New Zealand Market Movers
The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, +1.0%) rose a percent on Wednesday, getting ahead of the US federal Reserve’s rate hike this morning.
Serko (+8.3%) continued to lead gains, followed by the heavyweights of the index, including Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (+2.6%), Fletcher Building (+3.6%) and Mercury (+3.9%).
Data from the NZX (0.0%) yesterday noted that the total market cap of companies listed on the exchange fell by 31% in 2022 to $37.4 billion. Elsewhere, labour market data showed that while wage inflation was at record highs, the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 3.4% in the December quarter from 3.3% in the previous quarter, hinting that RBNZ’s efforts to cool the economy is taking an affect.
Australia Market Movers
The Australian market (ASX 200 Index, +0.3%) inched up on Wednesday, supported by Real Estate (+1.4%) stocks.
Flight Centre (+8.1%) jumped after it returned to trading after announcing on Tuesday that it will purchase UK-based luxury travel agency Scott Dunn for $220 million. Other travel stocks such as Qantas (+1.0%) and Webjet (+0.4%) also advanced on the day.
Europe Market Movers
European markets (Stoxx 600 Index, -0.03%) ended Wednesday flat.
January Inflation data in the euro zone showed a third consecutive month of declines on the back of a significant fall in energy costs (-17.2%). Inflation in the euro zone came in at +8.5% for January, down from +9.2% for December.
US Market Movers
US markets (S&P 500 Index +1.1%) was in the red for most of the session but then jumped into positive territory on Wednesday, following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s slightly dovish tone compared to its December meeting.
The 25-point hike to 4.75% was mostly expected by the market expected the 25-point hike to 4.75%, while commentary added that inflation is starting to slowdown fueled market optimism. Hinting that not as many rate hikes would be required (data dependent), taking a dovish tone and indicating a possibly lower peak rate. They also added that unlike many in the market, the fed is still ruling out any rate cuts for 2023.
US Fed Funds Rate
The Nasdaq rose strongly up +2.2%, as a number of tech names gained strongly due to the above as well as a handful of strong results from AMD (+12.4%), Pelaton (26.4%). While others didn’t fare so well EA down –9.3% and Social media company Snapchat plummet –10.8% as companies cut their digital ad spend.
What Markets will be Watching this Week (UTC +13)
Monday
NZ Auckland Anniversary
Tuesday
AU Retail Sales MoM
Wednesday
NZ Unemployment Rate
EU Inflation Rate YoY
US Mcdonald’s Earnings
Thursday
US JOLTS Job Openings
US Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision
US Meta Platforms Earnings
Friday
UK Bank of England Interest Rate Decision
EU European Central Bank Interest Rate Decision
US Apple Earnings
US Alphabet Earnings
US Amazon.com Earnings
US Starbucks Earnings
US Estee Lauder Earnings
Saturday
US Non Farm Payrolls
