Market Announcements
Market Summary
Global rubber goods supplier Skellerup produced record half-year earnings and a full-year upgrade as the New Zealand sharemarket made a small gain late in the day yesterday. The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed at 13,531.48, up 24.20 points or 0.18% after trading between 13,481.07 and 13,578.55. The index moved into positive territory during the matching session and has fallen 0.4% so far this year. Turnover was 37.2 million shares worth $128.3m, and there were 65 gainers and 69 decliners on the main board.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 was trading near record highs on the back of solid financial results from ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. At 6pm NZ time, the ASX 200 was up 0.22% to 9,035 points, closing in on the all-time high of 9,094.7 set on Oct 21 last year. The index did hit 9,102 points during the day.
Skellerup was up 10c or 1.8% to $5.67 after reporting an 11% increase in revenue to $183.47m and 20% rise in net profit to $28.93m for the six months ending December. Skellerup is paying an interim dividend of 10c a share on March 19. Operating earnings (ebit) were a record $40.6m, an increase of 16%, with the industrial division contributing $25.1m, up 12%, and agri division $18.5m, up 20%. Skellerup upgraded its full-year net profit guidance to $57m-$62m, from $55m-$60m, and said the growth in revenue and earnings was broad-based, with the most notable contributions coming from the key dairy, potable and wastewater applications.
The dual-listed banking stocks had a strong day. Westpac gained $1.63 or 3.45% to $48.89, and ANZ rose $3.91 or 8.95% to $47.59, having increased 36.66% over the past year. ANZ reported a 75% increase in first-quarter cash profit to A$1.94 billion (NZ$2.2b), compared with the quarterly average of the previous second half ending September last year. Operating income was $5.7b, up 4%, and operating expenses were $2.8b, down 21%. ANZ said “our productivity programme aimed at removing duplication and simplifying the bank is well under way, delivering a significant reduction in expenses while growing revenue. “There was an improvement across our key financial metrics, including the return on tangible equity, which rose to 11.7% and the cost-to-income ratio to below 50%. Portfolio losses remain low, reflecting strong overall credit quality and customer resilience,” the bank said.
Mainfreight was down $1.03 to $63.42; Gentrack eased 10c to $7.20; Summerset declined 30c or 2.68% to $10.89; Vector decreased 13c or 2.61% to $4.85; and SkyCity shed to 88.5c. Vista Group decreased 4c or 2.11% to $1.86; Vulcan Steel fell 21c or 2.61% to $7.84; Colonial Motor was down 15c or 1.81% to $8.15; NZME eased 2c or 1.72% to $1.14; Bremworth shed 2.5c or 3.65% to 66c; and Santana Minerals dropped 3c to $1.20. In the retail sector, Briscoe was down 7c to $4.70, and KMD Brands was up 1c or 3.92% to 26.5c. Meridian Energy was up 8c to $5.79; Contact gained 11c to $9.78; Port of Tauranga added 8c to $8.05; Channel Infrastructure increased 10c or 3.57% to $2.90; and Tourism Holdings collected 4c to $2.39.
Technology services company Eroad declined 7c or 6.73% to 97c following the resignation of long-time chief executive Mark Heine, who is leaving in June. During his tenure, Eroad has grown revenue from $17m to nearly $200m across the Australian, North American, and NZ markets.
Minerals Exploration was unchanged at 24c after telling the market that the first two holes drilled at the Scotia prospect of the Waitekauri project have identified a large mineralised gold system. The Waitekauri project is 8km west of the Waihi Gold Mine, and Minerals Exploration continues to drill the historic Jubilee mine, with another 13 holes planned and a second rig to start drilling in April/May.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 16 points lower at 9005.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has retreated after brushing up against record highs as heavyweight earnings results weighed against shocking misses for smaller companies.
The discrepancy was clear in the two leading indices on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 28.7 points, up 0.32 per cent, to 9,043.5, while the broader All Ordinaries finished flat at 9,281.8.
The top 200 came within roughly 10 points of resetting its intraday best of 9,115.2, but ultimately handed back most of its 88-point lead by the close.
"Earnings season often delivers a fair mix of beats and bombshells, but this is going to be memorable because the heavyweight stocks, particularly in the financials, are carrying the load," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"They're delivering outsized gains that really outweigh the impact of disappointments in lower weighted stocks."
ANZ led the charge as its shares rocketed 8.5 per cent higher to a record $40.35, joining CBA in smashing its earnings forecast with a $1.9 billion December quarter cash profit.
The broader sector rose 2.6 per cent, despite a sea of red engulfing most companies outside of the big four banks.
It was a similar story in raw materials, the sector up 1.1 per cent as Rio Tinto and BHP jumped more than two per cent each, with mixed performances elsewhere.
Gold miner Northern Star surged four per cent to $29.39 after hitting a record during the session on the back of a 41 per cent jump in half-year profit to $714 million.
Other gold stocks were patchy, as the precious metal's spot price consolidated near $US5,074 ($A7,129) an ounce.
In critical minerals, PLS shares jumped 3.8 per cent, while Lynas Rare Earths carved out a 1.5 per cent boost.
Energy sector miners had a mixed performance as the segment faded 0.2 per cent, with Whitehaven Coal down almost three per cent as competitor Yancoal lifted 1.8 per cent.
It was a similar story with uranium stocks, as Paladin scraped a 0.7 per cent advance, but Deep Yellow lost two per cent.
Oil and gas producers Woodside and Santos were also split, with the former in the green and Santos slipping behind as crude prices grinded slowly upward, in what has been a relatively stable week for the commodity.
Utilities stocks outperformed the market, surging for a second day as Origin joined AGL in handing down impressive earnings, along with a guidance upgrade.
Some financial reports sparked brutal sell downs however, with wealth group AMP shedding more than a quarter of its value after its full-year bottom line profit tumbled 11 per cent to $133 million.
Temple & Webster shareholders also demanded their money back, the furniture e-retailer tanking by almost a third after reporting a 36 per cent first-half profit slump to $5.8 million.
Turning back to sector performances, IT stocks plummeted 6.2 per cent to two-year lows, with little confidence in the sector despite the discount and a benign lead from Wall Street overnight.
The health care segment plumbed depths not seen since April 2019, as blood plasma giant CSL sunk another 6.9 per cent after a major profit slump and the sudden exit of CEO Paul McKenzie earlier in the week.
Imaging software provider Pro Medicus was even worse off, cratering almost 24 per cent after its first-half revenue misses consensus estimates, and taking the top-200's wooden spoon for the day.
The Australian dollar is still trading near three-year highs, buying 71.24 US cents, up from 71.16 US cents on Thursday at 5pm, supported by US dollar weakness, strong commodity prices and a hawkish local interest rate outlook.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 28.7 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 9,043.5
The broader All Ordinaries traded flat, closing at 9,281.8
The NZX 50 Lost -54.67 points (-0.41%) to 13476.81
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA slipped 1.3% to 49,451.98, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6% to 6,832.76 and the Nasdaq declined 2% to 22,597.15.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Equinix Inc EQIX surging 10.41%, Akamai Technologies Inc AKAM jumped 10.35%, and Zebra Technologies Corp ZBRA lifted 8.56%.
The biggest decliners were AppLovin Corp APP which dropped 19.69%, Baxter International Inc BAX fell 15.99%, and Tyler Technologies Inc TYL lost 15.39%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was unchanged at 4,134.02 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.5% to 2,708.93.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.9% to 27,032.54.
Japanese shares ended flat. The Nikkei Stock Average was unchanged at 57,639.84.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX dropped 0.7% to 83,674.92.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.7% to 10,402.44. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX was unchanged at 24,852.69, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 0.3% to 8,340.56
