Market Announcements
Market Summary
Another sharp rise in the last hour yesterday propelled the New Zealand sharemarket to a solid gain, and jewellery retailer Michael Hill provided further evidence that the economy is turning. The S&P/NZX 50 Index jumped from 13,455.54 in the brokers’ matching session and closed at 13,510.88, up 50.14 points or 0.37%. Volumes improved with 29 million shares worth $119.8m changing hands, and there were 86 gainers and 40 decliners on the main board.
Michael Hill International, with 300 stores in NZ, Australia and Canada, rose 5c or 12.05% to 46.5c after reporting improved trading for the 26 weeks ending Dec 28. First-half operating earnings (ebit) are expected to be A$27m-$30m (NZ$31.3m-$34.75m) compared with A$24.1m in the previous corresponding period. Group sales increased 3.1% to A$370.3m ($429m), with Canadian stores showing record 6.1% growth, Australia was up 4.8%, NZ up 1.8% and reversing previous declines. Michael Hill said there were significant performance improvements in the final 10 weeks of the half-year. Gross margin is flat at around 61%. Fellow retailer Briscoe Group was up 9c or 1.8% to $5.10.
Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge jumped 1.8c or 9.63% to 20.5c after sending a positive newsletter to shareholders. The newsletter said a study by Kaiser Permanente, a major US insurer and healthcare provider, concluded that the Pacific Edge tests saved a large number of invasive procedures and expensive scans for the possibility of bladder cancer. Pacific Edge is pressing for the reinstatement of Medicare funding for its cancer tests.
Infratil and a2 Milk rebounded after recent sell-offs, rising 35c or 3.24% to $11.15 and 23c or 2.41% to $9.79 respectively. Infratil fell from $11.10 to $10.81 last Friday.
Amongst other leading stocks, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 25c to $38.70 on trade worth $15.8m; Summerset shed 19c to $11.73; and Ebos Group eased 24c to $26.65. SkyCity was down 2c or 2.06% to 95c; Vista Group declined 6c or 2.93% to $1.99; and Blackpearl Group decreased 3.5c or 3.43% to 98.5c. Meridian Energy increased 11c or 1.96% to $5.71; Vector collected 8c to $4.92; Chorus was up 10c to $9.50; Freightways added 24c to $14.37; and Port of Tauranga gained 12c to $8.02. Santana Minerals rebounded 7c or 6.03% to $1.23; T&G Global increased 6c or 2.56% to $2.40; and AFT Pharmaceuticals was up 9c or 2.43% to $3.79.
Precinct Properties, up 1c to $1.17, is buying the iconic Auckland ASB North Wharf building from Kiwi Property for $205m in partnership with global investor GIC, previously called Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. ASB Bank has extended its lease to 2040. Following completion of the purchase, the value of the investment partnership – Precinct holds 24.9% as manager – will increase to $0.9 billion, with 80% of the portfolio located in Auckland and the remainder in Wellington. Kiwi Property was down 0.005c to $1.03.
Sky TV, up 1c to $3.39, has expanded its partnership agreement with Paramount Global Content Distribution and will immediately screen new premium series from SHOWTIME, Paramount+ and CBS.
Vital Healthcare Property Trust, down 1.5c to $1.98, told the market it is expecting a net property gain of about $36m for the six months ending December following independent valuations of 14 income-producing properties, representing 36% of the portfolio value.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 44 points higher at 8986.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian share market has rallied to a three-month high after its holiday break, led by the iron ore giants even as gold and silver soared further into uncharted territory.??
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Tuesday enjoyed its best day since December 23, rising 81.5 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 8,941.6.
The broader All Ordinaries climbed 78.6 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 9,268.5.
Gold was changing hands at $US5,113 an ounce and on Monday hit a record high of $US5,145.20, while silver was trading for record $US109 an ounce after reaching a record high of nearly $US118 the day previous.
Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said precious metals were telling a powerful story, signalling a loss of confidence in US assets set off by the Trump administration's erratic trade and foreign policy.
The US dollar had sunk to its lowest level since September against a basket of other currencies, propelling the Aussie to a nearly 16-month high against the greenback.
The Australian dollar was trading for 69.15 US cents, after climbing over 69 US cents on Monday for the first time since September 2024.
Nine of the ASX's 11 sectors finished higher, while tech and property both lost 0.2 per cent.
Mining was the biggest gainer, rising 1.4 per cent as BHP reclaimed its position as Australia's most valuable publicly traded company.
The Big Australian climbed 2.7 per cent to $49.65, putting its market capitalisation at $252.7 billion, ahead of CBA at $251.1 billion.
Rio Tinto and Fortescue both advanced 1.7 per cent, to $151.20 and $21.87, respectively, while South32 grew 2.5 per cent to $4.50.
Goldminers were mostly more subdued despite the rally in the yellow metal, with Northern Star advancing 0.4 per cent, Newmont climbing 1.4 per cent and Evolution dropping 0.7 per cent.
In the energy sector, Santos rose 2.5 per cent to $6.62 as the Australia's second-biggest gas company announced the first gas from its Barossa project 300km off the coast of Darwin had been loaded onto a tanker for delivery to Japan.
The project had been delayed because of legal challenges from Tiwi Islanders over its underwater pipeline.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 81.5 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 8,941.6
The broader All Ordinaries gained 78.6 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 8,941.6
The NZX 50 added 8.99 points (0.07%) to 13519.87
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA fell 0.8% to 49,003.41, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 6,978.60 and the Nasdaq added 0.9% to 23,817.10.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Corning Inc GLW surging 15.50%, Sysco Corp SYY jumped 10.96%, and General Motors Co GM lifted 8.75%.
The biggest decliners were Humana Inc HUM which dropped 21.28%, UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH fell 19.68%, and Elevance Health Inc ELV lost 14.31%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2% to 4,139.90 and the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.1% to 2,718.26.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lifted 1.4% to 27,126.95.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.8% to 53,333.54.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX climbed 0.4% to 81,857.48.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.6% to 10,207.80. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX dropped 0.2% to 24,894.44, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 0.3% to 8,152.82
