Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
All three major US indices were trading higher at the time of writing. The S&P 500 bounced back after its worst week since 2020, rising 2.5 per cent. The Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.8 and 2.0 per cent, respectively.
Sectors performed well. All eleven sectors were in the green, with energy (+5.2 per cent), consumer discretionary (+3.3 per cent) and health (+2.7 per cent) taking the lead.
Tesla was the top performing stock of the S&P 500 at the time of writing, advancing 11.7 per cent. Chief Executive Office, Elon Musk, gave more clarity on planned job cuts that were announced earlier this month. Musk said the company will lay off 3.5 per cent of the workforce, but the action was "not super material". The US$44 billion purchase of Twitter is still on the cards, as Musk said there were a number of hurdles to overcome before he can move forward with the takeover.
Energy company Diamondback Energy rose 7.7 per cent after the board approved an increase to its capital return program to at least 75 per cent of free cash flow, compared to its previous commitment of 50 per cent.
Exxon Mobil Corporation increased 6.6 per cent at the time of writing. Its performance could be influenced by an increase in oil prices.
On the flip side, DaVita Inc led the underperformers, dropping 15.3 per cent. The healthcare company, which provides kidney dialysis services, has recently been involved in a technical dispute with an Ohio hospital's employee health plan. The Supreme Court rejected a claim from DaVita, that the insurer's low reimbursement rates violated federal law.
Bath and Body Works dropped 9.5 per cent, trading at US$30.34 per share at the time of writing. The company operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care and soaps, and neared its 52-week low of US$30.31.
Closing out the bottom performers was Meta Platforms Inc. After starting the trading day strong, Facebook's parent company fell 3.6 per cent at the time of writing. This performance could be related to rising interest rates and their potential to slow down economic activity, which may hurt Meta's advertising business.
Rest of the World
Asian markets were mixed, with the Nikkei (+1.8 per cent) and the Hang Seng (+1.9 per cent) higher, while the Shanghai Composite decreased 0.3 per cent.
European markets were in the green. The FTSE, the DAX and the CAC were up 0.4 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively.
Commodities
WTI Crude Oil rose 1.4 per cent to US$111.1 per barrel. This was followed by a strong rally in energy stocks (+5.2 per cent).
Gold traded 0.1 per cent lower to US$1,838.5 per ounce. This is compared to silver, which increased 0.7 per cent to US$21.7 per ounce.
Following a volatile period, the cryptocurrency market was largely in the green at the time of writing. Bitcoin swung higher (+6.0 per cent) after sinking below US$18,000 over the weekend. Ethereum traded 4.9 per cent higher.
The US 10-year Treasury rate was up five basis points to 3.296 per cent, alongside a seven basis point rise in the 30-year rate, to 3.371 per cent.
New Zealand
The NZX 50 closed in the green yesterday at 10,701.59 points, up 1.1 per cent.
Fast food outlet operator Restaurant Brands New Zealand led the market with a 6.5 per cent gain. Film technology company Vista Group International recovered with a 4.4 per cent increase. Manufacturing business Skellerup Holdings climbed 3.9 per cent.
EROAD dropped 4.6 per cent. The transportation technology company appointed interim-CEO Mark Heine into the permanent chief executive role.
Stock exchange operator NZX fell 1.6 per cent. Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge slipped 1.4 per cent to close out the underperformers.
The Westpac-McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index revealed a drop in consumer confidence to 78.7 in the June quarter, the lowest level since 1988. This rating, below the threshold of 100, suggests far more Kiwis are pessimistic about economic conditions than are optimistic. The Southland region saw the largest dip in consumer confidence (-31.5 points), followed by Auckland (-25.4) and Canterbury (-18.6).
The Building and Construction Minister convened a taskforce of experts on the plasterboard shortage impacting the construction sector. The group will consider regulatory changes, introduction of alternative plasterboard products and new distribution models.
Australia
Tuesday started with a positive outlook, and eventually led to the end of seven sessions of losses. The ASX 200 closed 1.4 per cent higher to 6,523.80 points.
Eight of 11 sectors inclined, led by energy and financials, up 2.7 and 2.6 per cent, respectively. Industrials and Australian real estate investment trusts were the worst performing sectors, down 0.5 and 0.6 per cent, respectively.
Pointsbet Holdings continued its rise yesterday, climbing another 7.8 per cent following Monday's announcements.
Paladin Energy made back some of Monday's losses, gaining 7.1 per cent. HUB24 also increased, up 6.2 per cent after its 52-week low on Monday.
Conversely, connectivity provider Megaport Limited declined 4.9 per cent to hit a new 52-week low.
APA group also fell, down 4.2 per cent following yesterday's announcement of the sale of Orbost Gas Processing Plant to Cooper Energy.
Pinnacle Investment Management Group lost 3.4 per cent.
Iron Ore prices saw some recovery yesterday, following a month of high volatility for the large Australian mining companies. On Monday, Rio Tinto saw a six-week trough at A$105.20 but rose 2.3 per cent on Tuesday. BHP had dropped to its lowest in a month to A$40.16, then gained 1.8 per cent yesterday.
Additionally, Fortescue Metals saw a three-month low of A$16.93, to rise 3.5 per cent to A$17.59 at close last night.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe talked about rising wage inflation in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney. He stressed his desire to avoid a repeat of the 1970s wage price spiral caused by high inflation and the resulting high interest rates. Treasurer Jim Chalmers held a similar opinion, previously commenting about other ways to boost wages, which he said shouldn't impact economic activity in the same way as those driven by inflation.
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