Global markets were higher on Friday with Wall Street rebounding as an ebbing bond rally and news of potential German economic stimulus brought buyers back to the equities market, closing the book on a tumultuous week.
Closer to home, the local focus will likely remain on company earnings announcements, with a number of ASX/NZX heavyweight stocks reporting results this week.
Stock in Focus: Ooh! Media (OML:ASX)
Share in Ooh! Media plunged -27% on Friday to a five-year low after the outdoor advertiser blamed poor media advertising spend for a cut to its full-year earnings guidance.
OML said it has been tough period across the industry of late, with July SMI data showing only 6/41 categories increased ad spend. The downgrade has been revenue driven, with large roadside billboards casing the decline on the back of lower spend from financial and auto sectors.
This was clearly a very disappointing update. However, our view around industry structure and quality remains unchanged – and we see see OML as set to benefit from growing spend on OOH advertising (particular digital) with advertisers shifting spend away from traditional formats. In the short term, there is now also an added risk of a capital raise given the debt levels of OML are relatively high.
We currently have a BUY recommendation on OML.
Members should look out for a full update on OML to be released in our weekly report.
Australia & New Zealand Market Movers
The Australian market was a touch lower on Friday (ASX 200 index -0.04%) as declines in the energy and mining sectors outweighed gains by the big banks. Newcrest Mining has posted a 22% increase in annual profit, buoyed by robust gold and copper sales volumes from its flagship Cadia mine in NSW. Domain Holdings shares were up, despite announcing their full-year loss has blown out to $138 million because of impairments linked to the Australian property market downturn.
The New Zealand market continued to trend lower on Friday (NZX 50 index -0.46%) following global moves. Sky Network Television shares rose as investors welcomed plans to extend its foray into online media and push for a bigger global rugby audience by buying online rugby platform RugbyPass for up to US$40 million. Outside the benchmark index, Michael Hill International fell after reporting a 14% decline in annual earnings as margins were squeezed.
3 Things Markets Will be Watching this Week
- Australasian earnings season gathers momentum this week with a number of major companies set to make profit announcements.
- Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest meeting are released Tuesday.
- Minutes from the last US Federal Reserve Meeting are also published on Tuesday.
Have a Great Day,