News

Weak economic data overnight included a larger-than-expected jump in US unemployment claims (3.8 million for the week), taking the total to over 30 million people since the US covid-19 lockdown began. 

Tech stocks Microsoft, Facebook and Alphabet have released better than expected results and the tech sector rallied. On the flipside, Chesapeake Energy has been forced into Bankruptcy as the US oil and gas exploration and production company struggles with

Policy makers need to be wary of opening economies in a restrictive and safer manner. 

​For the week ahead, investors gear up for one of the busiest weeks of quarterly earnings reports, including from tech titans Apple and Microsoft.

Spark (SPK) shares were the best performing NZ stock yesterday up +4.7%, with the broader market selling off.

Gilead’s potential Covid-19 treatment has flopped in China on its first clinical trial, which initially had ignited some positive sentiment around a vaccine coming to the market sooner than anticipated. 

After the close, streaming giant Netflix announced it added 15m new subscribers for the first quarter, beating expectations with the boom in numbers starting in mid-March – as one of the very few businesses to benefit from the global covid-19 pandemic.

Energy stocks fell as West Texas Crude Oil futures expiring Tuesday plunged to a negative value for the first time ever, meaning that people are being paid to accept barrels of oil, while June prices fell 4% to US$20 a barrel.

As we mentioned last week, the spotlight will be on corporate profit announcements this week, with some big names reporting in the US, including Amazon and Netflix.