Jarden Brief: Sea of red as local, Australian, US and European markets fall

All major US indices were in the red this morning. Photo / AP

Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden

International
US

All major US indices were in the red at the time of writing. The S&P 500 was down 2.7 per cent, the Nasdaq dropped 3.9 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5 per cent.

All sectors were in the red apart from consumer staples, up 0.9 per cent. Energy dropped 7.5 per cent, technology lost 3.6 per cent and consumer discretionary was down 3.5 per cent.

Consumer goods company Newell Brands was the best performer, up 8.3 per cent. Viatris rose 5.7 per cent. The global healthcare company reported adjusted earnings of US$93 cents per share in the first quarter of 2022, which beat consensus estimates. Media and information services company News Corporation's class B shares rounded out the top performers with an increase of 4.9 per cent.

Conversely, exploration and production company Marathon Oil was down 13.4 per cent at the time of writing and energy company APA lost 13.2 per cent. This is likely linked to the decline in oil prices. SolarEdge Technologies, a photovoltaic solutions provider, rounded out the underperformers with a decrease of 11.8 per cent.

Uber Technologies dropped 10.4 per cent to reach a new 52-week low after CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sent an email to staff revealing plans to slash marketing and incentives spending and treat hiring as a "privilege."

Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive plummeted 19.5 per cent to hit a new 52-week low. This comes after CNBC reported that Ford Motor will sell eight million shares of its 102 million share holding in Rivian.

Food manufacturer Kellogg hit a new 52-week high, up 3.1 per cent.

Rest of the world

Asian markets were mixed overnight. The Shanghai Composite increased 0.1 per cent, Nikkei fell 2.5 per cent, and the Hang Seng dropped 3.8 per cent.

European markets were in the red. The FTSE decreased 2.3 per cent, the DAX was down 2.2 per cent and the CAC lost 2.8 per cent.

Commodities

Gold traded 1.3 per cent lower to US$1,857.90 per ounce, while silver declined 2.4 per cent to US$21.84 per ounce.

Oil also traded lower, down 6.2 per cent to US$102.95 per barrel.

The cryptocurrency market was largely in the red, with Bitcoin dropping 9.6 per cent and Ethereum falling 10.1 per cent.

The US 10-Year Treasury rate declined four basis points to 3.085 per cent alongside a one basis point decrease in the 30-year rate, to 3.216 per cent.

New Zealand

The NZX 50 fell sharply to its lowest level in almost two years as global investors worry about rising interest rates, continued Covid-19 lockdowns in China, and conflict in Ukraine. The NZX 50 finished Monday's trading session down 2.0 per cent.

Only seven companies closed in the green yesterday. Westpac was the best performer, rising 3.2 per cent. The company's Australian parent posted cash earnings for Westpac New Zealand of $635 million for the six months to March 31. This is up 9 per cent on its 2021 first half. The sale of its life insurance business contributed a one-off gain of $126m to the financial result.

Retirement village operator Oceania Healthcare rose 2.1 per cent, after announcing it had bought two establishment retirement villages, in Auckland and Northland, for $57m. Oceania moved to increase its debt by $150m to $500m to cover costs, but the acquisitions are expected to deliver "strong accretion to underlying earnings per share in financial year 2023."

Rounding out the top performers was NZX Limited (operator of New Zealand's stock exchange), which increased 1.3 per cent yesterday.

On the flip side, Ryman Healthcare was the biggest laggard, falling 5.8 per cent. A2 Milk followed with a 5.6 per cent decrease – the infant formula company's share price is now down almost 30 per cent in 2022. Vista Group International was next in line, falling 5.4 per cent.

Logistic companies were particularly hard hit on the NZX, with the local economy highly leveraged to both imports from and exports to China. Freightways dropped 4.7 per cent and Mainfreight lost 4.1 per cent yesterday.

Australia

The ASX 200 closed in the red, down 1.2 per cent, falling to 7120.70 points.

Eight of the 11 sectors closed at a lower level than the previous session. Real estate investment trusts was the laggard of the sectors, reducing 4.2 per cent. It was followed closely by information technology and materials, decreasing 3.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

Comparatively, energy was the best performing sector, elevating 0.5 per cent yesterday, up 1.0 per cent over the last five trading sessions. Consumer staples and healthcare closed out the sectors in the green, advancing 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent.

Medical devices company PolyNovo was the index's top performer yesterday, improving 3.3 per cent. The share price may have been affected by PolyNovo's announcement stating that three of its directors had acquired more shares through on-market acquisitions - these transactions totalled to roughly AU $1.5m.

Westpac Banking Corporation inclined 3.2 per cent yesterday. This rise followed the release of the company's 2022 half-year results. Although revenue was down, the reported net profit beat expectations, up 63.0 per cent from the 2021 second half year results, at AU$3280m.

Rounding out the top movers was coal and mining exploration company Whitehaven Coal, increasing 2.6 per cent.

Battery materials and technology company Novonix was yesterday's biggest underperformer, falling 12.3 per cent. This decline in share price does not appear to correlate to any news.

Biotechnology company Imugene fell 11.1 per cent, the share price now down 60.0 per cent year to date.

Closing out the bottom movers was mineral exploration company Chalice Mining, dropping 9.6 per cent.

• 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