Jarden Brief: US markets volatile ahead of Fed move, but Uber leaps ahead

Snapchat's owner was among two big winners after US regulators voiced indignance at TikTok over alleged security risks. Photo / Getty

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

International

US

US markets were volatile and in the red this morning as investors looked toward the Federal Reserve (Fed) decision on the US cash rate, with a 75 basis point rise widely expected.

At time of writing, the S&P 500 had lost 0.3 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3 per cent lower.

By sector, consumer discretionary and technology companies led the market downwards, declining 1.2 and 1.0 per cent, respectively, likely amid a glum macroeconomic outlook.

Uber rose 13.7 per cent after releasing results and issuing updated and improved guidance for its fourth quarter, projecting strong bookings growth and adjusted ebitda of US$600-630 million.

Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer gained 2.7 per cent on the back of stronger-than-expected earnings and issued an improved financial outlook. It flagged demand for older drugs as helping offset the drop in Covid-related product sales.

Shares of Snap, Snapchat's parent company, and Meta Platforms, Facebook's parent, jumped 4.7 and 3.8 per cent each after a Federal Communications Commissioner said the US Government should ban TikTok.

While the comments do not necessarily signal any pending action, there are concerns over TikTok's potential security risks.

Rest of the World

European stocks closed higher after global markets focused on the Fed in the US. The European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.6 per cent and the UK FTSE 100 increased 1.3 per cent.

Hong Kong, particularly technology stocks, led gains in Asia-Pacific markets. After finishing October with a more than 14 per cent loss, the Hang Seng increased 5.2 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite rose 2.6 per cent and the Nikkei gained 0.3 per cent.

Commodities

Brent Oil is currently trading 2.2 per cent higher at US$94.80 a barrel, countering the previous day's losses as a weaker USD offset concerns that Covid-19 curbs in China could contribute to slowing fuel demand. Gold – a typical inflation hedge - is trading up 0.8 per cent to US$1,646.70 per ounce.

US 10-Year Treasury yields rose 0.5 per cent to a 4.06 per cent yield.

Global currencies appreciated against the USD with the NZD, EUR and AUD up 0.5, 0.6 and 0.6 per cent respectively.

Bitcoin continues to hold above US$20,000, a slim 0.1 per cent higher at US$20,440.0.

New Zealand

The NZX 50 index fell 0.2 per cent yesterday while large caps had a marginally better performance with the NZX 10 gaining 0.02 per cent.

Manawa Energy gained 4.4 per cent, and was joined by Fisher and Paykel Healthcare (+3.0 per cent) and Vital Healthcare Property Trust (+2.6 per cent) on the top performers podium.

NZ King Salmon's CEO resigned yesterday, effective immediately. No reason was given for the decision in a statement to the NZX.

The company has recently experienced issues with waters in the Marlborough Sounds increasing fish mortality. NZ King Salmon declined 10.6 per cent yesterday.

Metro Performance Glass lost 9.1 per cent. It announced its FY23 interim results will be released on 29 November.

Despite current weakness in property prices, NZ Building Consent levels remained high with 4,600 dwellings consented in September, up 1.7 per cent compared to last year.

This is the highest number of consents since March. Notably, the composition of consents changed in the past year compared to the previous one, with a shift away from stand-alone houses (-10.9 per cent), and towards townhouses and home units (+37.2 per cent), and retirement village units (+9.8 per cent).

Australia

The ASX 200 traded up 1.7 per cent, edging higher ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Cash Rate decision, and slightly easing off after the announcement.

The RBA raised the country's cash rate 25 basis points to 2.85 per cent, in line with expectations.

The statement it released outlined that the Board had increased interest rates materially since May to control inflation, and that it expects to increase interest rates further over the period ahead to return inflation to target.

Biotech company Imugene rose 11.4 per cent following a clinical trial update on Monday.

It has now dosed the first patient in the intratumoral (IT) cohort two of its Vaxinia trial, a novel cancer killing virus for patients dealing with significant tumour growth.

Nickel Industries' 7.5 per cent rise was led by the announcement earlier in the week that its quarterly mine production update delivered a 30.2 per cent quarter on quarter increase in nickel production to a record 20,275 tonnes.

Graincorp continued its strong performance, up 6.1 per cent following a 7.9 per cent rise on Monday amongst escalating international food security concerns and rising wheat commodity prices.

Coming up today

Locally the Sky Network Television AGM is on today. In Australia Building Approvals data will be released. Further afield, eyes are on the Federal Reserve Cash Rate decision in the US.

• For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.

All market pricing and announcements are sourced from Refinitiv, NZX and ASX.

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