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Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The S&P NZ50 was down 0.4 per cent on the day, with small cap stocks outperforming as the S&P NZ Small cap index rose 0.3 per cent.
Consumer Cyclicals and Financials were the best sectors on the day, up 1.2 and 0.7 per cent respectively. Consumer Non-Cyclicals and Healthcare were the worst performing sectors, down 1.3 and 0.8 per cent respectively.
Generator-retailer Genesis Energy was the best performing stock on the day, up 2.2 per cent. Casino operator Skycity Entertainment was the next best individual performer, up 2.0 per cent. Tourism Holdings was the worst performer on the day down 3.7 per cent. Corporate travel company Serko continued its run of bad form, down a further 2.0 per cent.
Maxigesic producer AFT Pharmaceuticals (down 4.6 per cent) released its half year results. It reported operating revenues of $48.8 million, a 4 per cent increase on the previous comparable half, driven primarily by growth in Australian and the Rest of World markets. Maxigesic has received final approval by the FDA, subject to a good manufacturing practice inspection. Operating profit forecast for the full year remains $14-18 million.
Stride Property Group (up 0.9 per cent) today announced it had reached an unconditional arrangement to acquire Grant Thornton House at 215 Lambton Quay, Wellington. The property expands the company's exposure to both retail and office property.
Earlier this week the government confirmed that its promised study into the grocery market sector will go ahead as planned. The study will look into pricing decisions and trends made prior to and during Covid-19.
However, Horticulture NZ has warned that the inquiry may actually lead to an increase in the cost of fruit and vegetables, saying that growers who supply supermarkets do not always get paid sufficiently to meet their costs.
While the focus will be on the consumer, the report will also consider procurement. As such the remediation of practices whereby supermarkets underpay for goods, and pass savings on to consumers, may lead, counterintuitively, to an out of pocket expense for consumers.
International
US Markets:
At time of writing, the S&P500 was down 0.25 per cent, the Dow Jones was down 0.5 per cent while the Nasdaq was 0.4 per cent higher. Due to the surging Covid-19 cases across America, it looks like investor sentiment moved slightly back in favour of technology stocks that have benefited from the virus.
Technology and Consumer Discretionary were the top-performing sectors today up 0.3 and 0.1 per cent respectively. All other sectors were in the red with Utilities and Healthcare the underperformers, down 1.4 and 0.65 per cent respectively.
Large chip producer Nvidia Corporation (-0.8 per cent) reported quarterly earnings today, with slight beats in both revenue and earnings. The earnings per share came in at US$2.91 above the expected consensus of US$2.57 per share. The revenue was also strong coming in at US$4.73 billion, above the US$4.41 billion expected. The company produced earnings growth of 63 per cent, while sales rose 57 per cent. However, the company warned data-centre chip sales are likely to suffer in the current period.
Loreal Brands Inc produced a strong result this morning with earnings per share of US$1.13 for the quarter, while consensus figures predicted a measly US$0.09 per share. The company was able to produce record sales in the Bath & Body chain while Victoria's secrets also rebounded strongly. The share price was up 16 per cent at the time of writing.
Asian markets:
At time of writing, the Shanghai and Shenzhen indices were up 0.5 and 0.9 per cent respectively, however the Nikkei 225 continued to push lower down 0.4 per cent.
The credit spread in China has worsened with a residential developer defaulting on a domestic bond. The mid-sized company failed to repay investors who looked for early redemption worth 631 million yuan (NZ$138 million) for their three-year bond.
The Philippines plan to cut the approval time for coronavirus vaccines, fast-tracking the use for high-risk individuals. The country will lower the time from six months to just three weeks, with the government looking at the Russian and China clinical trials.
Commodities:
At time of writing, Gold was down 0.8 per cent, trading at US$1858.6 per ounce. WTI Crude was down 0.9 per cent, trading at US$41.4 per barrel. The ten-year treasury yield was down to 0.846 per cent.
Australia
The ASX 200 closed up 0.3 per cent, with the Banking sector continuing to drive gains with the macro sentiment slightly bullish off a better than expected jobs outlook.
October's unemployment numbers came in 10 basis points below economist forecasts, but a touch higher than September at 7.0 per cent with 178,800 new jobs created.
On the other hand, blue chip heavyweights CSL (-0.7 per cent), BHP Group (-0.9 per cent) and Macquarie (-0.8 per cent) weighed on index gains. CSL's losses pushed the Healthcare sector 0.9 per cent lower, while Financials outperformed again, rising +1.2 per cent.
Individual outperformers were BlueScope Steel, which rose 5.3 per cent after it upgraded profit guidance, while Western Australian mineral exploration company Metal Hawk surged by 43 per cent following its IPO today at 20 cents a share.
In its AGM today, job listing website Seek raised its profit and revenue guidance. While an update in August had expected revenue of A$1.47 billion and profit of A$20 million, the company's latest update has increased expectations to A$1.6 billion and A$50 million, respectively.
The large profit upgrade came after Seek refuted the 'many inaccurate statements' made by research firm Blue Orca. Seek also indicated that some of its more recent acquisitions have been performing well, which 'has increased our conviction levels to re-invest'.
Coming up
International
The Fed presidents of Kansas and Dallas will be speaking tomorrow, while 19 companies also produce earnings, with the only notable company being Foot Locker Inc.
Australia
Today in Australia updated credit card and retail sales figures will be released, providing insight on consumer spending patterns. Covid-19 embattled company Sydney Airport will be releasing a traffic update later today, and mining explosives manufacturer Orica will report their full year earnings.
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