A boost in domestic passengers has helped push up Auckland Airport's share price. Photo / Peter Meecham.
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
NZX Market Wrap-up: Performance from industrial stocks overshadowed by heavyweight losses
Despite a strong showing from several industrial stocks, the NZX 50 finished down 0.9 per cent for the day. Larger companies have more of an influence on the index's performance, and today the indices two highest weighted companies A2 Milk and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare both ended down more than 3 per cent.
Of the outperformers, the following stood out. Freight company Toll Logistics was up 6.8 per cent and Mainfreight also rose by 2.0 per cent. Port of Tauranga, the country's largest handler of freight was also up by 2.0 per cent. There appears to have been a rotation into industrial and logistics stocks.
Vista Group was also a silver lining, trading up 7.2 per cent on much heavier volumes than usual.
Auckland International Airport and Air New Zealand rise on June passenger number preview
The country's biggest airport closed up 1 per cent after releasing their monthly traffic update for May and June, estimating total June passenger numbers up 172 per cent month-on-month to 231,600.
Recovering domestic passenger numbers drove growth, now at 29.1 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and international passengers also increased by 45.5 per cent month on month.
Despite the impressive percentages, caution should prevail for the moment. Absolute passenger numbers are still only 15.1 per cent of June 2019's levels - during which 1.54 million passengers travelled through the airport.
Air New Zealand's share price also reacted positively to the news, rising 2.7 per cent; suggesting investors previously had a more cynical outlook of passenger numbers.
Delegat Group achieves record sales despite covid-19 battered year
New Zealand winery Delegat Group, which produces popular brands Oyster Bay and Barossa Valley Estate, has released updated FY20 guidance with underlying profit of $64.1 million, up 37 per cent from last year ($46.8m).
Sales were up to record levels, with the company selling a total of 3.3 million cases - up 9 per cent from last year. Delegat rose 0.9 per cent. It is still down 14.5 per cent year to date, lagging behind more exciting stocks which have regained pre-Covid levels.
Michael Hill rises after reporting better than expected performance in their fourth quarter
Michael Hill's fourth quarter report has revenue down -60.6 per cent on the previous comparable quarter. Revenue for the year will be A$485.7 million, down 13.7 per cent year on year.
The lower revenue was partly the result of 11 underperforming stores being closed throughout the period; seven in Australia, three in New Zealand and one in Canada.
Discounting the store closures, sales were down -4.1 per cent on a same-store basis for the quarter and, surprisingly, up 2.6 per cent for the full financial year. Also positive was Michael Hill reporting online sales almost tripling compared to the same period last year, growing to represent a higher proportion (4.6 per cent) of the group's total A$485.7m revenue.
International Market Wrap-Up: Markets slide with poor economic data
Chinese markets: Shenzhen and Shanghai dropped 5.4 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively with economic data showing a drop in retail sales (- 1.8 per cent) and the Government continuing to forecast share market bubbles.
The rates at which initial jobless claims and continuing jobless claims have been declining in the US are decreasing - worrying signs of a slowing economic recovery. The economic data sent risk assets in America into a slide with the Technology sector (-1.5 per cent) underperforming the market, as investors continue to lock in gains on the top performing companies since Covid-19 began.
At the time of writing the Dow Jones was down 0.65 per cent, the S&P 500 was down 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq was down -0.75 per cent. The earnings season could bring greater volatility for the technology sector as investors look to weigh up whether reported earnings justify the premiums currently being paid for technology stocks.
Johnson and Johnson second quarter earnings, albeit down on last year, were above analyst expectations. Earnings per share of US$1.69 beat forecasts of US$1.49. This has led to the company slightly upgrading full year guidance to between US$7.75 to US$7.95 per share. While earnings held up, revenues in most areas were lower: medical devices (-34 per cent), and consumer health (-7 per cent). At the time of writing, Johnson & Johnson was trading slightly down (-0.12 per cent).
Morgan Stanley continues the trend of strong earnings results for US banks. The bank generated profits of US$3.2 billion, with earnings per share above expectations at US$1.96 compared to $1.12. Revenue climbed (+30 per cent) to a record US$13.2b , US$3b above expectations. At the time of writing the bank was trading up 1.9 per cent.
In other news: Analysts raise Google target price to US$1805, modelling better revenue from Google ads, while Tesla vehicle registrations dropped by 48 per cent in California for the second quarter. At time of writing they were down 0.4 and 1.5 per cent respectively.
Commodities
At the time of writing oil was down (-1.05 per cent) to US$40.20 per barrel, with gold falling below US$1800 per ounce. The US 10-year yield has lowered to 0.61.
Australia
ASX Market Wrap-up:
S&P/ASX 200 struggles amid rising Covid-19 cases in Victoria
The S&P/ASX 200 had a promising open yesterday driven by continued vaccine optimism and Goldman Sachs' better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Announcements of an additional 317 new Covid-19 cases in Victoria and the unemployment rate hike to 7.4 per cent in June (up from 7.1 per cent in May), dampened the mood somewhat. After reaching highs of 6078 points, the market closed the day at 6010.9 points slipping 42 points or 0.7 per cent.
Healthcare was the poorest performing sector on the day, falling 1.5 per cent. Technology stocks reversed their previous momentum, falling 1.2 per cent. Industrials and Telecommunications led, both up 0.3 per cent. After a strong performance by Breville yesterday, the stock slid 6.3 per cent to A$23.90 erasing all of Wednesday's gains, Avita Therapeutics had another tough day, falling 5.1 per cent to close at A$6.70, after opening the week at A$7.95. Strongest performer on the day was Whitehaven Coal, rising 6.3 per cent to $1.59. Blue chip stocks CSL Limited, Rio Tinto and Westpac performed poorly, dragging the index down as they dipped 2.1, 1.4 and 1 per cent respectively. Travel-exposed stocks had a solid day with Flight Centre (+3.5 per cent) and Qantas (+1.7 per cent) outperforming the index as vaccine optimism continued.
Australian items of interest:
Travel company, Helloworld confirm their plans to raise A$50 million of fresh capital as it entered a trading halt yesterday. New shares will be issued at $1.65, a 16 per cent discount to the last closing price. The offer is comprised of an institutional placement and entitlement offer.
Skincare company, BWX Limited is also to raise A$50 million to develop a new manufacturing facility and support office. The offer is priced at A$3.40 per share, a 7.1 per cent discount to its Wednesday close. The capital raise consists of an A$40 million fully underwritten institutional placement and a $10 million share purchase plan.
International: US Consumer Sentiment Index along with the US Building permits
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NZ GDP falls 1% in September quarter; analysts expected 0.4% decline.