Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., speaks during the virtual Meta Connect event in New York, Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with investment firm Jarden.
International
US
US markets turned a corner, and all traded in the green at the time of writing. Across the board, traders reacted to mixed macroeconomic data in the form of gross domestic product (GDP) which lifted 1.1 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, below an expected 1.9 per cent. Other data included weekly jobless claims down 16,000 to 230,000, and personal consumption levels for April up 4.0 per cent.
Single stock movers at the time of writing include Meta platforms (+14.8 per cent), still buoyed after its positive earnings announcement yesterday, and Amazon (+4.8 per cent) ahead of its own earnings call after the market close, mid-morning NZT (UPDATE: Amazon shares surge after Q1 revenue, profit wins.)
Social media giant Meta Platforms posted a return to sales growth after three-quarters of declines, rallying nearly 15.0 per cent. Shares in the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp rose following its earnings announcement a day earlier that showed US$28.6 billion revenue for the first three months of 2023, up 3.0 per cent from the previous year. Mark Zuckerberg also noted plans to further investments in artificial intelligence, with the aim of helping brands create more personalised ads efficiently.
Ebay reported first-quarter revenue of US$2.5 billion for its financial year 2023, beating the general market consensus. Shares of the e-commerce company gained 4.9 per cent at the time of writing.
Eli Lilly and Company traded up 3.4 per cent as it released more data for its new obesity drug. According to their data, a high dose of its drug Tirzepatide helped people with type 2 diabetes and those who are overweight or obese lose on average almost 16.0 per cent of their body weight over 17 months. The healthcare company will apply for approval of an obesity drug, with the hopes of tackling the global obesity epidemic.
Rest of the World
The European banking sector managed to finish strong overnight to recovery some ground following a sluggish few weeks in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis originating in the states. Of note, Barclays bank climbed 5.3 per cent after reporting a 27 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter (above consensus estimates) while Deutsche Bank also rose 3.2 per cent on similarly strong quarterly profit numbers.
One of the world’s largest freight forwarders, DSV, a direct comparable with New Zealand-listed Mainfreight’s Air & Ocean division, released first quarter 2023 results yesterday evening. Key figures in the report included DSV’s own Air & Sea division experiencing significant (but anticipated) falls in revenue and gross profit against an abnormally strong prior comparable period. Despite this, profitability remained strong with gross margins increasing against the same quarter last year. DSV maintained its guidance which was first released to market in February this year.
New Zealand
New Zealand equities were broadly lower as the NZX50 index meandered to a -0.1 per cent loss by the close of Thursday trading.
National carrier Air NewZealand (AIR), lifted its Profit Before Tax (PBT) guidance from the range of $450-530 million to $510-560 million, an increase of $45 million at the midpoint. The company cited strong levels of both domestic and international demand, keeping yields high through the second half of the year, and a decline in oil price as reason for the upgrade. Further forward looking commentary included the airline expecting capacity for the second half of the year to hold steady with the originally forecasted 95 per cent domestic and 80 per cent of international pre-covid figures. Consensus estimates already had AIR landing close to the upper end of its original guidance range, with the market reacting accordingly as the stock held steady at a price of 77 cents.
Other news came from RV rental company Tourism Holdings, which announced it had purchased another light vehicle manufacturer, Transcold, for $5.4 million with the intention of adding to its existing manufacturing capabilities. THL has been in the spotlight since the company merged with Australia based RV rental group Apollo late last year, with the stock running from as low as $2.34 in June 2022 to close at $4.17 yesterday.
A vote on the potential acquisition of New Zealand religious payment software provider PushPay was held at a scheme meeting yesterday where the takeover valued at $1.42 per share was approved by shareholders.
Recent data from the ANZ Business Outlook survey indicated that there has been no significant change in New Zealand’s business confidence during the month of April. The index has remained stable for the past three months. In line with RBNZ’s inflation forecast, the survey also revealed that costs, pricing indicators and inflation expectations eased further, but remained relatively higher.
Australia
The ASX 200 traded down 0.3 per cent for the fifth consecutive trading day with most sectors falling into the red.
Natural health company Blackmore was a standout, gaining 22.8 per cent on Thursday and reaching a 15-month high after Japanese firm Kirin made a A$1.9 billion takeover bid for the business. Kirin is Japan’s second-largest brewer behind Asahi and will pay A$95 per Blackmores share under the proposed takeover in a move to expand its health footprint. The bid seems to have been endorsed by the board and major shareholder Marcus Blackmore but is yet to receive sign-off from regulators and shareholders.
Despite the price of gold returning to the US$2,000 mark, Australia’s largest gold miner, Newcrest Mining, shed 2.1 per cent yesterday after reporting a decrease in gold and copper production during the third quarter of FY23. The company is expected to deliver on its FY23 guidance and has voiced the expectation of an increase in production of the precious metal for the June quarter.
In other mining stock news, Syrah Resources tumbled 9.5 per cent after releasing its quarterly update which showed flat quarter-on-quarter natural graphite sales. The graphite and battery anode company also announced a A$150 million capital raising through the issue of new convertible notes to AustralianSuper.
For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.
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All market pricing and announcements are sourced from Refinitiv, NZX and ASX.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace has described it as a 'Scorched Earth Budget'.