Market Announcements
Market Summary
Freightways reached a new all-time high, and Skellerup made a strong gain as the New Zealand sharemarket defied the volatility overseas with a flat finish. While Asian-Pacific markets were making a rapid rebound, the S&P/NZX 50 Index traded steadily after an early-morning dip and closed at 13,446.37, up 2.35 points or 0.02%. The index reached an intraday low of 13,324.24 points. There were 74 gainers and 62 decliners on the main board with 40.8 million shares worth $162.6m changing hands.
At 6pm NZ time, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 1.92% to 8,875.7 points after falling 2% on Friday, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index had gained 1.45% to 26,945.35 points. The Nikkei 225 had risen 4.15% to 56,507.08 points after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a landmark election victory, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party gaining two-thirds of the 465-seat lower house. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average burst through the 50,000 milestone for the first time after gaining 1,206 points or 2.47% to 50,115.67. The S&P 500 was up 1.97% to 6932.3 points, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.18% to 23,031.21, led by Nvidia up 7.92% to US$185.41 (NZ$308.30).
At home, Freightways hit the $15 mark for the first time with a gain of 36c or 2.46%. Skellerup Holdings rose 42c or 8.08% to $5.62, buoyed by a broker upgrade and the expectation it will produce another solid half-year financial result later this week. Skellerup’s highest close was $6.49 in early February 2022. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 62c or 1.7% to $39.28 on trade worth $22.39m, and Chorus declined 35c or 3.66% to $9.20.
Infratil collected 21c or 1.94% to $11.04; Vista Group recovered 9c or 4.97% to $1.90; Gentrack was up 24c or 3.43% to $7.24; Heartland added 2.5c or 2.02% to $1.26; Scales Corp gained 12c or 2.04% to $6; and T&G Global rose 10c or 3.88% to $2.68. Pacific Edge increased 1.9c or 10.22% to 20.5c after telling the market that US Medicare contractor Novitas is meeting on Feb 20 (NZ time). Opinions expressed there will influence the language Novitas uses in any draft local coverage determination covering Medicare reimbursement of Cxbladder tests.
Manuka Resources fell 6.5c or 29.55% to 15c after a Fast-track Approvals expert panel declined the consent application by subsidiary TransTasman Resources to harvest iron sands, for vanadium concentrate, off Taranaki. Manuka and TransTasman have until Feb 19 to comment on the draft decision. TransTasman executive chairman Alan Eggers said, “I find it difficult to accept that the expert panel intends to decline the project environmental approvals with concerns on almost every aspect.”
Amongst other mining stocks, Santana Minerals was up 4.5c or 3.85% to $1.21, and Minerals Exploration was down 1.5c or 5.77% to 24.5c. Sanford decreased 15c or 2.03% to $7.25; Serko shed 8c or 3.04% to $2.55; Sky TV was down 8c or 2.46% to $3.17; Napier Port eased 10c or 2.64% to $3.69; and Blackpearl Group declined 7.5c or 6.38% to $1.10. Rakon was up 3.5c or 2.46% to $1.45 after receiving the formal takeover offer from US electronics company Bourns at $1.55 a share. Rakon will issue an independent adviser’s report on Feb 23. Locate Technologies, down 0.001c or 73c, reported second quarter revenue of $1.88m and a loss of $829,000 in operating earnings (ebitda.) The loss included a one-off cost of $464,000 for the transition from the ASX to the NZX.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 20 points higher at 8892.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has rebounded with gusto from the previous session, recapturing the bulk of Friday's more than $60 billion in losses.
The S&P/ASX200 surged 161.3 points on Monday, up 1.85 per cent, to 8,870.1, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 176.5 points, or 1.97 per cent, to 9,131.1.
A recovery for local stocks followed the worst session in 10 months on Friday, which wiped more than $60 billion from the top-500's combined $3.1 trillion market cap.
"It has been a very interesting five and a half weeks in 2026, and it's continued today - just a remarkable rebound," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"If you look at the sectors that are doing well, it's the ones which got absolutely pulverised on Friday."
Real estate and IT stocks each rocketed more than 3.2 per cent higher, while basic materials jumped three per cent as all 11 sectors pushed into the green.
Gold miners were some of the market's best performers as precious metals continued to swing wildly in the wake of their late January sell-off, hinting at more potential volatility as buyers and sellers tussle towards fair value in the segment.
The precious metal firmed to $US5,022 ($A7,147) an ounce over the session, lifting local miners Evolution and Northern Star more than 3.5 per cent each, while Denver-headquartered Newmont soared 6.5 per cent to $164.92.
Iron ore giants BHP and Rio Tinto traded roughly two per cent higher, despite iron ore futures hovering at six-month lows just below $US100 a tonne.
Copper stocks Sandstone and Capstone improved by more than four per cent each, as did rare earths play Lynas after a rough ride the previous week.
The energy sector rose 1.8 per cent despite a quiet day for oil prices after US-Iran talks at the weekend, with coal miners and uranium stocks doing some heavy lifting.
Consumer-facing sectors did well, with cyclicals up 1.7 per cent and staples trading one per cent stronger
The outsized financial sector rose a solid 1.2 per cent, with all big four banks advancing.
Commonwealth Bank shares rose 0.6 per cent to $159.89 ahead of an earnings update on Wednesday, as ANZ, NAB and Westpac jumped more than 1.4 per cent each.
Alternative lender Pepper Money barrelled 28.4 per cent higher to $2.26 after receiving a takeover bid from Challenger at $2.60 a share.??
Conversely, Challenger dipped 3.6 per cent into the red and was the top-200's weakest performer.
At the top of the table were gold miners Resolute, Ora Banda and Predictive Discovery.
In other big price moves, Web Travel shares rebounded by more than 18 per cent as it confirmed 2026 guidance, after shares plummeted last week on news its Spanish arm was being audited by the national tax agency.
Local earnings season is in full swing, with Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie, AMP, AGL, CSL, Origin, and NBN Co. among the veritable acronym soup of companies reporting financial results this week.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.29 US cents, up from 69.55 US cents on Friday, supported by last Tuesday's Reserve Bank interest rate hike and as rate markets indicate another likely increase by June.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 161.3 points, or 1.85 per cent, to 8,870.1
The broader All Ordinaries rose 176.5 points, or 1.97 per cent, to 9,131.1
The NZX 50 Lost -32.73 points (-0.24%) to 13413.64
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA was unchanged at 50,135.87, the S&P 500 gained 0.5% to 6,964.82 and the Nasdaq lifted 0.9% to 23,238.67.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were AppLovin Corp APP surging 13.20%, Oracle Corp ORCL jumped 9.64%, and Corning Inc GLW lifted 7.56%.
The biggest decliners were Waters Corp WAT which dropped 13.94%, Willis Towers Watson PLC WTW fell 12.12%, and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co AJG lost 9.85%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.4% to 4,123.09 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.9% to 2,700.22.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 1.8% to 27,027.16.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 3.9% to 56,363.94.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX lifted 0.6% to 84,065.75.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.2% to 10,386.23. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX added 1.2% to 25,014.87, and the France's CAC 40 climbed 0.6% to 8,323.28
