Australian house prices fell for the first time since September 2020. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
US markets were in the red at the time of writing. The S&P 500 traded 0.9 per cent lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq dropped 1.0 per cent.
The consumer staples sector underperformed, down 1.6 per cent. Health and financials followed with declines of 1.5 and 1.4 per cent, respectively.
Energy (+2.1 per cent) was the sole sector in the green at the time of writing.
Salesforce was the standout performer among single stocks, up 10.0 per cent. The software company lifted its forecast profit for the 2023 full fiscal year. The firm now expects adjusted earnings between US$4.74 to US$4.76 per share, from US$4.62 to US$4.64 previously. Salesforce reduced its revenue guidance range for the 2023 fiscal year, from US$32.0 billion to US$32.1b, to US$31.7b to US$31.8b. For the quarter, the company reported revenue growth of 24 per cent to US$7.41b, beating market expectations.
Energy technology firm Baker Hughes traded 4.4 per cent higher at the time of writing. Crude oil producer ConocoPhillips gained 4.2 per cent, as oil prices lift.
On the flip side, chemicals manufacturer Albemarle dropped 8.4 per cent and fertiliser firm Mosaic Co fell 6.1 per cent. Materials firms, which are generally cyclical in nature, traded lower. Investors may be concerned about the US economic picture.
Job openings reduced by 455,000 in April. The gap between available workers and job openings narrowed to 5.46 million, from 5.6 million in March. Cost of living concerns dampened US consumer confidence, which fell from 108.6 points in April to 106.4 points in May.
Media and entertainment conglomerate Paramount Global slipped 6.0 per cent to close out the bottom movers.
Rest of the world
Asian markets were mixed. The Nikkei climbed 0.7 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite (-0.1 per cent) and the Hang Seng (-0.6 per cent) fell.
Japanese Ministry of Finance data revealed a 3.0 per cent year-on-year hike in corporate capital expenditure in the first quarter of 2022, marking four consecutive quarters of increased capital investment. This was primarily driven by manufacturers who increased their capital spending by 5.9 per cent year-on-year, outpacing the service sector (+1.6 per cent).
German retail sales dropped 5.4 per cent in real terms in April compared with the previous month, the lowest mark since February last year.
Commodities
At the time of writing, WTI Crude Oil prices increased 0.4 per cent to US$115.12. Gold gained 0.2 per cent to US$1845.50.
The benchmark US 10-year Treasury Yield lifted to 2.935 per cent, up 9.1 basis points. Cryptocurrencies declined, with Bitcoin down 4.1 per cent and Ethereum trading 4.5 per cent lower.
New Zealand
The NZX 50 closed in the green for the third time this week, up 0.6 per cent yesterday.
Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge was the top performer of the day, up 16.9 per cent after announcing that Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated health provider in the US, has agreed to incorporate Cxbladder tests within its Electronic Medical Records system. This means clinicians across the Kaiser Permanente Group will be able to order Cxbladder tests and view results directly within their clinical workflow.
A2 Milk supplier Synlait Milk rose 3.0 per cent. This comes after The a2 Milk Company's gain on Monday of 10.2 per cent. Electricity generation and retail company Contact Energy increased 3.0 per cent.
On the other hand, road charging and services provider Eroad was the biggest underperformer, dropping 3.4 per cent. Donations payment provider Pushpay Holdings fell 2.1 per cent and manufacturing company Skellerup Holdings declined 2.0 per cent.
The average value of New Zealand homes fell in May, with Auckland homes dropping by more than $47,000 over the last two months and the average value in the Wellington region decreasing by more than $36,000.
New Zealand's largest independent property valuation firm TelferYoung has been purchased by real estate company CBRE. The conditional deal is expected to be completed later in the second quarter and will add 20 offices to CBRE's footprint and double its employees.
Australia
The ASX 200 found small gains over the day, up 0.3 per cent.
Despite the calmness in the ASX 200 movement, the sectors were quite volatile. Telecommunication services, industrials and financials were the best performers with 1.9, 1.2 and 1.2 per cent increases respectively. On the other hand, utilities and information technology fell 5.3 and 1.5 per cent respectively.
Iron ore producer Fortescue Metals had the strongest performance of the day with a 3.2 per cent jump. This followed a 1.5 per cent increase to iron ore prices.
Telstra also performed well, up 3.1 per cent.
Rounding out the top three performers was TPG Telecom, with a 3.0 per cent increase to its share price.
Lithium company Pilbara Minerals experienced the largest decline of the day, down 22.0 per cent with the market expecting lithium prices to ease.
Other lithium companies Liontown and Allkem both finished deep in the red too, down 19.0 and 15.4 per cent by day's end.
Australia's GDP figures were released. These showed GDP increase 0.8 per cent (in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms) alongside a 5.9 per cent increase in trade.
Australian household savings dipped to 11.4 per cent of income, down from 13.4 per cent.
House prices fell for the first time since September 2020, with Sydney slipping 1.0 per cent and Melbourne dropping 0.7 per cent.
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Meanwhile, the post-election rally cooled in the United States.