Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
Major US indices were in the red at the time of writing, with the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.4, 0.6, and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
Sector performance was mixed with energy, utilities, and real estate having increased by 1.5, 1.0, and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Conversely, losses included consumer discretionary (-1.7 per cent), technology (-1.2 per cent), and communication services (-1.0 per cent).
Leading the market was the media data analytics firm Nielsen. Its share price had jumped 21.2 per cent at the time of writing.
The company had recently postponed a special shareholder meeting where it was expected to resolve an initial preliminary agreement between a group of private equity firms attempting a $10b buy-out of Nielsen shares.
Investment and insurance firm Principal Financial Group rose 7.5 per cent on the back of a strong quarterly report. The company reported non-GAAP operating earnings of US$1.65 per share, significantly beating consensus expectations of US$1.39 per share.
Media and information services firm News Corporation saw its Class B and Class A shares rise 5.6 and 5.4 per cent respectively. Recently released quarterly earnings of 37 cents per share beat consensus estimates of 9 cents a share.
On the other side of the market, shipping line company Norwegian Cruise Line fell 11.1 per cent.
This followed the pre-market release of second-quarter results which showed occupancy rates of only 65 per cent, compared to more than 100 per cent in that same quarter of 2019.
The firm signalled levels of bookings seen prior to Covid-19 would likely not be seen again until 2023, setting expectations that losses could continue.
Semiconductor materials and services providers, Lam Research, and Applied Materials, decreased 9.3 and 8.5 per cent respectively. This followed news from semi-conductor manufacturer Micron Technology that demand for chips had declined and that it expected a difficult market environment ahead.
Tomorrow, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics will release their monthly update of Consumer Price Index figures. The previous announcement pointed to an inflation rate of 9.1 per cent per annum.
Rest of the World
European markets were mixed, with the FTSE up 0.1 per cent while the DAX and the CAC were down 1.1 and 0.5 per cent, respectively.
Markets in Asia remained mixed overnight, with the Shanghai Composite having increased 0.3 per cent while the Nikkei and the Hang Seng fell 0.9 and 0.2 per cent, respectively.
Commodities
Ethereum and Bitcoin reversed course from yesterday, down 5.3 and 3.7 per cent, respectively.
The US 10-Year Treasury Rate gained three basis points to 2.797 per cent at the time of writing.
WTI Crude Oil fell 0.3 per cent to US$90.51 per barrel while natural gas gained 2.8 per cent.
Lastly, gold has increased 0.3 per cent to US$1,810.2 per ounce.
New Zealand
The NZX50 closed 0.4 per cent higher at 11,753.5 points.
Transportation technology company Eroad was yesterday's standout performer, increasing 4.9 per cent.
Manufacturer Skellerup Holdings was another strong gainer, up 4.1 per cent.
Air New Zealand closed 4.0 per cent higher. The national airline carried 10.4 per cent fewer passengers in the year to 30 June 2022 compared to the previous year.
Easing border restrictions likely led to Air New Zealand carrying 145.2 per cent more passengers on long haul routes over this period. However, this metric remains lower than pre-Covid (2019) numbers, down 92 per cent.
Stock exchange NZX dropped 2.4 per cent, as well as commercial real estate provider Goodman Property Trust, which was down 1.8 per cent.
Lastly, donor management software business Pushpay Holdings closed out the bottom movers with a 1.5 per cent reduction.
Stats NZ electronic card transaction data for July revealed a seasonally adjusted 0.2 per cent reduction in retail spending compared to June.
Among the categories, fuel spending dropped 6.1 per cent, consumables spending rose 2.2 per cent, while services spending rose 1.9 percent.
Australia
The ASX 200 ended Tuesday up, gaining 9.2 points to a two-month high of 7,029.80.
Eight of 11 sectors closed higher. Telecommunications (+1.8 per cent), information technology (+1.7 per cent) and consumer discretionary (+1.4 per cent) were the top performing sectors. Financials (-0.8 per cent), utilities (-0.8 per cent) and consumer staples (-0.1 per cent) declined.
The top performing single stock of the ASX 200 was Megaport, up 10.5 per cent after releasing results for the year ended June 2022.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 23 per cent to a A$10.2 million loss compared to the previous years' loss of A$13.3 million.
The infrastructure company saw a loss of $48.5 million, lowered in the fourth quarter by laying off 35 staff members. Despite the positive performance yesterday, the stock is still 53 per cent lower than at the start of the year.
Real estate company Domain Holdings also jumped 8.7 per cent.
REA Group increased 7.3 per cent following the release of financial year 2022 results.
Revenue rose 26 per cent to A$1.17 billion, EBITDA was up 19 per cent to A$674 million and the full year dividend was 164 cents per share, 25 per cent higher than the previous year.
CEO Owen Wilson commented the company was able to fully capitalise on the strong listing environment, saying Australia's healthy property market helped position the company well.
Mesoblast had the largest decline, down 7.0 per cent. The company announced the completion of its US$45 million share issue, with 86.7 million ordinary shares issued to major shareholders.
The share issue will be put towards launch activities and commercialisation of the company's lead product, remestemcel-L.
Imugene fell 3.5 per cent, reversing some of Monday's gains.
National Australia Bank (NAB) dropped 3.2 per cent after releasing their third quarter trading update.
Unaudited net profit was A$1.85 billion and cash earnings were A$1.8 billion, meeting analysts' expectations.
The drop in stock performance might be connected to the bank saying their net interest margin was lower, due to rising funding costs, higher mortgage competition, while the bank's volatile markets and treasury divisions also reported lower margins.
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Briscoe Group's strong day came at The Warehouse Group's expense.