Freight and logistics
company Mainfreight led the market (+2.8 per cent), as its first half result highlighted the company's position, reporting $2.27 billion in revenue for the period (a 41.4 per cent increase year-on-year), including a 55 cents per share dividend to reward investors.
Similarly, Goodman Property Trust reported a solid first half result for 2022, headlined by a sizeable property revaluation of over $500 million. Other metrics included $78.5m of net property income, and a dividend of 2.75 cents per share. Investors appear to have reacted favourably, as the stock finished higher by 1.2 per cent.
Agricultural products manufacturer Skellerup also posted a 2.5 per cent gain on Thursday.
Laggard sectors through Thursday's trading included technology (-0.8 per cent) and consumer cyclicals (-0.4 per cent).
Agribusiness and logistics company Scales Corporation lost 4 per cent, finishing with the biggest decline of the day. Biotech company Pacific Edge continued to slide (-2.1 per cent) after presenting at the Bell Potter Healthcare conference on Wednesday. Lastly, Investore Property also declined 2.1 per cent ahead of its half year result release next Monday.
NZX Limited, the company that hosts and operates New Zealand's main exchange, made headlines after announcing it had acquired the management rights for ASB Bank's Superannuation Master Fund, for cash consideration of $25m. NZX offers a range of KiwiSaver, Superannuation, and Investment funds via its platforms, with this addition increasing funds under management by $1.8b.
International Markets:
US:
At the time of writing, the major US indices were uncorrelated. The S&P 500 was up 0.2 per cent, the NASDAQ was up 0.7 per cent, and the Dow Jones was down 0.1 per cent.
The top sectors on the day were materials and energy, respectively up 1 per cent and 0.8 per cent.
The sectors lagging the index were utilities (-0.9 per cent) and healthcare (-0.4 per cent.)
The market leading stocks included diversified mining company Freeport-McMoRan Inc (+9.4 per cent), energy management solutions provider Enphase Energy Inc (+7.0 per cent), and television content provider and media company Discovery Inc (+5.5 per cent).
Freeport-McMoRan drove higher on the back of institutional buying. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT acquired a new position in the second quarter. The institutional investor acquired 75,940 shares of the natural resource company's stock, valued at approximately US$2,818,000. A number of other institutions took smaller positions.
The equities experiencing some of the biggest declines on the day included diversified entertainment company Walt Disney Co, heart valve product manufacturer Edwards Lifesciences Corp, and clinical robotics company Intuitive Surgical Inc, respectively down 6.6, 3.6, and 3 per cent.
The Walt Disney Company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share, which is compared with the loss of 20 cents per share reported in the year-ago quarter.
However, the bottom line missed the consensus estimate by 27.4 per cent. Revenues were US$18.53 billion, which increased 26 per cent from the prior-year quarter. This was driven by strong performances delivered by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
However, the top line lagged the consensus estimate of US$18.85 billion. Notably, Disney has lost 3.7 per cent on a year-to-date basis compared with the industry 's decline of 37.5 per cent.
Rest of the World Markets
The popular Asian indices were up at time of writing. The Shanghai index (China) was up 1.2 per cent, the Shenzhen index (China) was up 1.1 per cent, the Nikkei 225 (Japan) was up 0.6 per cent, and the Hang Seng (Hong Kong) index was up 1 per cent.
Commodities:
It was a turbulent session for precious metals. Gold was trading at US$1,861.31 per ounce (up 0.6 per cent); while silver was trading at US$25.2 per ounce (up 2.2 per cent). For the industrial metals, the closest dated iron ore future was trading at US$92.19 per MT (down 0.0 per cent); the closest dated copper future was trading at US$9720.19 per KG (up 1.9 per cent). The closest dated WTI crude oil future was trading at US$80.99 per MT (down 0.4 per cent).
It has been a volatile session for crypto with Bitcoin trading at US$65180.95 (up 1.4 per cent) and Ethereum trading at US$4767.13 (up 4.7 per cent). The US 10-year treasury bond yield was trading at 1.5579 per cent (down 0.0 basis points).
Australian Markets:
The ASX 200 fell again yesterday, down 0.6 per cent.
Basic materials was the only sector to rise, up 2.3 per cent, and reflected in the top performing stocks of the day. In contrast, the sectors seeing the biggest declines were energy and healthcare, which both declined by 1.9 per cent.
Chalice Mining was the top performer for the third day running, rallying up 9.6 per cent on Thursday after the release of a maiden mineral resource estimate with the largest nickel sulphide deposit discovered globally in over 20 years.
Fortescue Metals' rose 8.2 per cent after the CEO said clean energy ventures expansion would hedge it against the iron ore price slump since peaks in May.
Regis Resources increased 6.5 per cent. It outlined changes to substantial shareholdings.
Nearmap fell 12.3 per cent yesterday, the day of its annual general meeting. This came despite the plan to boost contract value by 12 per cent–19 per cent in FY22.
Xero fell 6.2 per cent after its half year results release appeared to miss investor expectations. Total subscribers came in at 3.01 million compared to a 3.05 million estimate with a half year loss of $5.9m.
Zip fell 5.2 per cent with changes to substantial shareholdings.
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Disclaimer: This Morning Brief has been prepared in good faith and reflects opinions and views 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. This Morning 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 broker disclosure statement is available free of charge at www.jarden.co.nz. Jarden is not a registered bank in New Zealand. Full disclaimer available at: https://www.jarden.co.nz/limitations-and-disclaimera>
