Market Announcements
Market Summary
Longstanding rural services company PGG Wrightson had a surprise boardroom upheaval as the New Zealand sharemarket slipped for the third day running yesterday. The S&P/NZX 50 Index ignored a strong bounce-back on Wall Street and closed at 13,276.99, down 74.93 points or 0.56%. The index has fallen 2.18% over the last three trading days, and is now 1.3% ahead for the year. There were 70 gainers and 69 decliners on the main board on volumes of 45.5 million share transactions worth $137.9m.
The US markets recovered more than half of their previous losses after President Donald Trump moderated his tone on the China trade dispute and signalled room for negotiation ahead of the Nov 1 tariff deadline.
PGG Wrightson went into a trading halt after the independent chair, Garry Moore, and deputy chair, Sarah Brown, were ousted at the annual meeting. A third director, Meng Foon, did not stand for re-election. A NZX notice said PGG’s two largest shareholders (Agria Singapore and Elders Australia) voted against re-electing Moore and Brown without outlining any reasons. The voting was 14.5% for and 85.5% against. Another existing director, Wilson Liu, was re-elected with a vote of 99.7% but it left PGG with only three directors – not enough to meet NZX listing requirements. PGG said it was considering the relevant implications and was seeking legal advice while assessing arrangements to appoint additional directors. PGG Wrightson was down 5c or 1.96% to $2.50 before it went into the trading halt. Later in the day, a former director, John Nichol, was reappointed to the board so the company could meet listing requirements and resume trading.
Other stocks - Precinct Properties, down 9c or 6.77% to $1.24, completed its $285m institutional placement at $1.23 a share and is now raising a further $25m through a share purchase plan. The sizable capital raise slowed the recent rise of the property sector, which fell 3.6% on the NZX. Fellow property stocks Goodman Trust declined 7c or 3.17% to $2.14; Stride decreased 4c or 2.7% to $1.44; Kiwi was down 3.5c or 3.2% to $1.06; Investore eased 3c or 2.38% to $1.23; and Vital Healthcare Trust was down 6c or 2.62% to $2.23.
Global automation and robotics company Scott Technology surged 35c or 14.4% to $2.78 after announcing $44m worth of new contracts with multi-national appliance manufacturers in the United States and Brazil. Scott will deliver large-scale automation systems for the precision manufacture of household laundry appliances.
Genesis Energy was up 4c to $2.50 after upgrading its full-year operating earnings (ebitdaf) guidance to $455m-$485m, from $430m-$460m. First-quarter operational performance was strong due to favourable hydrology and wind outcomes that continued into the second quarter.
Mercury declined 16c or 2.43% to $6.43. Meridian, up 5c to $6.04, reported national hydro storage increased from 79% to 110% of the historical average in the month to Oct 6. South Island storage was at 107% and North Island 118%. First-quarter inflows were 120% of the historical average, 18% lower than the same period last year, and generation was 15.1% higher at a 56.9% lower average price. Meridian’s retail sales volumes in September were 18.5% higher than the same month last year, with residential up 32% (including Flick customers). Compared with the first quarter last year, Meridian’s sales volumes were 13.5% higher, and customer numbers increased 211.1%.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 24 points lower at 8879.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: A strong performance from miners and energy stocks has helped Australia's share market scrape a positive session, helping to counterbalance a heavy financial segment.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 16.6 points on Tuesday, up 0.19 per cent, to 8,899.4, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 25.2 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 9,208.5.
Five of 11 local sectors finished higher, but raw materials and energy stocks were a cut above the rest as large-cap miners, gold, rare earths plays and uranium producers rallied.
"Financial markets were calmer on Tuesday after the White House softened its rhetoric towards China," CommSec chief economist Ryan Felsman said.
"The mining sub-index advanced 2.5 per cent to a record high on the back of stronger iron ore prices."
Large-cap miners BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto each surged 1.8 per cent or more, while Rio posted its highest third-quarter iron ore shipments since 2019.
Goldminers were strong across the board, as the precious metal reset its record high during the session to $US4,179 an ounce.
Safe haven inflows also helped silver top its own record for the first time since 1980, hitting $US52.47 an ounce.
As China and the United States' trade stoush over rare earths remained unsettled, local producers Lynas Rare Earths (up 5.0 per cent ) and Iluka Resources (15.8 per cent) rocketed higher, along with lithium miners such as Liontown (up 6.9 per cent) and Pilbara Minerals (2.7 per cent).
Energy stocks surged 1.4 per cent despite a lumbering oil price, as commodity strength elsewhere helped lift Yancoal and Whitehaven more than 3.8 per cent each, while uranium producers Paladin (9.6 per cent) and Deep Yellow (13.5 per cent) also rallied.
The robust performance in miners helped offset losses in a sluggish financials sector, with all big four banks and the bulk of insurers closing in the red.
Westpac and NAB led the losses, down more than one per cent each, while ANZ traded just below flat and CBA finished 0.5 per cent down to $164.40 before its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
Consumer discretionary stocks dipped by one per cent as Wesfarmers, JB Hi-Fi and Temple and Webster bled lower, as ANZ-Roy Morgan's consumer confidence survey showed a slip to 12-month lows in September.
Defence technology stock Droneshield was one of the worst performers in the top 200, sliding 6.5 per cent to $5.64 as investors took profits on the stock that has rocketed more than 600 per cent higher in 2025.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.69 US cents, down from 65.24 US cents on Monday despite cautious minutes from the Reserve Bank's September meeting tempering hopes of an interest rate cut in November.
Looking ahead, Origin Energy and the Lottery Corporation will join CBA in holding AGMs on Wednesday, and China's statistics bureau will release consumer and producer price growth data for September, with both expected to remain in deflationary territory.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 16.6 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 8,899.4
The broader All Ordinaries rose 25.2 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 9,208.5
The NZX 50 Lost -23.12 points (-0.17%) to 13253.87
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Origin Energy Limited
Orora Limited
The Lottery Corporation Limited
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Perenti Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA lifted 0.4% to 46,270.46, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% to 6,644.31 and the Nasdaq declined 0.8% to 22,521.70.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Wells Fargo & Co WFC surging 7.15%, Builders FirstSource Inc BLDR jumped 6.11%, and Generac Holdings Inc GNRC lifted 5.57%.
The biggest decliners were Arista Networks Inc ANET which dropped 5.87%, Western Digital Corp WDC fell 4.82%, and NVIDIA Corp NVDA lost 4.40%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.6% to 3,865.23 and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 1.9% to 2,439.83.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.7% to 25,441.35.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 2.6% to 46,847.32.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.4% to 82,029.98.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.1% to 9,452.77. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX slipped 0.6% to 24,236.94, and the France's CAC 40 declined 0.2% to 7,919.62
