Jarden Brief: The Warehouse declares special dividend

The Warehouse has declared a special dividend. Photo / Tania Whyte

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

New Zealand

The S&P NZ50 finished the day down 0.8 per cent.

The best performing sector on the day was Information Technology, up 0.9 per cent, followed by the Materials sector, which rose 0.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the index was weighed by the Energy and Industrial sectors, which fell 2.5 and 1.8 per cent each after poor performances from Z Energy (-2.5 per cent) and Auckland International Airport (-2.6 per cent).

Payments solutions company Pushpay Holdings was up 1.2 per cent as the best performing stock of the day, the only index stock up by more than 100 basis points. The next best performing company was Port of Tauranga, which gained 0.8 per cent while market heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare rose 0.7 per cent.

The ANZ preliminary survey of business confidence has sentiment rising three points to 12 per cent. Investment intentions are up nine points, employment intentions up two and capacity utilisation up seven, all above pre-Covid levels. However, dampening the good news, expected costs are up 14 per cent, with 71 per cent of firms expecting higher costs. This may also result in higher prices paid by consumers, although just under half of firms said they were intending to raise prices at this point. ANZ is forecasting demand headwinds as the true costs of border closures are realised by the economy in the early parts of 2021.

Meanwhile, The Warehouse has declared a special dividend of 5 cents per share, citing strong trading conditions. An interim dividend is yet to be confirmed, and will be announced on 25 March with the first half result.

The Warehouse further reaffirmed a profit guidance of greater than $90 million, although this excludes the planned repayment of $68 million which it received in wage subsidies.

INTERNATIONAL
US Markets:

At time of writing, US markets were upbeat with all three major indices up a modest 0.8 per cent. Financials carried the market up, rising 1.9 per cent, while the Materials sector was the only one in the red, down 0.3 per cent.

Reddit stocks continued to crumble, with Gamestop down a further 32.2 per cent to US$62.60 and continuing to fall. AMC was similarly back to US$7.65, a 14.6 per cent loss from yesterday's close.

Megacap tech stocks had a mixed performance, with Netflix (+2.5 per cent), Apple (+1.5 per cent) up but Microsoft (-1.0 per cent) and Tesla (-1.2 per cent) down.

The best performing stocks of the day were Align Tech (+14.1 per cent), L Brands (+10.5 per cent) and Snap-On (+7.6 per cent). Align, the maker of Invisalign teeth straighteners, surged in response to a positive fourth quarter in which they reported fourth quarter sales of a record US$834.5 million – a 28.4 per cent year on year gain.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm (-8.4 per cent) led the main index down after a mixed earnings report which caused a number of US brokers to downgrade their ratings on the stock.

Asian markets:

Asian markets were red yesterday evening with the Shanghai index down 0.4 per cent, the Nikkei down 1 per cent, and the Hangseng down 0.7 per cent.

Shares in TikTok competitor Kuaishou rose by more than 181 per cent yesterday in Hong Kong's 'Gray Market', which are over-the-counter trading platforms operated by brokers.

The upcoming IPO is set to become the most popular IPO over US$1 billion in Hong Kong's history – with one in five individuals in the city subscribing to buy shares.

Commodities:

At time of writing, Gold was down by another 2.5 per cent, trading at US$1,790.90 per ounce. Meanwhile the WTI Crude was up 1.0 per cent, trading at US$56.21 per barrel.

Australia

The S&P ASX200 finished the day down 0.9 per cent.

All sectors were in the red yesterday, with Financials and Materials the best performing sectors on the day, losing 0.4 per cent each. The worst performing sector on the day was Real Estate, which lost 2.3 per cent, followed by Utilities, down 2.0 per cent.

The best performing company on the day was building materials company CSR, which climbed 3.4 per cent. Superannuation fund, administration & technology company Netwealth Group also performed well, advancing 2.6 per cent.

Office focussed investment trust Centuria Office REIT (up 1.5 per cent), yesterday released their first half results for the 2021 financial year. Funds from operations was A$57.7 million for the half (11.2 cents per unit) with a full year guidance range set at A19.4 - 19.9 cents per unit. Full year dividend guidance has been set at A16.5 cents per share, a yield of 8.5 per cent.

The worst performing company on the day was electricity and broadband provider Origin Energy, falling 6.9 per cent. The second worst performing company on the day was gold mining company Ramelius Resources, which fell 5.5 per cent. The third worst performing company on the day was industrial contractor NRW Holdings, which lost 5.5 per cent.

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Disclaimer: This Morning Brief has been prepared in good faith and reflects opinions and views 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. This Morning 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 broker disclosure statement is available free of charge at www.jarden.co.nz. Jarden is not a registered bank in New Zealand. Full disclaimer available at: https://www.jarden.co.nz/limitations-and-disclaimer