Vaccine makers have seen a big rise in revenue. 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 down 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by falls in the financial and healthcare sectors, which each fell 2.0 and 0.8 per cent.
Technology and energy were the only sectors to increase, up 0.6 and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
Investore Property was the top performer, rising 3.8 per cent following a results release. Net rental income came in at $28 million, with small amounts of rent relief for Covid-19 affected tenants in Auckland and Waikato. It was a reasonably active first half, with $77.3 million of acquisitions completed for the company.
Agribusiness company Scales increased 2.2 per cent, adding to year-to-date performance of 8.8 per cent.
Corporate travel software company Serko rose 1.8 per cent ahead of its half year results release next Wednesday.
NZX fell 2.8 per cent, declining 9.7 per cent year-to-date, while Ryman Healthcare declined 2.5 per cent, continuing its broad decline since early September.
Contact Energy fell 2.4 per cent. On Tuesday it proposed the country's power generators combine gas and coal resources to create a new company, ThermalCo, as part of a plan to transition to 100 per cent renewable generation by 2030.
Stats NZ data shows producer prices rose sharply in the last quarter, with import prices up 7.0 per cent and output prices up 6.2 per cent in the September quarter, compared to the same time last year. This adds to the inflationary pressure in the economy.
International
US
The major US indices were trading lower at time of writing. The S&P 500 declined by 0.1 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 per cent, and the NASDAQ traded flat at 15,972.67 points.
Consumer discretionary (+0.8 per cent) and healthcare (+0.3 per cent) were the only two sectors in the green at the time of writing, while financials (-1.1 per cent) and energy (-1.0 per cent) dragged the markets lower.
The best performing single stock on the S&P 500 was TJX Companies, rallying 8.4 per cent. The global clothing retailer, among others, published its third quarter 2021 earnings results this week. TJX's revenue rose 24 per cent year-over-year to US$12.53 billion, delivering earnings per share (EPS) of 84 cents. The results beat market expectations for EPS to come in at 81 cents, against estimated revenue of US$12.27 billion. The performance for the fourth quarter is expected to keep up momentum, with Christmas shoppers starting to look for gifts earlier than usual due to continuing supply chain issues around the world.
Vaccine manufacturer Moderna (+4.0 per cent) also performed well. The increasing demand for booster shots may be helping drive up the stock price. Canada approved Moderna's Spikevax booster earlier this week.
Rounding out the leader board was Tesla, rising 3.3 per cent, reversing losses over the past week.
General Motors (+2.3 per cent) reached a new record high while shares of the newly listed electric vehicle start-up Rivian declined more than 15 per cent, following a more than 50 per cent surge in the stock price over the past week. GM is expected to start delivering its GMC Hummer EV pickups in the near future.
Visa was the biggest decliner, down 5.5 per cent, after Amazon (+1.1 per cent) informed some customers that the company will no longer accept Visa credit cards issued in Britain from 19 January, citing high fees.
PayPal Holdings also underperformed, decreasing 5.3 per cent, and merchant technology solutions provider Fidelity National Information Services traded 4.9 per cent lower.
Rest of the World
The most popular Asian indices delivered a mixed performance again overnight. The Nikkei (Japan) declined by 0.4 per cent, the Shanghai index (China) rose 0.4 per cent, and the Hang Seng (Hong Kong) closed 0.3 per cent lower.
In the UK, inflation has hit a ten year high. The latest release of the country's consumer price index, increasing 4.2 per cent, was well above the forecasted 3.9 per cent. The main driver was household energy bills, after a regulatory cap on those bills was lifted last month. Consumer gas prices rose by 28.1 per cent in the year to October 2021. The Bank of England is expected to act on the inflationary pressure and to increase interest rates next month.
Commodities
Commodities were presenting a mixed performance this morning.
Gold rose 0.8 per cent to US$1,868.80 per ounce, more than reversing yesterday's losses.
Oil declined by 2.1 per cent, just below the US$80 mark, to US$79.02 per barrel.
Cryptocurrencies traded generally in the green, with Bitcoin rising 0.9 per cent and Ethereum up 0.3 per cent.
The US 10-year treasury rate decreased slightly to 1.616 per cent.
Australia
The ASX 200 lost 0.7 per cent at the close on Wednesday evening, finishing at 7369.9 points.
Markets were weighed down by the financial sector (-2.5 per cent), with large cap banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (-8.1 per cent), ANZ (-2.0 per cent), Westpac (-1.7 per cent), and NAB (-1.1 per cent) all down.
Commonwealth Bank stock dipped below $100 for the first time in two months after its September quarterly profits fell below market forecasts, with margins tighter than expected. This loss created a ripple effect across the wider ASX financial sector, which makes up a very large part of the index.
Agricultural chemical company Nufarm also declined on Wednesday, losing 8.6 per cent after its year-end results seemingly fell below investor expectations. After making a A$60m loss last year, Nufarm posted a A$73m profit for the year ended September. However, CEO Greg Hunt commented on the current logistics and supply chain delays, which would likely cause increasing cost pressures through financial year 2022.
In contrast, educational services and technology led the market, with these sectors making gains of 2.1 and 1.5 per cent, respectively.
Well performing single stocks included telecommunications company Uniti (+8.3 per cent), Nickel Mines (+6.0 per cent), and technology company Appen (+4.4 per cent).
Uniti Group traded well on the back of upgraded guidance, commenting that it was on track to surpass current estimates for the full year 2022. Similarly, on Wednesday Nickel Mines' management brought forward the forecasted date for its Indonesian project producing its first nickel pig iron.
• For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.
Disclaimer: The Jarden Brief is provided for general information purposes only. It reflects views and research available 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. The Jarden 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 financial advice disclosure statement is available free of charge at https://www.jarden.co.nz/our-services/wealth-management/financial-advice-provider-disclosure-statement/ Full disclaimer available at: https://www.jarden.co.nz/wealth-sales-and-research-disclaimer
Investors are waiting for next week's pivotal interest rate decision.