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New Zealand
The S&P NZ50 was up 0.4 per cent on the day. A mix of larger and smaller companies performed well as the S&P NZ Small Cap index was up 0.6 per cent while the S&P NZ10 was up 0.8 per cent.
The best performing industries on the day were Energy and Healthcare, respectively up 2.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent. On the other hand, the worst-performing industries were Consumer Non-Cyclicals and Utilities, respectively down 0.5 and 0.4 per cent.
Digital entertainment provider Sky Network Television was the best individual performer on the day, up 6.7 per cent. Z Energy continued its positive momentum, up 2.6 per cent. Yesterday's underperformer, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, regained some of its losses, up 1.9 per cent. Synlait Milk Ltd was the worst-performing company on the day, down 8.9 per cent, with market operator NZX not far behind, down 5.4 per cent.
Sky Television yesterday announced that, following a positive start to the financial year and unexpectedly high direct satellite customer growth, it was upgrading its revenue guidance for financial year 2021. The company has updated its revenue estimates for the year to be between $680-$710 million. Previously, guidance was for $660-$700 million in revenue. Although a lot of live sport has already recommenced since Covid-19 lockdowns, the company may find additional benefit from a reopening as content becomes more assured and consumers feel freer in their discretionary spending.
International
Vaccine-fuelled optimism carried most global markets up for a third day in a row, with growth in most US and European indices but a mixed performance in Asia.
US Markets:
At time of writing, the SPX500 was up 0.8 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial was up 2.1 per cent and the Nasdaq was up 2.1 per cent.
Investor money seemed to flow back into oversold tech stocks, with Tech and Consumer Cyclicals the best performing sectors, up 1.8 and 1.2 per cent, and overbought Energy and Materials the weakest sectors, down 0.9 and 1.4 per cent.
Embattled cosmetics company, Revlon, rose by almost 30 per cent after the company announced that US$236.5m of its outstanding bonds were tendered into an exchange programme, increasing hopes that it will be able to stave off bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, mega cap tech stocks clawed back some of this week's losses, with Amazon, Microsoft and Apple all up more than 2.0 per cent. Zoom Video Communications also had a partial recovery from the major losses seen since the vaccine news was revealed, rising 5.1 per cent.
Asian markets:
The Shanghai Index dipped 0.5 per cent, and the Hangseng fell 0.3 per cent after a sell-off in the tech sector, despite news of a Hong Kong to Singapore travel bubble.
Hong Kong listed tech giants, Alibaba and Tencent, dropped by 9.8 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively, after China's state regulator announced a set of preliminary guidelines to hinder the monopolistic behaviour of megacap internet platforms. Other notable drops were in consumer shopping platform Meituan (-9.7 per cent) and China's largest online retailer JD.Com (-9.2 per cent).
Commodities:
Oil continued to rise on macroeconomic optimism, with WTI Crude up 1.8 per cent, while Gold dropped by 0.8 per cent to US$1,861.61. The ten-year treasury yield was down 1.4 per cent.
Australia
Australian markets rallied another 1.7 per cent despite a quiet local news day, with positive sentiment from the Vaccine news likely still playing in people's minds. Optimism in the stock market has been echoed in the fixed income market, with the Australian 10-year government bond rate hovering above 1 per cent for the first time in over two months.
Two trends from Tuesday seemed to roll over to Wednesday - gold-exposed companies such as Northern Star (-3.9 per cent) and Ramelius Resources (-5.5 per cent) were the worst performers on the day, while oil stocks continued to rise with Beach Energy (+7.0 per cent) and Oil Search Ltd (+7.6 per cent) extending gains.
Another outperformer was biotech company Mesoblast, which rose 4.8 per cent after regulators approved continued covid-vaccine trials in patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) - those which are more vulnerable to Covid.
Xero also performed very strongly, up over 10 per cent at one stage before settling 6.7 per cent higher, now up 55 per cent YTD. With half-year results for 2021 out today we may see further large swings in either direction, depending on whether results satisfy investor expectations.
Poor performers yesterday seemed to have been slightly oversold, with Goodman Group recovering 4.6 per cent and NextDC recovering 4.4 per cent.
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