Jarden Brief: Crypto keeps falling, pharmaceuticals get boost in US

Apart from Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, a solar power solutions provider was among top performers in the US overnight. Photo / 123RF

Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden

International

US
                                                                                     
All major US indices were in the red at the time of writing. The S&P 500 was down 0.5 per cent, the Nasdaq dropped 0.8 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent.

Sectors were mixed with five out of 11 in the green. Utilities was up 1.8 per cent, real estate rose 1.0 per cent and industrials increased 0.5 per cent.

On the other hand, energy was down 1.7 per cent, materials dipped 0.7 per cent and consumer discretionary declined 0.6 per cent.

The top performers were energy management technology company Enphase Energy (+6.7 per cent) and photovoltaic (solar power) solutions provider SolarEdge Technologies (+5.2 per cent) after both were among the bottom movers previously this week.

Energy contractor Quanta Services rose 4.4 per cent despite going ex-dividend.

Conversely, Universal Health Services was the biggest underperformer, dropping 5.7 per cent to hit a new 52-week low. This comes after the hospital and health-care services company reported lower patient volumes and revenues in its acute care hospitals and cut its full-year guidance.

Walgreens Boots Alliance fell 5.6 per cent to also hit a new 52-week low. Quarterly earnings beat expectations, but the pharmaceutical company said that a slowdown in demand for Covid-19 vaccines put pressure on profits and reiterated its forecast for the year of low single digits growth in adjusted earnings per-share.

Automotive supplier BorgWarner declined 4.4 per cent.

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer (+3.6 per cent) and biotechnology manufacturer BioNTech (+7.2 per cent) were both in the green after announcing they would provide 105 million doses of the Covid vaccine in a US$3.2 billion deal with the US government.

Rest of the World

Asian markets were mixed overnight. The Shanghai Composite increased 1.1 per cent, the Nikkei fell 1.5 per cent, and the Hang Seng dropped 0.6 per cent.

European markets were in the red. The FTSE slid 2.0 per cent, the DAX was down 1.7 per cent and the CAC lost 1.8 per cent. 
 
Commodities

Gold traded 0.6 per cent lower to US$1,806.9 per ounce, while silver dropped 2.0 per cent to US$20.32 per ounce. Oil was also in the red, dipping 3.4 per cent to US$106.02 per barrel.

The cryptocurrency market followed suit, with Bitcoin losing 5.1 per cent and Ethereum down 6.6 per cent.

The US 10-Year Treasury rate declined 11 basis points to 2.985 per cent alongside an eight basis point decrease in the 30-year rate, to 3.136 per cent. 
 
New Zealand

The NZX 50 had another slow day with the trading session finishing red, down 0.8 per cent.

The bottom mover was transport technology and service provider EROAD, declining 3.4 per cent yesterday. Following a volatile week, the stock hit an all-time low of $1.42 per share. This is the lowest share price EROAD has traded at since listing on the New Zealand stock exchange in August 2014.

Next in line was A2 milk supplier Synlait Milk, down 3.1 per cent following a volatile week.

Fonterra Shareholder's Fund dropped 2.8 per cent after announcing the finalisation of the strategic partnership with New Zealand's Exchange (NZX) and the European Energy Exchange (EEX). Fonterra, the NZX and the EEX will each hold an equal one-third shareholding in the global dairy auction platform, Global Dairy Trade (GDT), as of 30 June.

On the flip side, film industry company Vista Group led the single stock winners, up 3.7 per cent. Tourism Holdings rose 3.1 per cent. Restaurant Brands also increased 3.1 per cent. The fast-food company is expected to release its second quarter 2022 financial results on 4 August.

The June ANZ Business Outlook survey indicated that firms are increasingly pessimistic about the outlook for activity and profitability. ANZ's data revealed that 62.6 per cent of respondents said they expected economic conditions to worsen over the next year.

Supply-side issues continue to dominate the list of firms' biggest concerns, in line with inflation pressures that are still substantial.

The ANZ Consumer Confidence outlook is expected to be released today.

Retirement village Arvida and retail property owner Investore Property both held their annual general meetings yesterday. 
 
Australia

The ASX 200 extended its downward trend yesterday, falling 2.0 per cent further to 6,568.1 points. This 132.1 point drop brings the index down 11.8 per cent year to date.
 
Yesterday was the end of the 2022 financial year for the index, posting a 10.2 per cent loss. This marked the third time the index has suffered negative returns in the past decade.

The sectors were a sea of red, all 11 closed lower, along with the index. Utilities was the worst performing sector, decreasing 2.9 per cent, followed closely by materials and Australian real estate investment trusts, both dropping 2.5 per cent.

The best performer was healthcare. Despite regressing 0.2 per cent yesterday, the sector is up 1.2 per cent across the last five days.

Wagering services operator Pointsbet Holdings was the index's best performer, rising 10.7 per cent. This movement does not appear to relate to any news.

Rounding out yesterday's top movers was pizza chain Domino's Pizza Enterprises and agricultural business Graincorp Limited, both finishing the session 1.0 per cent higher.

Financial technology company Tyro Payments was the largest underperformer for the second consecutive session, declining 7.7 per cent.

The company may continue to be impacted by news of the impending departure of chief executive officer Robert Cooke.

Commercial real estate company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield fell 6.0 per cent, now down 18.4 per cent year to date.

Closing out yesterday's bottom movers was metals exploration and development company Liontown Resources, slumping 5.8 per cent. This negative movement weighed out Wednesday's top performance. The company's stock price has decreased 36.5 per cent year to date.

• For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.

Jarden is advising Tourism Holdings Limited on an agreement to merge with Apollo Tourism and Leisure Limited.

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