On the other hand, financials and real estate both performed well in the session, rising 1.1 per cent each.
Port of Tauranga (+3.0 per cent) was the biggest gainer of the day, posting a strong recovery after all tested port workers returned negative Covid test results.
Electricity retailers, Mercury (+2.5 per cent) and Genesis (+2.1 per cent), more than recovered their losses made at the start of the week. The retailers came under public scrutiny after households across the North Island were left without power due to extremely high demand on Monday – an event which may have flared up market anxiety of regulatory intervention. Yesterday, the Government retracted its blame on the retailers and is undertaking further investigation as to how supply shortcomings could be prevented going forward.
Package and mail delivery provider, Freightways, also performed well, up 2.2 per cent ahead of its upcoming result.
Auckland International Airport reversed all its gains made at the start of the week, falling by 2.0 per cent.
Yesterday, ASB Bank released its full-year results ending 30 June 2021. The company reported a cash net profit after tax of $1.3 billion, which is a 34.0 per cent increase year-on-year. Home lending rose by 12.0 per cent, while business lending grew by 9.0 per cent.
INTERNATIONAL
United States
Following the US CPI (Consumer Price Index) release the S&P 500 was trading up 0.2 per cent, while the DJIA had increased by 0.6 per cent, hitting a new intraday high before easing off later in the trading session this morning. The NASDAQ was down 0.4 per cent at time of writing.
July's CPI, which is an inflation measure, recorded a 5.4 per cent increase in prices for the month compared to July last year. The CPI for the month, excluding energy and food prices, rose less than expected, at +0.3 per cent compared to the +0.4 per cent estimated by consensus.
Materials and industrials were outperformers, rising 1.1 and 1.0 per cent, respectively. On the flip side, health and technology were the worst-performing sectors, falling 0.7 and 0.1 per cent, respectively.
NortonLifeLock rose 8.2 per cent. The cyber safety business confirmed an acquisition of Avast, one of its UK-based antivirus rivals.
Another outperformer was communications company Lumen Technologies, up 4.6 per cent.
Moderna continued a volatile start to the month, falling 16.5 per cent. In August, this is the fifth day the Moderna price has changed more than five per cent upwards or downwards. Having reached new 52-week highs earlier in the week, some commentators have stated the stock may be overpriced.
Perrigo Company fell 11.7 per cent following an earnings announcement. The health products company's second quarter earnings report fell short of expectations, with earnings per share US$0.50 compared to US$0.61 expectations.
Asia:
The Nikkei (Japan) traded up 0.7 per cent, the Hang Seng (Hong Kong) rose 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite (China) rose by a slim 0.1 per cent.
Commodities
Gold increased 1.2 per cent to US$1,752.90 per ounce.
Oil was trading 1.6 per cent higher at US$69.39 per barrel at time of writing. The oil price fell and then recovered after OPEC was called on by the White House to increase production.
In cryptocurrency, Bitcoin rose 2.1 per cent while Ethereum increased 3.3 per cent.
Finally, the US 10-year treasury bond rate was yielding 1.32 per cent, dipping following the US inflation reporting.
Australia
The S&P/ASX 200 traded to another record high yesterday, with the index closing up 0.3 per cent to 7584.3 points.
Leading sectors comprised both utilities and materials, making gains of 1.9 and 1.0 per cent respectively.
Mining companies led the way for a third consecutive day this week. Similar to Pilbara Minerals (which jumped 11.0 per cent on Tuesday), lithium exploration company, Orocobre Ltd, made its own gain of 6.3 per cent, trading in line with the steadily increasing lithium price. Many large and small cap mineral companies have reaped the rewards of skyrocketing raw materials prices, with the likes of nickel, cobalt, and lithium output being sold for double or even triple the prices seen in 2020.
Financial services company, IOOF Holdings Ltd, continues to trade well this week (up 5.8 per cent on Wednesday) after reporting its full year earnings on Tuesday.
On the flip side, healthcare (down 0.8 per cent) and educational services (down 0.8 per cent also) were the laggard sectors at yesterday's close.
Weighing down index performance was Megaport, which traded unfavourably (down per 6.3 cent) in the wake of its 2021 earnings report, published on Tuesday. Joining Megaport was poultry distributer, Inghams Group, which finished the day down 4.1 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-disclaimera>
