NZ Sharemarket Ends Day Up 0.7%

The New Zealand sharemarket tracked a volatile day yesterday from heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare and ended with a record close after gaining 0.7%. The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell to 13,551.87 in the morning, then recovered strongly in the afternoon to close at 13,757.71, up 101.66 points, or 0.74%. The index beat its previous high of 13,716.86 on Jan 8 and has increased 1.5% so far this year. There were 81 gainers and 49 decliners on the main board with 33.1 million shares worth $120.9m changing hands.

Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare went as low as $37.50, and as the index recovered strongly, it finished with a gain of 59c to $39.49 on trade worth $17.03m.

The US December consumer price index increased 0.2% and 2.6% year over year, below economists' forecasts of 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively. However, Wall Street was lower as the fourth quarter earnings reporting season got underway. JP Morgan, the first to report, declined 4.19% to US$310.90 (NZ$541.25) after meeting revenue targets, but investment banking fees declined 5%. Goldman Sachs, Mastercard and Visa were also down. The banking industry there is concerned about President Donald Trump's latest move to impose a 10% cap on credit card interest rates for 1 year.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index surged to an all-time high after gaining a further 1.57% to 54,388.16 points (at 6pm NZ time Wednesday) on rumours that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be calling a snap election to strengthen her parliamentary mandate. A US$135.5 billion economic stimulus and a weakening yen to its lowest level in nearly 18 months have sparked global investor attention. The stimulus package aimed to boost Japan’s slowing economy and support inflation-hit consumers, and investors believe a snap election – Takaichi has 70% approval ratings – could deliver economic stability with her “responsible and proactive fiscal spending”.

Back home, leading stocks Infratil was up 31c or 2.75% to $11.60; a2 Milk gained 21c or 1.97% to $10.85; Mainfreight collected 77c to $69.57; and Spark rebounded 6c or 2.65% to $2.32.

In the energy sector, Contact added 9c to $9.27, and Vector increased by 13c, or 2.73%, to $4.90. Turners Automotive hit an 18-year intraday high of $8.43 but finished the day down 1c to $8.30.

Other gainers were SkyCity, up 2.5c or 2.65% to 97c; Tower, up 4c or 2.05% to $1.99; and Winton Land, up 4c or 1.75% to $2.32. Tech stocks Blackpearl Group rose 4.5c or 4.76% to 99c; ikeGPS added 5c or 4.59% to $1.14; Solution Dynamics was up 2.5c or 3.55% to 73c; and Eroad gained 5c or 4.13% to $1.26. Ebos Group was down 27c to $26.40; Sanford fell 31c or 4.1% to $7.25; Heartland Group shed 3.5c or 2.85% to $1.19; and Michael Hill retreated 1c or 1.98% to 49.5c.

Source: Business Desk

Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 7 points lower at 8832.

- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has ended the session slightly higher after surging energy stocks and miners countered banking sector weakness.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 12.1 points on Wednesday, up 0.14 per cent, to 8,820.6 as the broader All Ordinaries gained 13.3 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,151.8.

Oil prices surged to 11-week highs amid ongoing instability in Iran and continued Russian attacks in Ukraine, helping energy stocks lead seven other sectors higher.

"You look at what's done well today, and no surprises, the energy sector's leading the charge, and with the way crude oil has held that support it looks like there could be more upside," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.

Oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos rocketed more than 2.6 per cent higher, and coal producers and uranium stocks also pushed higher.

"But the big stand-out is the materials sector, having another good day and another fresh record high there, and now up an unbelievable 6.2 per cent in the first two weeks of January," Mr Sycamore said.

Financials slipped 0.7 per cent as the big four banks lost ground, with signs of liquidity rotation into the red-hot materials stocks, which gained 0.9 per cent and reset their segment record for a second straight session.

Commonwealth Bank shares were the heaviest of the banks, slipping 1.3 per cent to $152.88, while investment giant Macquarie Group helped support the segment with a 0.8 per cent boost.

BHP continued to edge towards topping CBA as Australia's biggest company: its shares were up 1.1 per cent to $48.12 and the mining giant's market cap came within $11 billion of CommBank's $255 billion valuation.

Rio Tinto and Fortescue also edged higher as iron ore futures hung on to recent gains despite weakening steel demand, and as copper prices hovered near recent record highs.

Goldminers shrugged off some early wobbles to end the session broadly stronger, as the precious metal broke through new highs of $US4,640 an ounce shortly after the ASX close.

Critical minerals producers had a mixed day, with lithium producer Liontown down 1.4 per cent and PLS trading flat, while Nickel Industries fell 2.7 per cent and Lynas Rare Earths charged more than three per cent higher.

Metallurgical coal producer Stanmore was the top-200's best performer, soaring more than 12 per cent, supported by strong demand for industrial metals.

Bluescope Steel shares grinded 0.3 per cent lower to $29.76, despite flagging plans to hand back $438 million in excess cash to shareholders in a special dividend.

Consumer discretionary stocks traded 0.8 per cent higher as Temple & Webster bounced more than three per cent, but the e-commerce player's value is still down almost 50 per cent since October after revenue growth undershot expectations.

Cryptocurrency bitcoin jumped to its highest level in two months on a favourable US interest rate and regulatory outlook for 2026, the digital currency trading at $US95,200.

The Australian dollar was buying 66.95 US cents, down from 67.09 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm AEDT.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 rose 12.1 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,820.6

The broader All Ordinaries rose by 13.3 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,151.8

The NZX 50 Lost -17.42 points (-0.13%) to 13740.29

[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 0.1% to 49,149.63, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 6,926.60 and the Nasdaq dropped 1% to 23,471.75.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were LyondellBasell Industries NV LYB surging 6.84%, Dow Inc DOW jumped 6.44%, and The Mosaic Co MOS lifted 5.46%.

The biggest decliners were AppLovin Corp APP which dropped 7.58%, Intuit Inc INTU fell 6.38%, and Aptiv PLC APTV lost 6.06%.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3% to 4,126.09 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.6% to 2,693.41.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lifted 0.6% to 26,999.81.

Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.5% to 54,341.23.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.3% to 83,382.71.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.5% to 10,184.35. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX fell 0.5% to 25,286.24, and the France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 8,330.97