Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket came under broad-based selling pressure and fell more than 1.5% yesterday, with several stocks taking hefty tumbles. The S&P/NZX 50 Index was on a gradual slide throughout the day and closed at 12,762.92, down 202.09 points or 1.56%. There were 107 decliners and 34 gainers on the main board with 44.9 million shares worth $149.1m changing hands.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 1.37% to 8,511.90 points at 6pm NZ time. On Wall Street over the weekend, the major indices retreated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.07% to 49,526.17 points; the S&P 500 declining 1.24% to 7,408.5; and the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.54% to 26,225.14. Tech stocks were hit by rising bond yields as oil prices remained elevated and tensions between the US and Iran remained high. The US 10 Year and 30 Year Treasury Notes reached their highest levels for more than a year, climbing to 5.154% and 4.63%, respectively. Brent Crude oil was trading well above US$100 (NZ$171.23) at US$110.80 a barrel.
At home, Ebos Group hit a seven-year low after falling 72c, or 3.44%, to $20.21; and Mainfreight declined $2.39, or 4.28%, to $53.50, its lowest level since October 2020. Ryman Healthcare shed 13c or 6.1% to $2; SkyCity fell 3.5c or 6.03% to 54.5c; Synlait Milk decreased 5c or 10.87% to 41c; Heartland Group was down 5c or 4.67% to $1.02; Serko declined 56c or 3.45% to $1.40; and Vista Group dropped 4c or 1.93% to $2.03. Wine exporters Foley Wines fell 4.5c or 8.74% to 47c, and Delegat Group was down 9c or 2.37% to $3.71.
Infant milk supplier a2 Milk fell a further 38c or 5.07% to $7.12 following another downgrade – this time from Citigroup, which cut earnings by 5-10% and valuation by 30%.
Utilities software firm Gentrack was down 15c or 3.66% to $3.95 after reporting a slight drop in revenue to $110.14m and 28.86% decline in net profit to $5.11m for the six months ending March. It is not paying a dividend. Group recurring revenue increased 12% to $85.3m, but non-recurring fell 30% to $24.9m, and operating earnings (ebitda) were $7.9m compared with $13m in the previous corresponding period. Gentrack said the ebitda reduction occurred in the utilities, rather than airport, division, driven by the delay in new project revenue and a decision to continue to invest in product and international growth. The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is reshaping expectations in the sectors Gentrack operates in, and “this dynamic reinforces rather than disrupts our position,” the company told the market.
Freightways was down 40c or 3.03% to $12.80; Auckland International Airport decreased 13c to $8.25; Napier Port eased 9c or 2.42% to $3.63; Skellerup declined 19c or 3.15% to $5.84; and Sky TV dropped 7c or 2.2% to $3.11. In the retail sector, Briscoe decreased by 13c, or 3.06%, to $4.75, and Michael Hill decreased by 1.5c, or 3.6%, to 39.5c.
Pacific Edge was up a further 1c or 3.7% to 28c after receiving long-awaited news that draft US Medicare reimbursement coverage was being published for its Cxbladder cancer diagnostic products. Amongst the few gainers, South Port NZ was up 19c or 2.26% to $8.61, Tourism Holdings gained 5c or 2.33% to $2.20, and Steel & Tube improved 1.5c or 4.11% to 38c.
Kiwi Property, down 3c or 3.19% to 91c, reported a 2.9% increase in revenue to $271.41m and a 11.5% decrease in net profit to $50.45m for the year ending March. Kiwi’s portfolio was valued at $3 billion, a decline of 0.9% over the year, and net tangible assets per share decreased 2.4% to $1.12. Elsewhere in the sector, Stride was down 2c or 1.72% to $1.14; Investore declined 3.5c or 3.27% to $1.03; and Precinct shed 2c or 1.94% to $1.01.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 74 points higher at 8573.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has fallen to a seven-week low, as the ongoing conflict in Iran bolsters oil prices and inflation fears darken the global economic outlook.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 125.5 points on Monday, down 1.45 per cent, to 8,505.3, as the broader All Ordinaries tumbled 135.2 points, or 1.52 per cent, to 8,735.4.
Local shares followed a weak finish from global equities on Friday, after bond yields surged on inflation concerns, and as oil prices surged after fresh attacks in the Middle East and modest results from US meetings with key Iran ally China.
"While last week's Trump-Xi meeting offered a glimmer of optimism, China has since shown little appetite for helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"And why would it? President Trump has been Beijing's chief antagonist for over a decade, and with ample strategic reserves on hand, China can afford to let the US sit in an uncomfortable spot of its own making for a little longer."
Energy stocks were the only sector to carve out a gain for the session, while basic materials, industrials stocks and real estate trusts weighed heavily as traders mulled a sustained high fuel cost and interest rate environment.
Woodside and Santos each charged more than 2.6 per cent higher each, as Brent crude hovered near $US111 a barrel and as Santos delivered first oil from its Pikka project in Alaska.
Refinery owners Viva and Ampol advanced, while coal producers were mixed and uranium stocks continued to sell off.
Industrials stocks fell four per cent after Brambles' value plummeted by a more than a fifth after a shock profit guidance downgrade, which cut its expected 2026 financial year profit range roughly in half.
Miners were also under pressure, with basic materials down 2.8 per cent as iron ore and copper futures retreated, taking BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue with them after China's year-to-April industrial production fell to 4.1 per cent, missing forecasts of 6.0 per cent.
Gold has fallen to $US4,544 ($A6,362) an ounce, dragging on ASX-listed miners and taking the gold sub-index four per cent lower.
Lynas Rare Earths offered a rare glimmer of optimism for the segment, advancing 5.5 per cent to $18.93.
Financials were sluggish, falling 0.3 per cent as CommBank shares continued their modest recovery from the previous week's $30 billion sell-down, while NAB, Westpac and ANZ lost ground.
Consumer-facing stocks lost 0.9 per cent amid broad-based weakness, while real estate and health care stocks were under particular pressure.
In company news, shares in agribusiness group Elders plummeted by almost 23 per cent after costs from its cloud-based migration weighed on its first-half earnings.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.48 US cents, down from 71.59 US cents on Friday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 dropped by 125.5 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 8,505.3
The broader All Ordinaries tumbled 135.2 points, or 1.52 per cent, to 8,735.4
The NZX 50 added 85.14 points (0.66%) to 12848.06
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Metals X Limited
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
GQG Partners Inc.
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA added 0.3% to 49,686.12, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 7,403.05 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.5% to 26,090.73.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Dominion Energy Inc D surging 9.44%, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp CTSH jumped 9.05%, and ServiceNow Inc NOW lifted 8.78%.
The biggest decliners were Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN which dropped 9.84%, Lumentum Holdings Inc LITE fell 8.82%, and Vertiv Holdings Co VRT lost 8.39%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 4,131.53 and the Shenzhen Composite Index was unchanged at 2,862.44.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 1.1% to 25,675.18.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 1% to 60,815.95.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX climbed 0.1% to 75,315.04.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 1.3% to 10,323.75. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX climbed 1.5% to 24,307.92, and the France's CAC 40 was unchanged at 7,987.49
