Shareholders aren't happy with the sale price of Pinterest. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The NZX 50 was in the green again yesterday, up 0.4 per cent.
Consumer non-cyclicals was a top-performing sector again, rising 3.2 per cent. Healthcare also had a strong performance, up 0.8 per cent.
A2 Milk continued its rally, jumping 6.2 per cent. A2 Milk investors have likely viewed competitor results from Danone and Bubs Australia, outlining Daigou channel growth, to be positive news for the company. The Daigou channel, which is made up of private individuals who import goods across the border for buyers in China, is a key sales channel for A2 Milk. It has been significantly impacted by border restrictions put in place in the wake of Covid-19.
Film software company Vista Group International rose 4.2 per cent, making a partial recovery following the news from earlier in the week that the CEO will be stepping down at the end of this year.
SkyCity Entertainment Group gained 2.2 per cent, recovering from broader sector influences from its Australian peers. SkyCity has declined over the last few weeks, due to the Star Entertainment Group casino probe, which resulted in a selloff in the casino sector.
The industrials sector fell 0.7 on the back of a -2.7 per cent performance from Mainfreight, continuing a volatile week for the stock. However, Mainfreight's stock price is still up by almost 30 per cent for the year to date.
Meanwhile, yesterday saw a 0.6 per cent drop in the energy sector, with a fall in Z Energy shares of 0.6 per cent.
Fonterra Shareholders' Fund declined 2.3 per cent on the trading day following the Global Dairy Trade auction. The Global Dairy Trade price index rose 2.2 per cent, and volume declined 2.9 per cent compared to the previous auction, following warnings from Fonterra over the last few months that New Zealand milk supply was reaching capacity. With twice monthly auctions, the next occurs on 2 November.
Down 1.8 per cent was Precinct Properties New Zealand. The company invests in central business district properties in New Zealand, and its price may have fallen with rising inflation and interest rate expectations. Investors in the listed property sector may be watching how the industry moves in response to the recent residential planning changes proposed by both the National and Labour parties. More demand for residential dwelling construction could see an increase in building costs.
International
US
US markets were mostly upbeat this morning as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are currently trading higher by 0.3 and 0.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq has lost 0.2 per cent.
Sector gains included utilities and health, which were each leading the way with 1.8 and 1.5 per cent increases.
These sector gains were well supported by the single stock winners, with healthcare company Anthem Inc and financial services firm Comerica jumping 7.0 and 4.3 per cent respectively at the time of writing. Both companies traded favourably as investors reacted to third quarter earnings reports. Anthem stated it had experienced a smaller impact from Covid-19 sales disruptions than it had previously thought, finishing on an earnings per share of $6.13 for the quarter. It was a similar situation for Comerica, with the share price hitting a 2 year high to trade north of US$87 at the time of writing.
In contrast, downward pressure on indices was drawn from sector losses for technology (down 0.4 per cent) and energy (down 0.1 per cent).
Earnings were responsible for a number of price movements so far during the session. Specialist oilfield services technology company, Baker Hughes, rounded out the biggest decliners at the time of writing, slumping to a 7.0 per cent loss after missing headline revenue and earnings forecasts.
Joining Baker Hughes was payment services provider, PayPal (down 6.5 per cent), as rumours continue to circulate around the company's potential acquisition of social media and image sharing platform, Pinterest. Media outlets have reported that shareholders are unhappy with a lofty purchase price of US$70 per share, a 26 per cent premium on Pinterest stock's last close.
Rest of the world
Asian indices were again mixed overnight. Highlights include the Hang Seng advancing 1.4 per cent, the Shanghai Composite lower by 0.2 per cent, and the Nikkei staying above water for a 0.1 per cent gain at the day's close. For the second day in a row, the Hang Seng tech index propped up overall index movements with large cap e-commerce platforms Alibaba (+6.7 per cent), Meituan (+2.9 per cent), and Tencent (+2.1 per cent) contributing to the overnight rally.
Commodities
In commodities this morning, gold is trading stronger by 0.8 per cent at US$1,784.5 per ounce. WTI crude oil continued to push record highs, with more reports of dwindling US reserves among a worldwide energy shortage as the country heads into the winter months, it is now priced at US$83.64 per barrel. Yields are also trading higher with market uncertainty, with the 10-year government bond now priced at 1.67 per cent, its highest in nearly 5 months.
Bitcoin pushed forward for the third 24-hour period in a row after the successful pilot of its exchange traded fund (ETF), now priced at US$66,339.1 per coin. Ethereum also crossed the $4,000 mark, up 6.5 per cent at the time of writing, now trading at US$4,067.64.
Australia
The ASX 200 set a new four-week high on Wednesday, increasing by 0.5 per cent.
Nine out of 11 sectors closed in the green, with information technology (+1.1 per cent) and financials (+1.0 per cent) leading the market higher. Energy (-1.0 per cent) and telecommunications services (-0.5 per cent) underperformed.
Metal detector producer and mining technology provider Codan more than reversed its losses made in the previous session. The share price rose 7.6 per cent, making it the top gainer of the day.
Resources, chemicals and energy project services provider Worley also performed well, increasing 7.5 per cent. On Tuesday, Worley announced that Shell had awarded the company a significant low-carbon fuels services contract in The Netherlands. The facility is said to be able to produce about 820,000 tonnes of low-carbon fuels per annum, namely sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel from waste. According to Worley "renewable diesel alone could avoid 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year".
Rounding out the leader board was Kogan.com, closing 6.7 per cent higher. The online retailer delivered its October 2021 business update yesterday, to which the market reacted favourably. The company announced strong growth in gross sales, growing by 21.1 per cent year on year, and Kogan First members grew by 171.1 per cent year on year. However, gross profit declined by 1.7 per cent year on year, although the last quarter saw a 31.6 per cent gain on the previous quarter.
Coal miner Whitehaven Coal was the worst performer on the ASX 200 yesterday, declining by 7.9 per cent.
Flight Centre Travel Group declined 4.8 per cent after its investor AGM yesterday. The travel agency stated that it lost A$507 million in the 2021 financial year. Due to ongoing uncertainty, the company refrained from providing 2022 guidance but said there had been a surge in enquiries and bookings on the back of re-openings across Australia and the US.
The Star Entertainment Group decreased by 4.3 per cent after making some recovery at the start of the week. On Tuesday, the casino operator had been advised by the Independent Liquor & Gambling Authority that the review of The Star Sydney will incorporate public hearings. The process was initially thought to take place in private. A publicly available report of the review, on the back of media reports alleging money laundering and infiltration by organised crime figures, is expected to be available by 30 June 2022.
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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>