New Zealand Market Movers
The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, +0.3%) rose on Wednesday despite Statistics NZ reporting that retail card spending fell by -2.5% in December from November. Consumer Discretionary (+0.5%) still managed to eke out a gain on the day, led by Michael Hill (+6.0%), KMD Brands (+1.0%), and The Warehouse Group (+0.8%).
Australia Market Movers
The Australian market (ASX 200 Index, +0.1%) rose marginally on Wednesday.
Qantas Airways (+0.5%) lost larger intraday gains after one of its aircraft flying out of New Zealand issued a Mayday call before landing safely in Sydney with just one functioning engine.
Europe Market Movers
European markets (Stoxx 600 Index, +0.2%) advanced on Wednesday, with Resources (+2.3%) leading gains while Food and Beverage (1.4%) leading losses.
This was helped by news that the ECB could be less hawkish in the coming months, hinting towards a slower pace of rate increases than what was signalled in December.
US Market Movers
US markets (S&P 500 Index –1.5%) gave up early gains to close lower on Wednesday, posting its worst day in a month. Investors looking to take profits following the strong start to the year while weak retail sales data also weighed negatively on investors sentiment.
US retail sales data for the month of December fell –1.1% , above the 1% forecasted as consumers slow down their spending. The latest Producer price index out of the US showed a -0.5% decline for December (vs expectations of a 0.1% decline).
Microsoft (-1.9%) moved lower after announcing plans to cut 10,000 jobs through March 31 to trim costs.
What Markets will be Watching this Week (UTC +13)
Monday
NZ Westpac Consumer Confidence DEC
Tuesday
NZ Balance of Trade NOV
NZ ANZ Business Confidence DEC
AU RBA Minutes of Dec Policy Meeting
Wednesday
EU Consumer Confidence DEC
NZ ANZ Consumer Confidence DEC
Thursday
GB GDP Growth Rate YoY Final Q3
Friday
US Chicago Fed National Activity Index NOV
Saturday
US Durable Goods Orders MoM NOV