Market Commentary: ZIM, STZ Lead Wednesday's Movers Board

NEW YORK — Wednesday’s market commentary starts with two stocks pulling in opposite directions. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services and Constellation Brands (STZ) headlined Seeking Alpha’s list of Wednesday’s biggest movers, one on a sharply higher profit outlook and the other on a soft beer report. Overseas, India’s central bank raised rates to open a new tightening cycle, and ICE began trading gold futures in London.

ZIM raises its 2026 outlook

ZIM announced after the close on Tuesday, in a release timed at 4:05 p.m. Eastern, that it is raising its full-year 2026 guidance on continued strong market demand and favorable momentum in freight rates. It now expects adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 billion to $3.0 billion, up from $2.0 billion to $2.4 billion set on August 19, and adjusted EBIT of $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion, up from $700 million to $1.1 billion. At the midpoints that is an increase of about 30% in EBITDA and about 72% in EBIT. The release’s forward-looking statements also refer to a pending transaction with Hapag-Lloyd. It did not include preliminary third-quarter figures.

Constellation Brands slips on beer volumes

Constellation reported fiscal second-quarter results on Tuesday evening. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.74, above a consensus of roughly $3.55 to $3.61, and net sales rose 6% to $2.63 billion against an estimate of $2.54 billion. The shortfall was in beer. Depletions fell 0.6% in total, with Modelo Especial down about 2% and Corona Extra down about 5%, against expectations for flat to slightly positive volumes.

The company reaffirmed fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.20 to $11.90. The $11.55 midpoint sits below the roughly $11.72 consensus. Shares fell 4.9% in pre-market trading to $109.99, just under the 52-week low of $110.60. Constellation also disclosed an acquisition of SpikedAde in its ready-to-drink segment for $75 million up front and up to $278 million in contingent payments over five years. Citi kept a Buy rating and $165 target while flagging the beer weakness. The company’s earnings call was set for 8:00 a.m. Eastern.

India tightens

The Reserve Bank of India raised its policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% on Wednesday, the first increase of a new tightening cycle. Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the monetary policy committee voted unanimously for the hike, and the shift to a “calibrated tightening” stance passed by majority. August CPI inflation was 4.82%, and economists expect it to exceed 5% during fiscal 2027 with a peak near 5.9% in the third quarter. Risks include a weak monsoon and crude near $100 a barrel. The economy grew 7.8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. The rupee traded around 96.36 per dollar. The Federal Reserve raised its rate by 25 basis points in September, and US 10-year yields sit near 5.3%.

Gold futures in London

ICE launched exchange-traded precious metals futures in London this week, covering gold, silver, platinum and palladium, linked to the daily price auctions that ICE already runs. London’s over-the-counter physical gold trading amounts to about $190 billion a day and its vaults hold roughly $1.4 trillion of bullion. Earlier attempts at London gold futures ended: one launched in 1982 closed about three years later, and the London Metal Exchange’s contract, started in 2017, was discontinued in 2022.

What to watch

Traders will look to see whether Constellation can hold the 52-week low once the market opens and what management says on the call about beer demand. ZIM’s guidance raise puts attention on freight rates and the Hapag-Lloyd transaction. In India, the path of inflation and oil will shape any further tightening. For ICE, early volumes will show whether a London futures market finds takers where earlier ones did not. Nothing here is a recommendation on any security.