Pushpay now expects its underlying EBITDA to be within a range of US$61.5 million and US$63.5 million. Photo / Supplied
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The NZX 50 closed flat yesterday at 11,801.73 points.
Donation management company Pushpay Holdings finished as the largest outperformer with a 7.8 per cent gain. Investors appear to have reacted positively to the business reconfirming and narrowing its guidance range for the 2022 financial year.
Pushpay now expects its underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortisation, fair value adjustments and investments in associates (Underlying EBITDAFI) to be within a range of US$61.5 million and US$63.5 million, as opposed to the previous guidance of US$60.0 million to US$65.0 million.
Engineered product manufacturer Skellerup Holdings also closed in the green, rallying in the afternoon to post a 3.2 per cent gain.
On the flip side, healthcare company EBOS Group was yesterday's largest underperformer (-2.6 per cent). Travel booking technology provider Serko followed closely with a 2.3 per cent reduction. Serko remains down 32.5 per cent year to date.
Other notable stocks to finish lower at Tuesday's close included Port of Tauranga and Air New Zealand with falls of 2.3 and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
Meridian Energy released their monthly operating stats for February, headlined by a 6.9 per cent drop in retail sales volumes compared to the same month in 2021. The electricity company saw positive results from small medium business and residential sales, rising 21.7 and 16.2 per cent respectively. Conversely, agricultural volumes fell 47.2 per cent, followed by large business volumes (-8.6 per cent).
Nationally, Meridian generated 6.5 per cent more power than February 2021, but the average price received for generation was down 49.7 per cent. Meridian Energy finished yesterday's trading in the red (-0.1 per cent).
The Commerce Commission has granted clearance to a transaction that would see the merger of the Vocus Group with 2degrees. The Commission noted that a combined business, would consolidate the telcos' complementary strengths in mobile and broadband and would not lessen competition in the telecommunications sector.
International
US
At the time of writing, all three of the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Industrial Average have risen 1.6, 2.0, and 1.3 per cent respectively.
Almost all sectors were in the green today. The consumer discretionary sector performed the best, having increased 2.7 per cent. Other sectors that experienced gains included technology and consumer staples, up 2.6 and 2.0 per cent. Energy was the only sector that experienced a decrease, at a loss of 2.8 per cent.
American Airlines jumped 7.5 per cent in what has been a good day for the industry. Reports earlier this week showed that travel bookings were up significantly, despite higher ticket prices in response to skyrocketing jet fuel prices. Similarly, Delta Airlines and United Airlines followed suit with 7.3 and 6.6 per cent gains, respectively.
Joining the winners podium was also semiconductor developer Monolithic Power Systems, which gained 7.4 per cent, following no news being released.
In contrast, plastics and chemical manufacturer LyondellBasell Industries was down 5.2 per cent at the time of writing. This was the largest decrease of the index, despite no recent news.
Valero Energy seems to have also been impacted by the global pullback in energy and mining stocks. Valero currently trades down 6.7 per cent to US$84.5. A large segment of the company is dedicated to refining and transporting oil. This follows a decline in oil prices over the start of the week, following a period of steady increases.
Energy technology company Baker Hughes also slipped 5.1 per cent. The company specialises in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas.
Rest of the World
Chinese markets were in the red at the time of writing. The Shanghai Composite decreased 5.0 per cent and the Hang Seng Index was down 5.7 per cent; the HSI is now trading at a price it last saw in 2011. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.2 per cent.
European markets have also seen losses, though to a lesser extent. The FTSE fell 0.3 per cent, the DAX lost 0.1 per cent and the CAC down 0.2 per cent.
Commodities
It was another slow day for the main commodities, with gold and silver falling 1.6 and 0.6 per cent, while oil lost 5.8 per cent to US$97.09 per barrel.
The cryptocurrency market was up 0.6 per cent, with Bitcoin and Ethereum having increased 1.2 and 2.0 per cent respectively.
Conversely, The U.S. 10-year treasury rate remains steady compared to yesterday's market close, now sitting at 2.131 per cent.
Australia
ASX 200 closed in the red on Tuesday, dropping 0.7 per cent from Monday to 7,097.4.
Sector performance was varied, with six of 11 falling. Financials held the lead with an increase of 1.0 per cent, followed by healthcare, gaining 0.8 per cent.
The bottom performers yesterday were materials (-3.7 per cent) and energy (-2.7 per cent), both likely pulled down by a fall in mining shares.
The best single stock performer yesterday was technology company Uniti Group, increasing 28.6 per cent. This succeeded a trading halt followed by an announcement of a takeover bid from asset management company Morrison & Co. An indicative proposal of A$4.50 per cash share was put forward.
Following the incline was Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (+6.5 per cent) and asset management company Janus Henderson Group (+4.3 per cent).
Chalice Mining held Monday's position as the greatest underperformer, losing 10.0 per cent. Champion Iron (-9.2 per cent) and buy now pay later company Zip Co (-9.0 per cent) were Tuesday's other underperformers.
Australian residential property prices rose 23.7 per cent over the last 12 months, revealed in yesterday's report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The mean price of residential dwellings climbed by A$44,000 to A$920,100.
In the minutes for the March 2022 Monetary Policy meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the main focus was cost of living and wage growth. Construction, manufacturing, and retail were labelled as the biggest industries under input cost pressure. While inflation had picked up, members of the RBA board agreed it was too early to conclude that it was sustainably within its inflation target band to warrant interest rate hikes.
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