In the US, all three big indices were trading higher despite news of GDP shrinking for the second straight quarter. Photo / Kate Glicksberg
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
All three major US indices were trading higher despite the latest fall in gross domestic product. The US economy contracted for the second straight quarter from April to June.
The
S&P 500 was up 1.3 per cent, the Nasdaq rose 1.0 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.2 per cent, at the time of writing. It seems investors might be hoping the GDP data will soon cause the Federal Reserve to slow interest rate hikes.
All but one sector performed well. Real estate and utilities led the sector movers, up 3.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively. Communication services was the only sector trading lower, down 1.1 per cent.
The frontrunner of the single stocks was Constellation Energy. The clean energy company traded 15.9 per cent higher after the company announced the roll-out of customised reports for its customers, to help them measure and reduce their carbon emissions impact.
Additionally, a recent landmark climate deal struck between US Senators may have buoyed shares in Constellation Energy, which operates nuclear plants and reactors.
Next in line was consumer and commercial services company Rollins, up 10.3 per cent at the time of writing.
This follows the company announcing earnings for the second quarter, with net income of US$100.3 million, compared to US$98.9 million for the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was impacted by an increase in revenues offset by higher costs related to people, advertising, fleet and materials.
Digital infrastructure company Equinix rose 8.8 per cent. Equinix's second quarter revenue came in at US$1.8 billion, a 5.0 per cent increase on the previous quarter's results. The company also provided annual guidance, with around US$7.3 billion estimated revenue for the year.
Leading the underperformers was Stanley Black and Decker, down 14.5 per cent at the time of writing. Despite posting second quarter revenues of US$4.4 billion, the manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware cut its 2022 earnings guidance nearly in half.
This may suggest a slowdown in consumer demand for power tools.
Cincinnati Financial Corporation, which offers property and casualty insurance, fell 13.1 per cent. The firm reported a net loss of US$808 million for the second quarter of 2022, a US$1.5 billion decrease in net income compared to the same period last year.
The loss was mainly due to Cincinnati's property and casualty segment, which saw an underwriting loss of US$52 million against an underwriting income of US$221 million in the same period a year earlier.
Rounding out the bottom performers was Charter Communications, down 9.4 per cent. This is likely connected to the recent legal fine the company faced – liable for US$7.0 billion in damages and responsible for an employee who robbed and murdered a customer in 2019.
Rest of the World
Asian markets were mixed at the time of writing. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.2 per cent, the Nikkei improved 0.4 per cent and the Hang Seng fell 0.2 per cent.
European markets closed higher as investors digested the US Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to raise interest rates in the US by 0.75 percentage points.
The FTSE traded flat, the DAX increased 0.9 per cent and the CAC rose 1.3 per cent.
Commodities
WTI Crude Oil traded 0.6 per cent lower to US$96.73 per barrel. Gold performed well, up 1.8 per cent to US$1,749.4 per ounce.
The cryptocurrency market was largely in the green for the second day running. Bitcoin was trading 5.0 per cent higher and Ethereum jumped 9.4 per cent.
The 10-Year Treasury rate fell five basis points to 2.68 per cent whilst the 30-Year rate remained unchanged at 3.002 per cent.
New Zealand
The NZX 50 recovered 1.7 per cent yesterday after previous declines this week.
Mainfreight lead the market higher with a rise of 6.3 per cent after holding its annual shareholders meeting yesterday. Retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare (+4.1 per cent) also held its annual shareholders meeting yesterday.
The a2 Milk Company rounded out the outperformers with an increase of 3.8 per cent.
Going against the grain was Manawa Energy, down 2.0 per cent. Agribusiness Scales declined 1.9 per cent and dairy nutrition company Synlait Milk dropped 1.3 per cent.
ANZ released its Business Confidence Outlook yesterday, which noted inflation pressures remain intense but could be peaking.
The Business Confidence Index recovered six points to -56.7 in July, while the Own Activity Index was flat at -8.7. Residential construction intentions reached a new low, but there was little change to most activity indicators.
ANZ is scheduled to release its Consumer Confidence data on Friday.
Australia
The ASX 200 rose 1.0 per cent yesterday to 6,889.7 per cent.
Nine of 11 sectors were in the green, led by materials, energy and financials - up 2.4, 1.3 and 0.8 per cent, respectively.
Utilities fell by 1.8 per cent while healthcare remained flat.
Technology company ZIP Co led the market for the third day in a row, up 22.6 per cent, despite no recent news.
Even after three days of approximately 20.0 per cent gains, the company is still trading down 64.9 per cent from the start of the year.
Betting services company Pointsbet recovered the losses it saw earlier in the week, having increased 20.6 per cent. The company is still down 47.7 per cent from the beginning of the year.
Rounding out the largest increases yesterday was battery materials and technology company Novonix. The firm's share price had gained 13.6 per cent by market close.
Stock transfer company Computershare and private healthcare insurer NIB decreased 3.5 and 2.8 per cent, respectively. Both movements followed seemingly no news having been released.
On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the annual inflation rate had risen to 6.1 per cent, its highest level in more than 20 years. Yesterday, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers speculated that inflation could peak as high as 7.75 per cent.
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