The price of goods has shot up in the United States. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
US markets were showing slim declines the time of writing. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all traded down 0.1 per cent.
The Consumer Price Index in the US rose 8.5 per cent year-on-year in March, the highest yearly increase since 1981. Core CPI, which excludes energy and food, gained 6.5 per cent annually and rose 0.3 per cent during the month of March. The monthly increase in the core CPI remained below market expectations of 0.5 per cent.
Energy was the standout sector, recording gains of 2.4 per cent at the time of writing. An easing of Covid-19 lockdowns in China prompted increased oil prices, which led to growth among energy stocks. Utilities also outperformed with a 0.5 per cent rise.
Marathon Oil (+5.4 per cent), Devon Energy (+4.3 per cent) and Diamondback Energy (+3.5 per cent) were the leading single stocks at the time of writing, capitalising on strong oil prices.
On the flip side, communication services and financials fell 0.8 per cent, respectively.
CarMax dropped 8 per cent as the used car retailer's earnings for the quarter were below expectations, with earnings of US$0.98 per share falling short of a consensus US$1.25 estimate.
Pharmaceutical company Catalent declined 5.5 per cent. Twitter rounded out the underperformers with a 4.5 per cent fall. Elon Musk, who recently purchased a stake in the social networking firm, will no longer be joining Twitter's board of directors.
Rest of the world
Asian indices were mixed. The Nikkei fell 1.8 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng improved 1.5 and 0.5 per cent respectively. Chinese markets recovered after news Covid-19 restrictions would ease in Shanghai.
Japanese Central Bank data for March revealed a year-on-year increase in the corporate goods price index (CGPI) of 9.5 per cent, following a record annual rise of 9.7 per cent in February.
The CGPI measures the prices of goods and services traded between Japanese companies. The import price index (Yen basis) increased 33.4 per cent year-on-year in March, as Japanese importers bear the brunt of a weakening Yen.
Commodities
There was an increase in global oil prices at the time of writing, likely driven by a combination of OPEC warning EU leaders that Russian oil would be impossible to replace if sanctions are imposed, alongside China loosening Covid-19 restrictions. The WTI Crude Oil price climbed 6.6 per cent to US$100.53.
Gold increased 1.1 per cent at the time of writing to US$1970.60.
The 10-year government bond yield reduced 0.1 per cent to 2.73 per cent.
Cryptocurrencies traded in the red, with Bitcoin falling 1.1 per cent and Ethereum down 0.2 per cent at the time of writing.
New Zealand
The NZX 50 continued its decline from Monday decreasing a further 0.5 per cent yesterday.
The top performer was manufacturing company Skellerup Holdings with a gain of 3.8 per cent. Port of Tauranga increased 3.4 per cent and energy company Vector was up 2.9 per cent. The latter announced information relating to the rollover of the Vector Limited Capital Bonds (VCT080).
On the other hand, road charging and services provider EROAD was the biggest underperformer, shedding 10.4 per cent. Rounding out the laggards were travel management company Serko falling 5 per cent and The a2 Milk Company dropping 4.4 per cent.
Z Energy increased 0.5 per cent after announcing that the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office has granted acquisition consent to Australian petroleum company Ampol. The remaining key condition is approval by the High Court.
ANZ declined 1.8 per cent. Maile Carnegie has resigned from the New Zealand board following her appointment as group executive of the newly formed Australian retail business of ANZ Banking Group.
New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) released its latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, showing reduced activity and business confidence in the March quarter.
A net 33 per cent of businesses surveyed expect a weakening in general economic conditions over the coming months on a seasonally adjusted basis. The retail sector showed the greatest pessimism, with a net 60 per cent of retailers surveyed expecting a deterioration in general economic conditions over the coming months.
All eyes are on today's Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Monetary Policy Review, with the RBNZ set to announce its decision on the Official Cash Rate at 2pm.
Australia
The ASX 200 fell 0.4 per cent yesterday. All sectors closed in the red, healthcare (-1.4 per cent) and IT (-0.9 per cent) had the largest drops.
Regis Resources finished with the biggest gains, up 4.7 per cent.
Agribusiness Elders Limited also closed in the green with an increase of 2.8 per cent.
Gold producer and explorer St Barbara rounds out the top three gainers with a 2.8 per cent increase. This follows a small bump to the price of gold.
Biotechnology company Imugene dropped 8.7 per cent, yesterday's largest decline. This follows over 28 million shares (approximately AUD$6.2 million) being released from voluntary escrow.
Pilbara Minerals was also in the red with a 5.8 per cent decrease. The company released a production and shipping update which met previous guidance.
The Australian Household Impacts of Covid-19 survey was released yesterday. It showed that 46 per cent of working Australians worked from home one or more times a week in the last four weeks.
Australia's current unemployment rate is 4 per cent, the lowest it has been since 2008, showing a tight labour market.
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Private equity is seen as a likely buyer for Fonterra's consumer business.