Another electric carmaker is set to join Tesla on the stock market. Photo / File
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 despite the Information Technology sector climbing 0.8 per cent. The Utilities sector weighed on performance, dropping 2.3 per cent following poor performance from the gentailer stocks. The next worst performing sector was Materials, which lost 2.1 per cent.
The best performing company on the day was retirement village operator, Summerset Group, which rose 3.3 per cent. Trucking and transport company, Mainfreight, (up 1.6 per cent) and payments solutions company, Pushpay Holdings, (up 1.2 per cent) rounded out the best performers on the day.
Aquaculture company, Sanford, was the worst-performing company on the day, down 5.1 per cent. This poor outcome was driven by the announcement of a video audit of two of its processing plants. The Chinese customs authority conducting the audit, has raised a number of queries with Sanford. While these queries are being resolved, imports from Sanford have been suspended.
Retailer generators, Meridian and Contact Energy, rounded out the worst performers for the day's trading, respectively falling 4.5 and 3.8 per cent.
Real estate investment trust, Property for Industry, (up 0.7 per cent) announced its intention to divest its mixed-use Carlaw park property in Auckland to a private investor.
While the property was last valued at $102.4 million in December 2020, the property went for a gross sales price of $110.0 million. Settlement is expected on the 22nd of February.
Infrastructure investments company, Infratil, (down 0.3 per cent) announced that Jason Boyes would be appointed to succeed Marko Bogoievski as the company's Chief Executive Officer. Mr Bogoievski is stepping down after 12 years involvement with Infratil, during which Infratil achieved 18 per cent returns per annum for the duration of his tenure.
Boyes is moving from Infratil's asset manager, Morrison & Co, at which he is Head of Europe. Prior to this, his background is in corporate finance and M&A, and he is currently Chair of Infratil subsidiaries, Longroad and Galileo Green Energy.
International
US Markets:
At time of writing, US markets remained muted. The DJIA was flat, while the S&P 500 slid 0.2 per cent and the NASDAQ fell 0.3 per cent.
The Energy sector led market gains, climbing 1.7 per cent, while other sectors moved less than 100 basis points.
The Tech sector was down 0.3 per cent after slight drops from megacaps Apple (-0.6 per cent), Facebook (-0.3 per cent), Tesla (-4.2 per cent) and Microsoft (-0.9 per cent).
Tesla may have fallen following media reports that competitor startup company, Rivian, is preparing for an IPO. According to reports, the electric car maker is intending to go public by September, targeting a US$50 billion valuation. Although dwarfed by Tesla, Rivian is considered one of Tesla's highest profile competitors and has raised over US$8 billion from investors since its inception.
Asian markets:
Asian markets continued up with bullish optimism. The Shanghai index climbed 1.4 per cent, the Nikkei up 0.2 per cent and the Hangseng advanced another 1.9 per cent.
Asian markets were led up by Baidu, often referred to as the Chinese equivalent of Google. The stock rose 6.1 per cent on US markets after rumours that it was in talks to raise money for a stand-alone AI semiconductor company. The company would aim to fill the current supply shock for semiconductors and sell chips to various industries, including automakers.
The potential venture, which is allegedly going to be organised by two venture capital firms, would be Baidu's third spin off company since September last year – after raising money for a biotech firm as well as a standalone electric vehicle company to take on Tesla.
Agriculture-focused tech platform, Pinduoduo, also surged 7.2 per cent, with no apparent reason for the climb.
Commodities:
Gold prices were up a further 0.2 per cent to US$1,841.70 per ounce. Oil prices advanced another 0.4 per cent to US$58.73.
Australia
The S&P ASX200 finished the day up 0.5 per cent. The S&P Australian Small Cap Index was up 0.8 per cent as smaller companies outperformed.
The best performing sector on the day was Information Technology which rose 3.0 per cent, followed by Utilities which climbed 1.8 per cent. Meanwhile, cyclical stocks underperformed with Consumer Discretionary down 0.5 per cent and Industrials sliding 0.1 per cent.
Buy-now pay-later company, Zip Co Ltd, continued its recent run of good form, rising 12.2 per cent. Its competitor, Afterpay, rode its momentum to close up 4.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, industrial bandwidth provider, Megaport, (up 7.3 per cent) and petroleum company, Viva Energy, (up 6.3 per cent) rounded out the best performers.
Industrials and construction company, Cimic, was the worst performer on the day, losing 17.1 per cent after posting its full year results. While the company posted a turnaround profit (AU$620 million) from last year's substantial loss, Covid-19 impacts on revenues and cash flows were larger than expected. Revenues were down 28 per cent to AU$7 billion - not helped by an AU$805 million loss following a legal battle with Chevron.
Outlook messaging was also looking relatively poor, with profit for financial year 2021 expected to drop to between AU$400 - AU$430 million.
Today was also the first day of trading after a report found that casino operator, Crown Resorts, was 'not suitable' to hold a gaming license, and the stock closed down 3.4 per cent.
The Australian Open seems to be providing a much-needed boost to the Australian economy. Released on Wednesday, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Confidence rose by 1.9 per cent in February to 109.1 – the second-highest reading in seven years.
Data from Mastercard also has small business optimism doubling to 68 per cent. Consumer spending is higher than pre-pandemic levels. These flow on effects seem to vindicate the Open organisers who pushed for competition staff to be prioritised for border entry even while costs blew out to AU$140 million.
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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