Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket was weighed down yesterday by continued uncertainty and volatility overseas that also engulfed sharp falls in gold, silver and bitcoin. The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded in a range of 13,333.69 and 13,459.61 before closing flat at 13,412.44, down 10.74 points or 0.08%. There were 40 gainers and 102 decliners on the main board, and volumes of 37.68 million share transactions worth $95.4m.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.36% to 48,892.47 points; S&P 500 decreased 0.43% to 6939.03; and Nasdaq Composite declined 0.94% to 23,461.82 over the weekend NZ time. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Warsh is seen as being hawkish towards interest rates. A former Fed governor, Warsh is viewed as less inclined toward aggressive rate cuts and more focused on containing inflation, US commentators said.
The gold price has fallen from a high of US$5450 to $4726.5, silver from $117.63 to $81.9, and bitcoin from $96,151 to $76,012. The gold and silver prices suffered their biggest one-day drop since 1980.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had declined 1.04% to 8776.9 points at 6pm NZ time, and, further afield, the Japanese Nikkei 225 was down 0.57% to 53,016.77 and the Hong Kong Hang Seng had fallen 2.4% to 26,730.78.
At home, Contact Energy gained 13c to $9.48; Auckland International Airport was up 13c to $8.39 on trade worth $11.45m; Summerset rebounded 13c to $11.70; and Ebos Group collected 17c to $25.88. Colonial Motor improved 13c to $8.50; and Blackpearl Group increased 5c or 4.5% to $1.16.
KMD Brands, down 1c or 3.64% to 26.5c, reported a 7.9% increase in sales for the five months ending December 25, with Rip Curl up 5.6%, Kathmandu gaining 12.9% and Oboz up 4.5%. For the 23 weeks ending January 4, Kathmandu same-store sales rose 12.7% and Rip Curl was up 1.7%. KMD expects first-half operating earnings (ebitda) of $8m-$11m compared with the previous first half $3.9m. Net debt at the end of January was expected to be $85m-$90m compared with $76.2m because of the weakening NZ dollar. Lister said KMD’s update was slightly better than expected but it was a down day on the market and its share price weakened nonetheless.
Other retailers Briscoe Group decreased 7c to $4.92, and Hallenstein Glasson was down 2c to $9.88.
Freightways, decreasing 25c to $14.35, has completed the $81m purchase of Victorian-based VT Freight Express and is expanding its presence in the Australian express delivery market. In the property sector, Goodman Trust decreased 3c to $1.905, and Stride was down 2.5c or 1.98% to $1.24.
Other decliners were Mainfreight down 65c to $66.50; Gentrack decreasing 34c or 4.46% to $7.29; Port of Tauranga easing 10c to $7.91; Tourism Holdings shedding 6c or 2.33% to $2.51; SkyCity losing 1.5c to 91c; and Vulcan Steel down 13c to $8.01. AFT Pharmaceuticals fell 16c or 4.24% to $3.61; Vista Group decreased 6c or 3.23% to $1.80; Delegat Group was down 8c or 1.79% to $4.40; NZX shed 4c or 2.66% to $1.465; and Minerals Exploration declined 1.5c or 5.45% to 26c.
Manuka Resources shed 2c or 8.7% to 21c after telling the market it was expecting the fast-track environmental consents decision for its vanadium concentrate extraction project off the coast of Taranaki on March 18. The company said in its quarterly report that the project was forecast to generate $854m export revenue a year, representing more than 50% of the targeted increase in mineral exports and making it one of the country’s top 12 exporters.
TradeWindow was down 1c or 3.85% to 25.9c after launching a share purchase plan to raise $1m at 25c a share. The transport and logistics software firm had earlier raised $5.7m through a placement of shares.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 98 points higher at 8873.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has been dragged lower as an exodus from precious metals weighed on heavyweight raw materials stocks.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 90.5 points on Monday, down 1.02 per cent to 8,778.6, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 96 points, or 10.5 per cent, to 9,068.8.
A recently red-hot materials sector has handed back more than half its 2026 gains in the previous two sessions, after gravity-defying gold and silver stocks sold off heading into the weekend.
The segment has fallen more than six per cent since Thursday, but a pullback was unsurprising after a more than 50 per cent rally since July.
"The pockets of the market that had been doing well have been brutally exposed today," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"The question now is: does this sell-off in precious metals spread or become a contagion in some of the other asset classes?"
ASX-listed gold miners as the commodity's spot price tumbled from a record of $US5,595 ($A8,076) an ounce on Thursday to $US4,655, dragging the All Ordinaries gold sub-industry more than seven per cent lower.
Denver-headquartered producer Newmont Corporation took the top-200's wooden spoon, falling 10 per cent to $17.32.
Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto couldn't offer any support, dipping more than two per cent and one per cent respectively, as both iron ore futures and copper prices fell.
The segment was largely a sea of red for bigger players except Amcor, PLS Minerals and IGO Limited, which rose more than 1.3 per cent each.
Energy stocks also suffered, the segment dropping two per cent after oil prices sank on hopes the US and Iran could reach a new nuclear deal.
Woodside and Santos dropped 1.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively, while coal miners caught a bid and uranium stocks eased from recent strength.
The heavyweight financials sector advanced a modest 0.1 per cent, as CBA shares rallied 1.4 per cent to $151.48.
ANZ and Westpac traded roughly flat and NAB lost ground.
Heath care stocks were under pressure, shedding 1.7 per cent in a broad-based sell-off.
In company news, GrainCorp shares tumbled 14 per cent to $6.19 after slashing its earnings guidance due to a global grain glut, weak prices and rising on-farm storage.
Nine Entertainment shares are up more than 10 per cent in two sessions after the company unloaded its major radio assets and inked a deal to buy outdoor advertising group QMS.
Bluescope Steel shares lost 1.5 per cent to $29.79 as Tania Archibald took the reins as managing director and chief executive officer, succeeding Mark Vassella.
The Australian dollar is buying 69.39 US cents, down from 70.01 US cents on Friday, with the greenback reclaiming some lost ground after US President Donald Trump's pick to become Federal Reserve chair was more of a hawk than expected.
Ahead of the first Reserve Bank decision of the year on Tuesday, interest rate markets are pricing a 76 per cent probability of a hike, after multiple upside inflation surprises in late 2025.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 lost 90.5 points, or 10.2 per cent, to 8,778.6
The broader All Ordinaries fell 96 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 9,068.8
The NZX 50 added 31.22 points (0.23%) to 13443.66
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA added 1.1% to 49,407.66, the S&P 500 gained 0.5% to 6,976.44 and the Nasdaq added 0.6% to 23,592.11.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were SanDisk Corp SNDK surging 15.44%, Carnival Corp CCL jumped 8.09%, and Western Digital Corp WDC lifted 7.99%.
The biggest decliners were Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD which dropped 9.62%, The Walt Disney Co DIS fell 7.40%, and EQT Corp EQT lost 5.16%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.5% to 4,015.75 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 2.5% to 2,615.43.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 2.2% to 26,775.57.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.3% to 52,655.18.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 1.2% to 81,666.46.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 1.2% to 10,341.56. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX gained 1.1% to 24,797.52, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 0.7% to 8,181.17
