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The S&P NZ50 finished the day up 0.7 per cent. The S&P NZ Small Cap Index was up 0.9 per cent as smaller companies outperformed on the day.
The best performing sector on the day was Information Technology, up 3.5 per cent, followed by Utilities, which added 2.5 per cent after a strong rebound from Meridian (+4.4 per cent) and Contact Energy (+4.1 per cent). Both stocks have sold off over the past week following some greater certainty around smelter operations Tiwai Point, continuing until 2024, and a cessation of ETF buying. Yesterday's recovery may have been due to large investors buying back into the soft price.
Meanwhile, the best performing company on the day was payments solutions company Pushpay Holdings, recovering 5.3 per cent – although it is still down 13.5 per cent for the year.
Healthcare device manufacturer Fisher and Paykel Healthcare experienced a minor pullback, falling 1.3 per cent – although not alarming given the previous day's rally.
The Government yesterday unveiled plans to build 8000 new public and transitional houses in an attempt to address the 22,500 eligible families on the waitlist for public housing and the otherwise growing housing crisis.
There will be a focus on regions where demand has significantly outstripped supply, leading to increased rental costs and general deprivation. While the move is welcomed, some experts are saying that it will not help the affordability of the housing market generally, which requires the stock of purchasable property to rise.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has also been tipped as likely among the first of the central banks to raise rates, with Westpac expecting the RBNZ to keep interest rates on hold at 25bps until 2025 - at which point they predict rates to increase.
If eventuated, this should take some heat out of market demand as purchasing power decreases. In the long term however, supply side policies are required to fully address the problem.
Investors should look out for retirement village owner Oceania's half year result today. In the first half of financial year 20, the company earned $98 million in revenue, $5.4m of net profit after tax and had net tangible assets of 0.99 cents per share.
International
US Markets:
All three major indices were relatively flat after yesterday's rally, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones both a slight 0.1 per cent down. Tech stocks seemed to have more to add however, and the NASDAQ index crept up 0.4 per cent.
The Energy sector was the worst performing yesterday, down -3.0 per cent following continued expectations of a Biden administration clamp down on carbon emitting companies. Meanwhile, cyclicals were up with Tech rising 0.8 per cent, despite Netflix falling 2.6 per cent following yesterday's big rally.
Bitcoin has slipped by 10 per cent in the last two days, back below US$32,000 for the first time since January 11 after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke about the illicit use of cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has kept interest rates unchanged during its announcement last night, despite increasing covid-19 infection rates across the eurozone.
Asian markets:
Overnight the Shanghai index was up 1.1 per cent while the Hangseng was flat, down 0.1 per cent. The Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent.
Twitter has locked the official account of the Chinese embassy in the US, citing a breach of its 'dehumanisation' policy after the account commented that China was saving Uighur women from becoming 'baby making machines'.
Commodities:
At time of writing, Gold fell by 0.3 per cent, trading at US$1864.43 per ounce. WTI Crude was down 0.5 per cent, trading at US$53.06 per barrel.
Australia
The S&P ASX200 finished the day up 0.7 per cent.
The best performing sector on the day was Information Technology, which advanced 2.4 per cent, underpinned by the out performance of buy now pay later company Zip Co Ltd, which rose 21.2 per cent on its reporting of excellent strides taken in the US market. Afterpay added 5.7 per cent as well, off renewed optimism in the sub-industry.
Zip Co provided the market with a second quarter trading update which emphasised its success in rolling out operations in the US. Zip US delivered record results across all metrics, with A$47.6 million of revenue and 915,000 new customers. Quarterly revenue for the group was up 80 per cent year on year to A$102 million. Customer numbers are up 97 per cent (to 5.7 million) and merchants on the platform are up 73 per cent (to 38.5 thousand).
Meanwhile, the worst performing company on the day was waste management company Cleanaway Waste Management, down 8.3 per cent after a change in CEO was announced.
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