The AI (artificial intelligence) sector is the scene of feverish competition - and now four firms hope to challenge OpenAI's ChatGPT, which can create responses to all kinds of writing requests. Photo / 123RF
The AI (artificial intelligence) sector is the scene of feverish competition - and now four firms hope to challenge OpenAI's ChatGPT, which can create responses to all kinds of writing requests. Photo / 123RF
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden.
International
US
US equities traded up ahead of the widely anticipated consumer price index (CPI) reading this morning as all three of the main indices made gains of roughly 1.0 per cent atthe time of writing.
American Biotech company Illumina chaired the outperformers during this morning’s trading with the company, returning 7.6 per cent amidst CEO Francis deSouza backing the company’s genomics to be a big part of children’s hospitals.
Joining Illumina on the winners’ podium were Warner Bros Discovery Inc (+5.0 per cent) and Generac Holdings (+4.2 per cent).
Meta Platforms, parent company to social media giant Facebook, announced its Chief Business Officer Marne Levine will retire after 13 years with the company.
Levine, known for her time as Chief Operating Officer of Instagram, will be replaced by a duo of internal candidates.
Coinciding with the announcement was speculation the company plans another round of firmwide layoffs as the stock price reacted positively, currently up 3.1 per cent.
Against the run of play, Fidelity Inc has fallen 13.0 per cent after providing weak guidance for the first quarter, despite revenue and earnings beats for the fourth quarter. More information included the company’s decision to spin off its merchant solutions business.
Rest of the World
Asian indices were mixed overnight with a keen eye on the Nikkei 225 (-0.9 per cent) as the country awaits the official appointment of a new central bank governor.
Other news out of Asia included large cap tech giants Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and NetEase looking to join forces in the hope of developing chatbots to rival that of ChatGPT.
Singapore GDP growth was reported on Monday afternoon (NZT) at 3.6 per cent for 2022, significantly less than the Covid-rebound impacted 8.9 per cent reported in 2021.
New Zealand
The NZX50 had a timid start to the week with company reporting season well underway, falling 0.9 per cent to 12,075.2 points.
Construction company Fletcher Building and electricity generator/retailer Contact Energy were two of the large cap companies who made headlines early in the day.
Fletcher Building, which was expected to report its half-year result on Wednesday, pre-released the result two days in advance with analysts digesting softer than expected numbers in the release.
Highlights included 1H23 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of NZ$360m and full-year guidance for NZ$800 to NZ$855, down from the previously guided range on around NZ$855m.
The company cited the adverse weather effects throughout New Zealand in January and February as reason for the slight downgrade on full year prospects. FBU finished 5.4 per cent lower on Mondays close.
Alternatively, Contact Energy (+0.5 per cent) traded in line following its own 1H23 result.
Contact delivered normalised operating earnings of NZ$246m, much lower than the previous first half of the 2022 fiscal year which saw a figure of NZ$322m.
Lower generation and lower wholesale prices were the two main factors driving the lower than originally anticipated earnings but this result was well guided with the posting of first half operating statistics later last month, hence the mild market reaction.
Notable winners at the close of Mondays trading included biotech company Pacific Edge Technology (+5.3 per cent) and retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare (+3.2 per cent).
Conversely, Summerset Holdings and Napier Port lost -2.8 and -2.6 per cent each.
Australia
Australian equities followed the NZX, slipping 0.2 per cent to 7,417.8 points.
Leading headlines was casino and resort operator Star Entertainment, which plunged a whopping 20.8 per cent following a trading update.
Sydney's Star Casino. New South Wales plans casino duty rate increases from next year. Photo / 123RF
The key detail from the update was a proposed A$400m to A$1.6bn provision for a non-cash write down from its Sydney Casino operations, relating primarily to the introduction of the New South Wales casino duty rate increases from 2024, and significantly increased compliance costs to enable operations at its three casinos which earlier reviews deemed Crown unfit to run.
At one point during the day, star shares traded to an all time low of A$1.52.
In similar fashion, tech company Appen also said it is expected to recognise a non-cash impairment charge of A$204m in its year end results for December 2022, reflecting poor performance from its new geographies against original management expectations.
Other equities reporting on Monday included retail appliance staple JB Hi-Fi which lost 5.1 per cent in the wake of the official release of its 1H23 results, which highlighted a strong first half but a slow start to trading in the second, leaving investors cautious on the near term outlook.
Coming up today
In the US, CPI for the month of January will be printed with onlookers eager for proof of continued decelerating inflation. Across the ditch, James Hardie and Dexus are among the larger companies reporting earnings. Closer to home, Vulcan Steel will also report its half year result.
For more information on the latest market moves, get in touch with Jarden.
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