session.
Consumer discretionary was the winning sector (+ 2.5 per cent), followed by energy (+2.2 per cent) and information technology (+2.0 per cent).
The worst performing sectors were materials, (- 0.9 per cent) consumer staples (-0.4 per cent) and financials (-0.4 per cent).
After reporting its very strong full-year results yesterday, the Briscoe Group's share price increased by 5.5 per cent to $5.80, making it the top performer of the day. The firm's net profit after tax for the year ending 31 January 2021 was $73.20 million, up almost 17 per cent compared to last year. Its online sales growth rose by 79.7 per cent, making the Briscoe Group one of the winners during the pandemic.
Serko, the corporate travel booking and expense management provider, rose by 5.3 per cent to $6.19. Number three on the top performer list was SkyCity Entertainment, up 4.8 per cent to $3.51.
The worst performers of the day were Just Life Group, down 10.1 per cent to $0.80, Marlborough Wine Estates, decreasing a further 5.8 per cent to $0.33, and Cavalier Corporation, down 5.6 per cent to $0.34.
Rob Everett, the current CEO of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), will be leaving the regulator in the second half of this year. After being with the FMA for the last seven years and turning it into the regulatory body it is today.
Fonterra will be reporting on its Half Year results today.
INTERNATIONAL:
US:
At the time of writing, the S&P 500 was down 0.1 per cent, the DJIA was down 0.4 per cent and the NASDAQ advanced 0.6 per cent.
The top-performing sector was Technology, up 1.1 per cent, with the worst-performing sector being Energy, for the second day in a row, which slipped 2.5 per cent.
Today's top-performing stocks are technology manufacturing equipment firm, Applied Equipment, up 4.7 per cent, and news broadcaster, Fox Corp, up 4.4 per cent.
Fox's rise came after their chairman Rupert Murdoch announced he was increasing his stake in the company and purchasing an additional 500,000 shares, taking his holdings to 1.9 million shares.
On the flip side, the worst performing stocks were oilfield equipment manufacturer Nov Inc, down 9.0 per cent, and oil industry service provider Hailliburton Co, which had fallen 4.8 per cent at the time of writing. Oil prices decreased again today.
The Federal Reserve began their two-day March meeting today. The result of this meeting in terms of interest rates and inflation will likely influence global markets later in the week. Every quarter, members of the Federal Open Market Committee forecast interest rates in the short, medium and long term. A rebounding U.S. economy could see interest rate increases tabled.
The recent rise in bond yields has seen many investors switch from growth stocks to other asset offerings as other asset classes look increasingly attractive.
Rest of the world
Asian markets were up yesterday after the previous day's mixed bag with the Shanghai index recovering 0.8 per cent, the Nikkei up by 0.5 per cent, and the Hangseng up 0.7 per cent.
The Bank of Japan begins its two-day policy meeting on Thursday.
Meanwhile, more European countries have continued to pause their rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been rumoured to cause dangerous blood clots and illness. Sweden and Latvia join 11 other countries in suspending vaccination, including major countries such as France, Germany, Spain and Italy. However, European health regulators continue to insist that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks – with no clear indication that the vaccine has caused such side effects.
Commodities:
Gold recovered 0.6 per cent today at US$1729.50 per ounce. Oil prices fell again today, down 1.1 per cent to US$64.71 a barrel from a high last week. Of the crypto currencies, Bitcoin fell again, down 1.6 per cent and Ethereum recovered slightly, up 0.3 per cent.
This week India has proposed a new law banning cryptocurrency with fines for trading or holding the asset class after a six-month grace period. Criminalising possession, issuance, mining, trading, and transferring of crypto assets in India, the most populous democracy in the world, has dampened global demand. Investors have responded unfavourably to this news with Bitcoin falling for a second day.
Lastly, US 10-year treasury yields were relatively flat overnight, down 0.01 per cent, hovering around 1.60 per cent. All eyes are on the result of the Federal Reserve meeting result later in the week.
Australian Markets:
The S&P/ASX 200 finished trading up 0.8 per cent. During the session it was up 1.2 per cent, the largest intra-day gain in over a week.
This movement comes after the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) meeting minutes, which re-enforced the reserve governors' dovish tone in his speech yesterday afternoon. Highlights from the minutes include admittance that a negative interest rate is "extraordinarily unlikely", not committing to any cash rate change until inflation hits the 2-3 per cent target band, and that the RBA does not expect Australia to reach its unemployment and inflation targets until "at least" 2024.
The reserve bank cash rate remains at 0.1 per cent.
Sizeable sector movers were Academic and Educational Services up 3.7 per cent, and Healthcare increasing 2.4 per cent respectively. Contributing to healthcare's rise was Medical Device company Polynovo Ltd whose share price climbed 6.6 per cent after investors reacted favourably to a large-scale share purchase by one of the company's directors, David Williams. The second-largest jump was Payment Solution company Tyro Pay, growing 5.9 per cent.
In the red today were both the Energy and Materials sectors, down 0.2 and 0.8 per cent. The worst performing single stock was wholesaler and distributor Metcash LTD which slipped 4.0 per cent after their investor day and guidance was released this morning. Following suit, Materials company BHP group fell 2.2 per cent after their half-yearly guidance was released to investors.
• 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
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