Electricity generation and retail company Meridian Energy (-2.3 per cent) was the day's largest underperformer, closing at $4.66. Next in line was logistics company Freightways, declining 2.0 per cent. Rounding out the bottom movers of the day was retail property owner Investore Property, closing 1.1 per cent lower.
In the news this week, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs David Clark discussed plans to investigate changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA), which came into play on 1 December 2021.
The changes were originally enacted to counteract loan-sharks and predatory lenders. However, there have been reports of them leading to what has been called a 'credit crunch' as everyday households now find it increasingly and unnecessarily difficult to receive any form of finance. These developments will be material for listed equities involved in short- or long-term lending, including banks, Harmoney, Turners, and others.
International
US
Markets in the US were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Rest of the World
The major Asian indices generally performed well overnight, except for the Hang Seng which underperformed and decreased 0.7 per cent. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.6 per cent, the Nikkei increased 0.7 per cent, and the Shenzhen index closed 1.5 per cent higher.
Commodities
Gold futures were trading 0.1 per cent higher at US$1,818.30 per ounce, at the time of writing.
Oil rose to US$84.23 per barrel, up 0.5 per cent on the previous close.
Cryptocurrencies were all underperforming this morning, with Bitcoin declining 2.0 per cent and Ethereum down 3.4 per cent.
The 10-year US treasury rate rose slightly, yielding 1.793 per cent.
Australia
The ASX 200 rose 0.3 per cent yesterday, led upwards by consumer discretionary and energy, rising 2.2 and 1.4 per cent. Eight of 11 sectors had made gains by the end of the trading day.
On the flip side, materials and A-REIT were the laggard sectors, falling 1.0 and 0.5 per cent.
Australia recorded more than 73,000 new Covid-19 cases nationally yesterday, with more than 5,000 people in hospitals.
Pendal Group gained 7.8 per cent, announcing the appointment of current director Deborah Page as the new chair, replacing James Evans after nine years. During his tenure, Evans helped grow Pendal from an Australian-only fund manager into a global asset management company with funds under management (FUM) of A$135.7 billion as at 31 December 2021.
Lime company Adbri rose 7.2 per cent on the back of a supply agreement extension with Alcoa of Australia. Adbri expects a minimum of A$25 million in additional revenue from the extended supply.
Gold mining company Perseus Mining declined 5.1 per cent - this could be linked to the recent comeback in gold price.
Paladin Energy lost 4.0 per cent, with the share price broadly declining since the beginning of January 2022.
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