Global markets were mixed again overnight. With the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing in the green. The S&P 500 virtually remaining flat. Interestingly the NASDAQ continued its relative under strength, down nearly half a percent. Whether this signifies a potential weakness in technology stocks remains to be seen.
Back in New Zealand the market remained mostly flat yesterday as it trades within a tight range amidst uncertainty surrounding the upcoming elections. We seem to be trading at a critical juncture in the Australian, Kiwi and US markets with the balance between selling supply and buying demand appearing to be in equilibrium.
Stock in Focus: Pushpay Holdings (PPH:NZX)
Pushpay which is up over 10% has been one of the best performing stocks on the NZX over the last week. The stock recently touched its 52-week high as the company has been expanding its payment-software operations across Churches in the United States.
In its most recent quarterly shareholder presentation PPH announced that its annualised committed monthly revenue increased 127.3% quarter on quarter. We are most interested to see if PPH is able to expand its operations outside of charities and churches to maintain this growth. The next logical progression for us would be sports clubs and organisations. Time as always will tell. At the moment the stock is showing good relative strength to the rest of the market.
Australia & New Zealand Market Movers
We expect the New Zealand market to remain jittery in the context of the upcoming election. The outcome of which seems certain to at least have a short term impact on the markets. We would like to remind investors of the market reactions to Brexit and the US elections last year as a caution against making assumptions in one way or another.
With the mining sector having a significant weight in the Australian market it is interesting to see it showing increasing relative strength in recent weeks. The question being whether this trend will continue and perhaps revive the ASX.
3 Things Markets Will be Watching this Week
1. The lead up to the New Zealand elections
2. US inflation data is published at the end of the week. Yellen appears to be basing rates decisions of inflation numbers
3. US politics with Trump appearing to backpedal on recent immigration announcements.
Have a Great Day,
Team