Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket was a little hesitant yesterday as it entered a pivotal week for company earnings releases and economic moves. The S&P/NZX 50 Index reached an intraday high of 13,101.27 but then fell late, closing at 12,970.80, down 21.03 points, or 0.16%. There were 75 gainers and 64 decliners on the main board with 43.7 million shares worth $157.3m changing hands.
This week leading stocks Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Infratil, Ryman Healthcare, Mainfreight and Goodman NZ are reporting their latest financial results, and the Reserve Bank is meeting on Wednesday, followed the next day by the Budget. Fonterra is likely to provide its opening forecast milk payment for next season in its quarterly update.
ASB Bank said the Budget will be closely watched, given it is an election year. “We expect the script to remain on repairing fiscal buffers via consolidation, but focus will be given to how quickly this can be achieved against the fluid global backdrop.”
Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 44c to $33.66 ahead of its full-year result, and Mainfreight was up 36c to $58.49. Auckland International Airport increased 15c or 1.85% to $8.27; Contact Energy gained 10c to $9.45 on trade worth $28.4m; Infratil added 8c to $15.98; and Scales Corp was up 11c or 1.86% to $6.02. Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ increased 12c or 3.95% to $3.16; Metro Performance Glass rose 5c or 5% to $1.05; Scott Technology gained 6c or 2.56% to $2.40; and Blackpearl Group rallied 1.5c or 2.29% to 67c. Summerset was down 17c or 2.21% to $7.53; Channel Infrastructure declined 9c or 2.27% to $3.24; Gentrack fell 29c or 7.25% to $3.71; Hallenstein Glasson decreased 15c to $9.85; and The Warehouse shed 1.5c or 2.29% to 64c.
In the property sector, Kiwi was down 2c, or 2.13%, to 92c, while Property for Industry eased 4c to $2.40. Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge, up 1c or 3.7% to 28c, reported a 45% fall in revenue to $13.6m and a loss of $35.8m for the 12 months ending March. The lower revenue reflected the loss of US Medicare funding coverage and continued pressure on US Cxbladder test volumes. Total laboratory throughput was down 16.3% to 24,190 tests. Pacific Edge told the market that the draft Medicare local coverage determination, expected to be final and effective by the end of the year, substantially reduced the uncertainty that has weighed on test volumes and financial performance.
South Port NZ was up 17c or 1.93% to $9 after appointing director Derek Nind as chief executive to replace Nigel Gear, who steps down at the end of the month. Nind was formerly chief executive of Wellington’s CentrePort and a management executive at Lyttelton Port Company. Radius Residential Care, up 0.005c to 40.5c, has established a lending syndicate with ASB Bank and Bank of China (NZ) and increased its facility limits to $30m to fund the purchase of the Wellington Karori care home and a new development at Belfast, Christchurch. Transport technology firm Eroad was down 8c or 8% to 92c after reporting steady full-year revenue of $195.23m and a loss of $161.5m. Eroad began a transformation programme mid-year to restore performance.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 24 points higher at 8735.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has started the week higher, as hopes for a deal to end the US-Iran conflict bolstered investor confidence and pushed oil prices below $US95 a barrel.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 35 points on Monday, up 0.4 per cent, to 8,692, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 38.2 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8,915.4.
Equities markets across most of Asia made decent gains, as investors leaned into White House claims the US was close to a deal with Iran, despite a lack of material progress.
"I am surprised that markets are buying this - we've heard this way too many times and it's never had a foundation in fact so far," Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.
"That doesn't mean that it's definitely not happening, but I would have thought the market would be looking for more than a few offhand comments to really get going, but it was enough today and we saw some good gains across the boards."
Miners led the charge as the gold sub-index rallied by almost five per cent, as the precious metal hovered near $US4,554 ($A6,355) an ounce.
Iron ore giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue all advanced, as Fortescue announced the resignation of Elizabeth Gaines as executive director.
Mixed miners, copper and critical minerals producers all broadly improved, except Liontown, which retreated 3.6 per cent to $2.26.
Energy stocks were under pressure as Brent crude dropped below $US94.50 a barrel, weighing on Woodside, Santos, and refinery operators Ampol and Viva.
Uranium stocks swung in the other direction after recent selling pressure, and coal miners soared after an explosion at a mine in China's Shanxi province raised supply disruption concerns.
The drop in oil prices was good news for Qantas and Virgin, which each soared roughly six per cent higher.
The rally in Qantas' shares came despite Airbus flagging yet another delay to deliver the airline's ultra-long-range Airbus SE A350 to April 2027.
Beaten down consumer cyclicals stocks rebounded one per cent on improving investor confidence, in a broad sector move led by a nearly two per cent charge in Eagers Automotive.
Consumer staples were marginally better than flat, as Coles and A2 Milk dragged.
IT stocks staged a comeback of their own, the sector gaining one per cent as WiseTech, Xero and Technology One improved.
Financials slipped 0.1 per cent as slumps in Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie and the major insurers weighed, while ANZ, NAB and Westpac edged higher.
In company news, Adore Beauty shares rocketed more than six per cent higher after a trading update boasted improved revenue in the current financial year.
Charter Hall surged 6.7 per cent to $20.62 after it upgraded its 2025 full-year guidance and increased its property funds under management to $74.7 billion, up from $71.7 billion.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.66 cents, up from 71.36 US cents on Friday at 5pm, as improving risk sentiment supported the local currency.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 35 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 8,692
The broader All Ordinaries rose 38.2 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8,915.4
The NZX 50 added 188.87 points (1.44%) to 13159.15
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Nickel Industries Limited
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Elders Limited
Newmont Corporation
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA gained 0.6% to 50,579.70, the S&P 500 lifted 0.4% to 7,473.47 and the Nasdaq added 0.2% to 26,343.97.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Dell Technologies Inc DELL surging 16.77%, HP Inc HPQ jumped 15.25%, and NetApp Inc NTAP lifted 12.44%.
The biggest decliners were Coinbase Global Inc COIN which dropped 4.43%, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO fell 4.42%, and SanDisk Corp SNDK lost 4.17%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1% to 4,152.57 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.9% to 2,889.55.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lifted 0.9% to 25,606.03.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 2.9% to 65,158.19.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX lifted 1.7% to 76,488.96.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.2% to 10,466.26. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX gained 2% to 25,389.10, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 1.8% to 8,258.26
