UBS was up 3.7 per cent at the time of writing after it announced that former CEO Sergio Ermotti would return to assist with the acquisition of Credit Suisse. Ermotti previously helped restructure UBS following the Global Financial Crisis.
Micron Technology increased 6.8 per cent after the semiconductor company’s management said it was planning a bigger headcount reduction than previously expected at the earnings release, where both revenue and profit came in weaker than market expectations.
Rest of the World
The Hang Seng Index rose 2.1 per cent as Alibaba continues to drive gains.
Commodities
Brent Oil is currently trading down 0.4 per cent at US$78.30 a barrel, while gold is trading 0.5 per cent lower to US$1963.60 per ounce.
The US 10-year Treasury bond rose 2 basis points to 3.59 per cent.
New Zealand
The NZX 50 declined 0.3 per cent yesterday.
NZ King Salmon released its full year result. The Nelson-based aquaculture company reported a profit of $1.9 million, up from a $73 million loss last year. NZ King Salmon rose 2.4 per cent yesterday.
Relevant to The A2 Milk Company and Synlait Milk, the US Food and Drug Administration released a national strategy outlining actions the agency will take immediately to, among other aims, increase resiliency of the U.S. infant formula market and supply.
One of the key elements of the strategy includes “Expediting review of pre-market submissions for new infant formula products to mitigate or prevent shortages.”
Australia
The ASX 200 traded 0.2 per cent higher on Wednesday.
Brisbane-based lab testing, inspection, certification company ALS jumped 4.8 per cent, after lifting its underlying net profit guidance to between A$312 million and A$322 million for fiscal 2023, up from a previous forecast of between A$300 million and A$320 million.
This follows the sale of its asset care business to Perth-based industrial services group SRG Global for A$80 million.
Lithium stocks extended their advance after Liontown Resources revealed on Tuesday that it rejected a A$5.5 billion takeover bid from lithium giant Albemarle.
Monthly CPI rose 0.2 per cent month-on-month to an annual rate of 6.8 per cent year-on-year, softer than the 7.2 per cent expected and the 7.4 per cent annualised rate of the previous month.
Throughout the month, the largest increases were in education, transport and apparel, whilst throughout the year, the largest price gains were in housing, food and recreation and culture.
Coming up today
US: Initial Jobless Claims, Q4 GDP; Eurozone: Consumer Confidence; Japan: Tokyo CPI; NZ: Building Permits, ANZ Business Confidence
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