Bitcoin's price has been fluctuating in recent trading. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
The NZX 50 closed 0.8 per cent lower on Thursday after its rally in the previous session.
Healthcare and technology stocks were leading the market lower, decreasing 1.7 and 1.6 per
cent, respectively. Financials (+0.2 per cent) and consumer non-cyclicals (+0.1 per cent) also performed well.
The Fonterra Shareholders' Fund was the single stock winner of the day, rising 2.8 per cent. The cooperative held a special meeting yesterday, where shareholders voted in favour of capital structure changes, which aim to make it easier to join the company. A total 85 per cent of farmer shareholder votes supported the proposal.
Sky Network Television kept up its upward momentum, increasing a further 1.7 per cent.
The a2 Milk Company also performed well, closing 1.5 per cent higher.
On the flip side, Synlait Milk dropped 4.0 per cent.
Electricity retailer Genesis Energy also underperformed, decreasing 2.8 per cent.
Rounding out the underperformers on the NZX 50 yesterday was medical device producer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, down 2.7 per cent.
Healthcare distributions and pharmacy company EBOS Group was placed into trading halt yesterday after announcing a A$642 million institutional offer, alongside a A$100 million retail offer to fund the purchase of LifeHealthcare. The purchase price of A$1.2 billion implies an earnings multiple of 11.5 times, with the acquired business generating revenues of A$326 million in 2021.
US equities were down at the time of writing with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq trading lower by 0.4, 0.1, and 0.9 per cent, respectively.
Health was the only sector to increase, up 0.5 per cent while energy and real estate each declined 1.2 per cent.
Hormel Foods gained 5.1 per cent. The food producer narrowly beat earnings estimates by 2.0 per cent for the quarter.
CVS Health led the healthcare sector upward, gaining 3.9 per cent. The pharmacy operator issued new guidance, expecting a 2022 adjusted profit of US$8.10 to US$8.30 per share after better-than-expected revenue and raised its 2021 outlook.
In contrast, Charter Communications declined 5.2 per cent on the back of a ratings downgrade from a company.
Devon Energy had fallen 4.4 per cent this morning at the time of writing, going ex-dividend today.
Asian indices were a mixed bag overnight with the Hang Seng trading higher by 1.1 per cent, the Shanghai Composite gained 1.0 per cent, while the Nikkei declined 0.5 per cent.
Taking a look at commodities, gold was down 0.4 per cent at US$1,777.80 per ounce, at the time of writing. This followed a significant decline in US jobless claims with the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropping to the lowest level in over 52 years. Investors are waiting for CPI data to come out today - if high levels of inflation are announced, the market expects the gold price to increase as a typical inflation-hedge.
WTI crude oil lost yesterday's gains, down 1.1 per cent and now US$71.60 per barrel.
The US 10-year is flat at 1.49 per cent.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin declined 4.1 per cent to US$48,652.00 and Ethereum fell 4.1 per cent to US$4,230.
The S&P/ASX 200 traded in the red on Thursday, with the index down 0.3 per cent.
Markets traded with Australian payroll data that showed overall employment increasing 0.2 per cent nationwide in the fortnight to November 13, slower than in previous weeks.
The biggest mover was Victoria, up 0.8 per cent for the period.
Leading sectors comprised of both academic and educational services and utilities, making gains of 0.7 and 0.4 per cent respectively.
AGL Energy led the way with a strong performance, up 4.7 per cent at yesterday's close. AGL Energy made headlines after it was announced Fortescue Future Industries had joined AGL, the country's biggest carbon emitter, to examine a potential green hydrogen plant in the Hunter Valley at the site of AGL's two huge coal-fired power stations.
Similarly, Appen advanced 3.2 per cent. The artificial intelligence data services company's shares have come under pressure recently, likely due to concerns over increasing competition and potential structural changes in the industry.
On the flip side, energy (down 1.0 per cent) and technology (also decreasing 1.0 per cent) were the laggard sectors at yesterday's close.
Weighing down index performance was the biggest underperformer, Redbubble, which fell 9.3 per cent. The online merchandiser traded poorly following the news it would be removed from the S&P/ASX 200 index effective on 20 December.
Magellan Financial Group was down 4.9 per cent. The company this week had a volatile run after its CEO resigned.
A flurry of M&A made headlines this week as companies look to wrap up deals before the holiday period. News this week included the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Court approving the A$23b dollar merger between resource giant Santos and Oil Search (an oil and gas producer, based in PNG). The deal is set to commence this Friday, with shares of Oil Search to be traded for a final time before its de-listing.
Among the information, Thursday's trading had Santos 1.6 per cent down and Oil Search losing 1.4 per cent.
Furthermore, Seven West Media have also been given clearance to acquire a regional network Prime Media, pending a shareholder vote on 23 December.
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Share volumes amounting to $243.9 million changed hands across the main board on Tuesday.