Market Announcements
Market Summary
New Zealand’s sharemarket ended lower after a post-rate-cut flirtation with record highs earlier in the week was cut short by weakness in key overseas markets. The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 103.60 points, or 0.76%, to 13,467.26, with 31 million shares worth $118.9m trading. There were 70 rises and 63 falls on the main board. The index reached a record high of 13,570.86 on Thursday, its highest closing point since Jan 8, 2021, following the Reserve Bank of NZ's mid-week 50 basis point official cash rate cut.
Wall Street’s indices ended down, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index losing 0.52%, the S&P 500 losing 0.28%, and the Nasdaq losing 0.08%.
Market heavyweights Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, down $1.33 (3.5%) at $36.25, and Mainfreight, down $1.82 (2.9%) at $60.68, were the main drivers of the index’s fall. US tariff concerns were once again overhanging F&P Healthcare, which manufactures respiratory products.
Running against the downward trend were the agri and agri-related stocks. Farm services company PGG Wrightson, which is due to hold its annual meeting on Tuesday, ended 17c or 7.08% higher at $2.57. Fonterra’s units gained 11c or 1.4% to $8.21 as the Oct 30 special meeting to vote on the $4.2 billion sale of its Mainland consumer business nears.
Napier Port, a major exit point for agricultural exports, ended up 6c at $3.40 after telling the market that its containerised cargo volume increased 9.1% in the September year. The port’s bulk cargo volume fell 1.7%.
Elsewhere, data technology company Black Pearl gained 3.5c to $1.13. Stride Property, which ended at $1.52, was up 6%. Retirement village company Summerset, which has exposure to the housing market, gained 10c to $11.60 on the day and has gained 5% over the week. Kiwi Property ended flat at $1.12 but has gained 4% on the week. Retirement village company Ryman Healthcare finished down 2c at $2.89 but has gained 11%.
This week, the US reporting season kicks off, starting with the big banks. Lister said the results would be a test of whether some Wall Street stocks can justify their current elevated price multiples.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 45 points lower at 8914.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has finished the week lower, after easing gold and copper prices clipped the wings of a mining sector rally.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 11.5 points on Friday, down 0.13 per cent to 8,958.3 as the broader All Ordinaries lost 12.3 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 9,264.3.
The top-200 was down roughly 0.4 per cent for the week, as data-starved investors grappled with the partial US government shutdown, and as local inflation concerns weighed on hopes of further Reserve Bank interest rate cuts.
"While shares remain strong, the risk of a correction remains high given stretched valuations and numerous potential triggers," AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said.
"However, our six-to-12-month view remains positive for shares as Trump continues to pivot towards more market-friendly policies ahead of the mid-terms next year, the Fed cuts rates further and other central banks including the RBA continue to cut, albeit to varying degrees."
Only three sectors finished lower on Friday, but a 2.2 per cent sell-off in raw materials stocks levelled gains elsewhere as large-cap miners, gold plays and mixed producers tumbled.
BHP shares fell 2.1 per cent to $42.22, while gold names like Northern Star, Evolution and Newmont lost between two and 3.8 per cent.
Gold itself is trading roughly two per cent short of Thursday's record peak of $US4,059 ($A6,1280) an ounce, and the ASX's gold sub-sector is still up 93 per cent in 2025.
Rare earths miners Iluka and Lynas each fell more than three per cent after rallying earlier in the week on the back of Beijing's export control announcements.
Financials performed well on Friday to narrow the sector's losses to 0.3 per cent for the week, led by 0.6 per cent gains in NAB and CBA.
Energy stocks fell 0.7 per cent and lost 1.5 per cent for the week, with oil prices edging lower as Israeli authorities approved the first stage of a Gaza peace deal.
Woodside shares lost 1.2 per cent to $22.55, and coal producers were mixed as the Queensland government flagged extensions to its coal-fired power stations.
IT stocks outperformed the market, rallying 1.1 per cent with strong showings by Xero, Technology One, Life360 and NextDC, while segment giant WiseTech edged higher after plunging almost five per cent since Monday.
Consumer discretionary stocks caught a bid after a tough week, with JB Hi-Fi jumping 2.3 per cent and Temple and Webster rallying 5.7 per cent on Friday.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.65 US cents, down from 66.03 US cents on Thursday at 5pm, after the greenback strengthened during the week amid potential leadership changes in France and Japan.
Bitcoin's price has continued to chop below all-time highs reached this week and is trading at $US121,585 ($A185,154), supported by currency debasement trades.
Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank will release its September meeting minutes on Tuesday, and Thursday's jobs data could give a hint at the road ahead for interest rates before the all-important quarterly inflation print later in October.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 lost 11.5 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 8,958.3
The broader All Ordinaries dropped 12.3 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 9,264.3
The NZX 50 Lost -128.89 points (-0.97%) to 13338.37
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA slipped 1.9% to 45,479.60, the S&P 500 fell 2.7% to 6,552.51 and the Nasdaq dropped 3.6% to 22,204.43.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were PepsiCo Inc PEP surging 3.71%, AutoZone Inc AZO jumped 2.72%, and O'Reilly Automotive Inc ORLY lifted 2.44%.
The biggest decliners were Synopsys Inc SNPS which dropped 9.40%, The Mosaic Co MOS fell 9.24%, and Teradyne Inc TER lost 9.03%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9% to 3,897.03 and the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 1.7% to 2,505.71.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 1.7% to 26,290.32.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 1% to 48,088.80.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX climbed 0.4% to 82,500.82.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.9% to 9,427.47. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX declined 1.5% to 24,241.46, and the France's CAC 40 fell 1.5% to 7,918.00
