NZ Sharemarket Gains As Fletcher Hands Over NZICC

The New Zealand sharemarket made a steady gain yesterday to hit an all-time high on the day Fletcher Building handed over the long-awaited landmark international convention centre to SkyCity Entertainment Group. The S&P/NZX 50 Index, which includes dividends, reached an intraday high of 13,649.74 and closed at 13,605.96, up 49.66 points or 0.37% and above the previous record of 13,570.86 set on October 9. There were 72 gainers and 66 decliners on the main board with 33.6 million shares worth $133.89 million changing hands.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the local market is heading in the right direction, albeit slowly, and a further cut in the Official Cash Rate on November 26 will benefit stocks, particularly those dividend-sensitive ones. In Australia, the Reserve Bank kept the cash rate at 3.6%, disappointing households hoping for a Melbourne Cup interest rate cut. The bank said the recent data suggest that some inflationary pressure may remain in the economy, while private demand is recovering and labour market conditions are still appearing a little tight. Financial conditions have eased since the beginning of the year, but it will take some time to see the full effects of earlier cash rate reductions, the bank said. It was appropriate to remain cautious given the recent evidence of more persistent inflation. The S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 0.95% to 8810.1 points at 5.45pm NZT on the cash rate news.

Fletcher Building increased 6c or 1.83% to $3.34 and told the market the handover of the New Zealand International Convention Centre marked a major milestone for Auckland and the country. Fletcher said the impact of the 2019 fire transformed the rebuild into one of the most technically demanding projects in the country’s construction history. SkyCity, down 1c to 73.5c, will now begin operational testing and commissioning before the centre’s official opening in February next year. Sullivan said the market was relieved that Fletcher had removed the centre from its books – if it hadn't delivered, SkyCity would have had recourse through legal means.

Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 25c to $37; a2 Milk gained 11c to $11.03; Heartland Group added 3.5c or 3.23% to $1.12; Skellerup increased 9c to $5.56; and Comvita, under takeover offer, was up 2.5c or 3.36% to 77c. BusinessDesk owner NZME increased 6c or 5.08% to $1.24; Winton Land was up 8c or 3.69% to $2.25; and Vulcan Steel gained 18c or 2.24% to $8.23.

In the energy sector, Meridian was up 9c to $6.03; Mercury gained 8c to $6.59; and Contact added 9c to $8.35. Mainfreight was down $1 to $60; Freightways declined 35c or 2.42% to $14.10; Port of Tauranga decreased 13c to $7.55; Spark eased 5c or 2.05% to $2.39; and Vista Group fell 14c or 5.28% to $2.51.

Trade Window, unchanged at 35.5c, reported a 25% increase in trading revenue to $4.6m for the six months end September compared with the same period last year. Annual recurring revenue was up 21% to $8.8m. The transport and logistics software company confirmed full-year trading revenue of $10m-$11m, saying the second half is expected to outperform the first six months.

Uvre, unchanged at 25.5c, told the market that the latest rock chip assays at its Coromandel Waitekauri and Central Otago Oturehua gold projects were high-grade. Uvre is drilling down to 250m at the Scotia South prospect in the Waitekauri field.

Me Today, down 0.001c to 6.7c, has raised $2.2m from its largest shareholders, trustees of the Baker and Sinclair investment trusts.

Source: Business Desk

Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 1 points lower at 8791.

- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The local share market has dropped to a six-week low after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged and suggested it was in no hurry to adjust them in either direction.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Tuesday fell for the fifth time in the past six sessions, dropping 81.1 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 8,813.7, while the broader All Ordinaries slid 84.3 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 9,098.2.

The ASX200 spiked 23 points in the space of two minutes after the RBA left interest rates on hold on Tuesday afternoon, but ultimately gave back all of that brief burst and then some.

The market was spooked by the hawkish tone of the central bank's commentary, which painted a gloomy picture of the Australian economy, Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said.

"Fundamentally, the RBA is cognisant, if not concerned, that inflation could remain above target longer than the nearly three quarters it now forecasts that trimmed mean CPI will remain above three per cent," Mr Rodda said.

Vanguard senior economist Grant Feng said the fund giant saw limited scope for further rate cuts in 2025, with the Australian economy operating near its full capacity, core inflation rising and unemployment still low.

Ten of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower, with health care up marginally.

The utilities sector was the biggest loser, falling 2.8 per cent after the Albanese government introduced a "solar sharer" scheme that would force electricity retailers to offer three hours of free electricity to households in NSW, southeast Queensland and SA from July.

Origin Energy lost 3.8 per cent and AGL retreated 3.7 per cent.

Three of the big four banks finished lower, with CBA dropping 0.8 per cent to $174.11, NAB retreating 0.5 per cent to $43.79 and ANZ dipping 0.4 per cent to $36.83.

Westpac was the outlier, rising 1.5 per cent to $40.42.

In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP lost 1.9 per cent to $42.53, Rio Tinto dropped 2.6 per cent to $129.40 and Fortescue declined 2.7 per cent to $20.49.

Goldminers were mixed as the yellow metal dropped back under $US4,000, changing hands at $US3,988 an ounce.

Northern Star dipped 1.9 per cent and Evolution lost 2.0 per cent, while Regis Resources added 0.8 per cent and Greatland Resources climbed 1.0 per cent.

Uranium miner Boss Energy was the biggest loser in the ASX200, falling 5.9 per cent, while defence contractor Droneshield was the biggest winner, climbing 8.6 per cent.

City Chic Collective surged 8.8 per cent on a sales update, with the plus-size women's clothing retailer saying its US business had traded ahead of expectations despite the tariff uncertainty.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 dropped 81.1 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 8,813.7

The broader All Ordinaries fell 84.3 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 9,098.2

The NZX 50 Lost -12.82 points (-0.09%) to 13593.14

Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):

Nanosonics Limited

Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):

Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund

Wesfarmers Limited

[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA dropped 0.5% to 47,085.24, the S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 6,771.55 and the Nasdaq dropped 2% to 23,348.64.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Expeditors International of Washington Inc EXPD surging 11.13%, Henry Schein Inc HSIC jumped 10.29%, and DuPont de Nemours Inc DD lifted 9.07%.

The biggest decliners were Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH which dropped 15.28%, Zoetis Inc ZTS fell 13.78%, and Carnival Corp CCL lost 9.06%.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 3,960.19 and the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 1.3% to 2,486.78.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.8% to 25,952.40.

Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 1.7% to 51,497.20.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX dropped 0.6% to 83,459.15.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.1% to 9,714.96. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX declined 0.8% to 23,949.11, and the France's CAC 40 fell 0.5% to 8,067.53