The Covid-19 vaccine could soon be used in kids as young as 5. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
On Tuesday, the NZX 50 was flat, closing at 13,176.94 points. The index seemed to rally after Australian markets opened, despite a rocky start to the day in response to the fall in US markets on Monday night.
The healthcare (+0.6 per cent) and financials (+0.3 per cent) sectors performed well, while consumer cyclicals (-0.8 per cent) and energy (-0.6 per cent) dragged the market lower.
The biggest gainer of the session was film software company Vista Group International, increasing by 3.3 per cent.
Air New Zealand closed 2.3 per cent higher. The airline will look at extending its services between Northland and Wellington if Auckland stays in Level 3 for longer.
Restaurant Brands New Zealand, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, increased by 2.0 per cent with the imminent resumption of pickup and delivery services for its stores in the Auckland region.
Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (+1.6 per cent) and Synlait Milk (+1.3 per cent) performed well before their respective 2021 full year results announcements this Thursday (Fonterra) and Monday (Synlait).
Sky Network Television declined by 2.4 per cent. Napier Port Holdings was down 2.2 per cent and building materials company Fletcher Building decreased by 2.0 per cent, with the ongoing Evergrande debt crisis creating jitters in housing markets worldwide.
Stride had announced a spin out of its office portfolio into a new fund called Fabric last week. However, Stride pulled the demerger and initial public offer yesterday morning. The company's CEO, Philip Littlewood, said they would defer the offer, citing global market volatility caused by the Evergrande debacle as a contributing factor. Littlewood said that they would review the demerger once conditions have settled.
International
US:
US markets were mixed this morning, at the time of writing, with the S&P 500 down 0.1 per cent, the Nasdaq 0.2 per cent higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading down 0.1 per cent following yesterday's declines.
Industrials and communication services stocks led the index downwards, falling 0.8 and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Hotel stock Las Vegas Sands fell 4.6 per cent to a 52-week low this morning, while Wynn Resorts fell 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, former meme stock Discovery declined by 3.5 per cent to US$25.27, well below its US$77.27 highs in April.
Energy and real estate were the top performing sectors, rising 0.3 and 0.2 per cent, respectively.
Twitter increased by 3.3 per cent and Conocophillips rose 3.3 per cent.
Covid-19 vaccine producer Moderna gained 3.2 per cent. This comes amidst the FDA looking to approve vaccinations against the virus for 5- to 11-year-olds.
Rest of the World:
The Hang Seng (Hong Kong) recovered some of the week's losses, up 0.5 per cent, while mainland Chinese indices remained closed due to Mid-Autumn celebrations. The Nikkei (Japan) stumbled down 2.2 per cent overnight.
China's second largest property developer Evergrande missed its interest payments yesterday, to at least two of its largest bank creditors, as expected by the market. The banks are yet to formally declare a default, however. Evergrande will next need to pay interest on two of its bonds tomorrow evening.
Commodities:
Gold rose 0.7 per cent to US$1,775.90 per ounce. WTI Crude Oil increased by 0.6 per cent, now priced at US$70.69 per barrel while the 10-year US bond yield trades at a 1.324 per cent yield.
Cryptocurrency slid again, with Bitcoin trading down 3.1 per cent and Ethereum down 4.4 per cent.
Australia
The S&P/ASX 200 recovered some of yesterday's steep losses, with the index advancing 0.4 per cent to 7,273.8 points at the close.
Utilities and technology were the strongest performing sectors of the day, posting gains of 2.1 and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
AusNet services continued to push forward after receiving a takeover offer on Monday, finishing Tuesday up 9.8 per cent - adding to Monday's 19.2 per cent uplift. Another interested party, APA Group, emerged as a serious contender to land the power grid operator after making an offer for A$2.60 per AusNet share, trumping Monday's bid from Brookfield Asset Management of A$2.50
On the other side of the coin, APA Group fell 4.7 per cent. This may potentially be due to investors having concerns about the impact of the potential acquisition on overall earnings, as well as the price they may have to pay as a bidding war heats up.
Logistics software provider WiseTech also had a strong day, finishing up 5.1 per cent.
Meanwhile Champion Iron recovered from a deep Monday loss to end as Tuesday's third strongest performer with a 4.2 per cent increase.
On the flipside, financials was the only sector to make a loss, down 0.5 per cent.
Nickel Mines Limited (-5.0 per cent) traded unfavorably with increased speculation over potential taxation of nickel exports out of Indonesia, its main area of nickel production. However, Nickel Mines' Managing Director Justin Werner said they did not believe the rumoured export tax to be a planned policy of the Indonesian Government.
• For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.
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>