Market Announcements
Market Summary
A good result from PGG Wrightson was a bright spot during what was a busy but downcast day yesterday on the New Zealand sharemarket. The S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 1.18% to 12,759.68 points on Tuesday as earnings season kicked off with PGG Wrightson's full-year result. Across the market, 46.4 million shares worth more than $168.1m traded.
The rural services firm’s share price lifted 4.07% to $2.56 after it reported operating revenue had climbed 6% to $975.3m. It reported a net profit after tax (npat) of $10.7m, up $7.6m on the prior year.
Spark shares dropped 2.5% to $2.54 after it announced it had sold a 75% stake in its datacentre business to Australian private equity fund Pacific Equity Partners (PEP). Spark anticipates receiving about $486m in cash upon completion, with a further $98m possible if specific performance targets are met by the end of 2027. The funds will be used to reduce the company’s net debt.
Gentrack also dipped after it released a presentation it gave at a Canaccord Genuity conference in Boston. There was still "weariness" surrounding Gentrack associated with the rapid rate of technological change, and what that means for software companies. The stock tumbled 5.08% to $9.35 after trading at nearly $13 as recently as early July.
Travelling in the other direction was SkyCity Entertainment Group, which lifted 2.06% to 99 cents, after an Australian commissioner concluded that SkyCity Adelaide is suitable to hold the SkyCity Adelaide casino licence.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led the market in volumes, with over $14m in value traded. The index's largest constituent lost 0.33% to $36.78.
Yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 3 points lower at 8871.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian share market reached record highs after the Reserve Bank of Australia came through on a widely-expected third interest rate cut of the year.
The S&P/ASX200 had climbed 36 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 8880.8 at the close on Tuesday, as the broader All Ordinaries ended the session 32.7 points higher, or 0.36 per cent, to 9150.3.
In a unanimous decision, the central bank board cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points on Tuesday, to 3.6 per cent.
The ASX200 climbed to new heights after the mid-afternoon announcement while the Australian dollar dipped against the greenback, before bouncing back.
More monetary easing is expected in coming months but opinions on numbers and timing vary among economists and analysts.
AMP chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver expects three more cuts in the cycle, easing that he broadly views as a positive for local shares.
"Providing recession is avoided, RBA rate cuts are positive for Australian shares because they help boost future profit growth and make shares relatively more attractive relative to cash," he wrote in a note.
While he views a recession as unlikely, stretched valuations and US President Donald Trump's trade wars will "no doubt make for a volatile ride".
Investors will have a better understanding of the implications of tariff policies on the US consumers following inflation numbers overnight.
Eight of 11 local sectors closed higher, led by discretionary, financial and utilities segments.
The Star Entertainment Group was a discretionary standout, up 23.6 per cent by the closing bell after striking a deal to sell its share of Queen's Wharf casino in Brisbane.
JB Hi-Fi shares also posted a firm 5.6 per cent increase.
All big four banks closed higher, led by ANZ, which clocked a 2.2 per cent increase, landing at $31.93 a share.
Commonwealth Bank was modestly higher at 0.1 per cent, to $178.80, ahead of its full-year results on Wednesday.
Both NAB and Westpac finished one per cent higher, to $39.19 and $34.63 respectively.
Mining giant BHP ended the session one per cent higher, at $41.26.
Rio Tinto picked up 1.2 per cent, to $116.72, and Fortescue rose 1.2 per cent, to $19.66.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 36 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 8880.8 on Tuesday.
The broader All Ordinaries closed 32.7 points higher, or 0.36 per cent, at 9150.3.
The NZX 50 added 66.89 points (0.52%) to 12826.57
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
ResMed Inc.
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA added 1.1% to 44,458.61, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 6,445.76 and the Nasdaq added 1.4% to 21,681.90.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL surging 10.21%, Delta Air Lines Inc DAL jumped 9.22%, and Aptiv PLC APTV lifted 7.32%.
The biggest decliners were Cardinal Health Inc CAH which dropped 7.21%, Axon Enterprise Inc AXON fell 6.12%, and CoStar Group Inc CSGP lost 4.37%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lifted 0.5% to 3,665.92 and the Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 0.3% to 2,259.12.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% to 24,969.68.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 2.1% to 42,718.17.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.5% to 80,235.59.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.2% to 9,147.81. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX slipped 0.2% to 24,024.78, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 0.7% to 7,753.42
