Jarden Brief: Australian unemployment rate falls to near 50-year low

Unemployment has hit a near 50 year low in Australia. Photo / File

Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden

International

US

The major US indices were mixed at the time of writing. The S&P 500 had lost 0.2 per cent, the Nasdaq was up 0.3 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 per cent. The Dow fell further following its largest daily loss since June 2020 on Wednesday.

Sectors were mixed with materials and consumer discretionary both gaining 1 per cent. The biggest losses came from financials and consumer staples, down 0.7 and 1.8 per cent, respectively.

Electronic design automation company Synopsys had the highest gains of the S&P 500, rising 12 per cent following the release of their higher-than-expected second quarter performance. With adjusted earnings of US$2.50 per share, the software company surpassed estimates of US$2.37 per share.

Emphase Energy inclined 8.6 per cent and Generac Holdings climbed 8.1 per cent.

Leading the bottom movers was Cisco Systems, declining 14.6 per cent, hitting a new 52-week low of US$41.02. The network company reported lower quarterly revenue than many analysts expected, with earnings of US$0.87 per share and US$12.84 billion in revenue.

Under Armour class A and class C shares also hit new 52-week lows of US$9.16 and US$8.22 and were down 11.4 and 13.7 per cent respectively at the time of writing. This followed CEO Patrick Frisk announcing he will be stepping down in June.

Rest of the World

Markets in Asia were mixed with the Shanghai Composite up 0.4 per cent while the Nikkei and the Hang Seng decreased 1.9 and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

European markets continued to fall on Thursday. The FTSE, the DAX and the CAC fell 1.8 per cent, 0.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.

Commodities

WTI Crude Oil rose 2.4 per cent to US$112.18 per barrel.

Gold experienced a gain of 1.3 per cent and silver inclined 1.9 per cent.

The US 10-Year Treasury rate declined four basis points down to 2.85 per cent.

The cryptocurrency market was in the green. Bitcoin and Ethereum gained 3.1 and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

New Zealand

The NZX 50 edged slightly lower, down 0.8 per cent, with the index closing at 11,171 points.

As the reopening process of New Zealand's borders continues, Tourism Holdings was the best performer, closing 4.5 per cent higher.

Scales Corporation was also in the green, climbing 3.5 per cent.

Oceania Healthcare increased 3 per cent but is still down 33.1 per cent year to date.

Serko decreased 7.8 per cent during the trading session. This followed its full year results release which showed net losses after tax of $36 million and an average monthly cash burn of $3 million.

The Warehouse Group fell 5.5 per cent. The Warehouse made headlines on Thursday after releasing a New Zealand map poster with many misspelled Māori names of cities and towns. The company apologised for the error yesterday afternoon.

Rounding out the bottom three performers was Sky TV falling 4.8 per cent. This brings Sky TV down 13.5 per cent over the past month.

The New Zealand Government released its 2022 budget yesterday. Some of the key takeaways were a one-off $350 cost of living payment to be paid to adults with an income under $70,000 who are not already getting winter energy payments, and a $13.2 billion boost into the health system.

Australia

The ASX 200 dropped by 1.7 per cent yesterday to 7064.5 points.

All sectors closed in the red. Consumer staples fell 3.7 per cent while consumer discretionary and information technology decreased by 3.1 and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

Imugene, a pharmaceutical company, led the market with an increase of 17.6 per cent, gaining back some of its share price which had been declining since the start of this year. Yesterday, the company announced the commencement of a clinical trial using viral targeting mechanisms to treat cancer.

Gambling company Aristocrat Leisure rose 6.7 per cent. The firm will begin a share buy-back program of up to A$500 million starting this June, funded using sizable cash reserves.

Healthcare equipment manufacturer Polynovo was up 3.2 per cent. This follows news of a Director share purchase announcement amounting to A$430,000.

Nufarm, an agricultural chemical company, fell 8.6 per cent. The company recently announced a 31 per cent increase in revenue compared to the first half of 2021. However, the firm and analyst consensus expect a weaker performance for the second half of the financial year.

Retail and industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers, and investment company Pendal Group decreased by 7.8 and 7.1 per cent, respectively.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced the April 2022 unemployment rate was 3.9 per cent, down from 4 per cent in March, and the lowest rate seen in nearly 50 years.

Representatives from many sectors have said they are struggling with staff shortages. Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra, facing 29,000 job vacancies in the retail sector, has supported the idea of pensioners and mature aged workers returning to these positions.

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Disclaimer: The Jarden Brief is provided for general information purposes only. It reflects views and research available 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. The Jarden 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 financial advice disclosure statement is available free of charge at https://www.jarden.co.nz/our-services/wealth-management/financial-advice-provider-disclosure-statement/ Full disclaimer available at: https://www.jarden.co.nz/wealth-sales-and-research-disclaimer

Jarden is advising Tourism Holdings Limited on an agreement to merge with Apollo Tourism and Leisure Limited.