Market Announcements
Market Summary
Falls in some leading stocks helped mask a positive tone for others, leaving the New Zealand sharemarket lower on Friday. The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 31.63 points, or 0.23%, to 13,483.99, with 41.3 million shares worth $155m trading. There were 66 gains and 74 falls on the main board. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare (FPH), the market’s biggest stock with a 16% weighting on the S&P/NZX 50 index, dropped 26c to $37.94 but was off its lows for the day and the week.
On the flipside, Fletcher Building (FBU) firmed 11c to $3.64 after the company said it continued to make progress on simplifying its funding structure, adding it had prepaid all outstanding US Private Placement notes on Nov 10.
Retirement villages were in the spotlight in the Government's plans to reform the sector. Among the changes will be a process for former residents to apply for early access to funds in situations of specific need. One of the main operators, Summerset, fell 10c to $12.15. Retirement village stocks have been strong in recent weeks on hopes that a better housing market next year will make it easier for them to sell their vacant units.
Software firm Gentrack appeared to have become the plaything of small-cap, growth-momentum investors, dropping 59c, or 5.9%, to $9.40 after a volatile week.
On the international scene, stocks have yet to respond to the prospect of higher interest rates in Japan, whose central bank has been signalling such a move. Yields on Japan’s benchmark government bonds rose to their highest level since 2007 as investors fretted over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s spending plans.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 13 points lower at 8620.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has scraped to a second straight week of gains, as strong commodity prices counterbalanced weakness in most sectors.
The S&P/ASX200 edged 16.2 points higher on Friday, up 0.19 per cent, to 8,634.6, as the broader All Ordinaries crept up 19.4 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8,926.1.
The top-200 ultimately rose 0.24 per cent over the five sessions.
Only four sectors gained over the week with raw materials and energy stronger on the back of underlying commodity prices, while financials and utilities stocks eked modest gains.
Volatility brought trading to a glacial pace for most of the five sessions, with investors wary ahead of the upcoming Reserve Bank meeting.
"We are seeing some fairly cautious activity for the local market," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"We've got the all-important RBA interest rate meeting next week, the FOMC (US Federal Open Market Committee) decision, and probably the biggest week of the year for data is next week."
The meeting could reveal whether the Reserve Bank board is as hawkish on 2026 monetary policy as interest rate markets, which are betting on higher borrowing costs by late-2026.
The big four banks all closed higher on Friday, helping the sector clock a 0.3 per cent improvement for the week, as CBA appeared to find a price floor of around $150 after its recent pullback.
Australia's biggest company closed the week at $154.21, roughly 24 per cent short of June's $192 all-time peak.
Large cap miners were mixed, with BHP and Fortescue lifting on Friday, while Rio Tinto dropped 1.5 per cent to $138.47 despite a broadly positive trading update, which boasted higher production guidance, cost-cutting and asset sales.
The gold price has held relatively steady since Monday to trade hands at $US4,219 ($A6,372) an ounce, helping most ASX-listed miners push higher in the week's last session.
IGO Limited was the top-200's best performer, surging more than seven per cent on the back of renewed interest in battery minerals, particularly in China. Lithium miner Liontown also charged 4.2 per cent higher.
Shares in Hancock Prospecting-backed Arafura Rare Earths ended the session flat at 26.5 cents, after shareholders passed a plan to raise up to $70 million in a share purchase plan.
Energy stocks slipped 0.6 per cent on Friday but ended the week 2.4 per cent higher, supported by firming crude prices as Ukraine-Russia peace talks provided no signs of ending the conflict.
Consumer discretionary stocks were session's worst performers as Premier cratered almost 16 per cent to $15.22 with a grim consumer spending outlook weighing on guidance.
It wasn't a great day for the broader sector, with Wesfarmers (-1.0 per cent), JB Hi-Fi (-1.4 per cent), Eagers Automotive (-3.6 per cent) and Nick Scali (-4.0 per cent) all fading.
Consumer staples traded just below flat, but lost 1.4 per cent for the week as investors mulled the rising probability of interest rate cuts in 2026.
However, the shifting expectations around monetary policy helped lift the Australian dollar to eight-week highs of 66.23 US cents, up from 66.11 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 16.2 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 8,634.6
The broader All Ordinaries gained 19.4 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8,926.1
The NZX 50 added 12.04 points (0.09%) to 13496.03
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA climbed 0.2% to 47,954.99, the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 6,870.40 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.3% to 23,578.13.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA surging 12.65%, Moderna Inc MRNA jumped 8.67%, and SanDisk Corp SNDK lifted 7.11%.
The biggest decliners were Paramount Skydance Corp PSKY which dropped 9.82%, WR Berkley Corp WRB fell 5.88%, and Vistra Corp VST lost 5.06%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.7% to 3,902.81 and the Shenzhen Composite Index lifted 1.2% to 2,468.88.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.6% to 26,085.08.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 1.1% to 50,491.87.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX climbed 0.5% to 85,712.37.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.5% to 9,667.01. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX rose 0.6% to 24,028.14, and the France's CAC 40 declined 0.1% to 8,114.74
