Market Announcements
Market Summary
It was all quiet on the New Zealand sharemarket yesterday, and investors were captivated by one of the fastest rises from the United States S&P 500 Index in its long history, fuelled by AI-linked stocks. The S&P/NZX 50 Index slid gradually throughout the day in a choppy session, closing at 13,115.08, down 55.63 points, or 0.42%. There were 78 gainers and 56 decliners on the main board, and volumes were lighter with 31.7 million shares worth $109.6m changing hands.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 went over 7,600 points for the first time, after gaining 0.13% to 7,609.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.45% to 51,307.79 points, and the Nasdaq Composite was steady at 27,093.9. The S&P 500 has climbed more than 16% over the past two months, only seen four other times since the index was established in 1957. Three of them were bounce-backs from recessions – the 1970s oil shock, the 2008 global financial crisis and the covid pandemic in 2020. The fourth occasion for a rapid two-month gain was weeks before Black Monday on Oct 19 and the 1987 sharemarket crash. The S&P 500 had surged 39% in that year ending late August. The latest surge has been driven by the rise in semiconductor chipmaking stocks, which power data centres and artificial intelligence. Marvell Technology rose 32.52% to US$290.79 (NZ$492.25), adding US$60 billion to its market capitalisation, after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said it could become the next trillion-dollar company for supplying AI infrastructure build-out. Alphabet Group, owner of Google, was down 3.81% to US$358.39 after saying it would raise US$80b to help fund its AI infrastructure capital spending.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 0.92% to 8,804.3 points at 6pm NZ time.
At home, cinema management software company Vista Group fell 18c, or 7.38%, to $2.26 on light trading after rising strongly on improved box office numbers and additional business. Infant formula supplier a2 Milk was down a further 11c to $6.59. Tourism Holdings, down 3c to $2.56, was trading at a 20% discount to the takeover price of $3.10.
Mainfreight declined $2.26 or 3.48% to $62.74 after having a surge following its solid annual result. Meridian Energy decreased 10c to $5.79; Vulcan Steel declined 28c or 4.38% to $6.12; Napier Port was down 7c or 1.88% to $3.65; and Oceania Healthcare shed 1.5c or 1.96% to 75c. Goodman NZ gained 4c or 1.98% to $2.06; Hallenstein Glasson was up 20c or 2.04% to $9.99; Metro Performance Glass collected 4c or 3.45% to $1.20; and Promisia Healthcare rose 3c or 4.55% to 69c. Tech stocks were in favour locally. Gentrack improved 7c to $4.03; Eroad rose 5.5c or 5.47% to $1.06; ikeGPS increased 6c or 5.17% to $1.22, and Blackpearl was up 1.5c or 2.31% to 66.5c.
Pacific Edge, unchanged at 28c, completed its $36.1m capital raise, including $4.7m in oversubscriptions in the retail offer. A total of 93% of the capital raised came from existing shareholders. Move Logistics gained 0.005c or 2.56% to 20c. The company told the market that its founder and former managing director, Jim Ramsay, has died. Ramsay worked with trucking firm Hooker Bros from 1968 and formed a partnership to buy it in 1998. After a series of acquisitions, the company became TIL Logistics and listed in December 2017 before it was rebranded to Move in 2021. Scales Corp, unchanged at $6.08, declared a final dividend of 12.5c a share payable on July 9. The total payout for the 2025 financial year was 25c a share, representing 59% of the net profit.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 75 points lower at 8734.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has snapped a two-session losing streak after weaker-than-expected economic growth softened the outlook for further interest rate hikes.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 61.3 points on Wednesday, up 0.7 per cent, to 8,785.7, as the broader All Ordinaries improved by 51.2 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 9,017.2.
"Australian shares are staging a relief rally today, with the ASX 200 up around 0.7 per cent after softer-than-expected GDP growth raised hopes that the RBA may have more room to wait before considering any further tightening," Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen told AAP.
"The weaker growth number shows the material impact of higher inflation, higher energy prices and elevated rates on the economy, with investors now betting the central bank will be more hesitant before its next move."
Materials, consumer staples and energy stocks did most of the heavy lifting, helping drive the broader market higher.??
"The rotation suggests investors are favouring sectors with defensive earnings support or commodity leverage, rather than chasing a broad-based risk rally," Ms Chen said.
The energy sector rally came as Brent crude lifted towards $US98 a barrel following reports Iran launched missiles towards Bahrain and Kuwait, which host US military bases.
Elsewhere in the segment, uranium stocks staged a major comeback after US enrichment company Urenco flagged a significant expansion in its enrichment capacity, sending names such as Paladin, Boss Energy and Deep Yellow each more than seven per cent higher.
Basic materials improved by a solid 1.5 per cent as BHP and Rio Tinto, supported by a recent surge in copper.
Goldminers were mixed as the precious metal eased to $US4,460 an ounce.
Financials overcame an early slump to end the session 0.8 per cent higher, while ANZ led the big four banks higher and CommBank shares improved 1.1 per cent to $164.76.
The swing from banks into materials represented one of the biggest sector rotations in decades, Betashares investment strategist Tom Wickenden said.
"Large-cap banks led the ASX to the rally the past few years (but) materials are now having their moment again, which is typical of Australia's cyclical market," he said.
"The lesson each cycle is the same: investors who let market-cap weights carry them into one sector tend to be overweight at the wrong time."
In company news, Ampol shares surged 3.4 per cent higher after the competition watchdog approved its takeover of EG Australia on the proviso it divested 41 petrol stations to another competitor.
Lottery Corporation shares tumbled 1.5 per cent after it booked $10 million in redundancies as it looks to modernise its digital offerings and target a younger demographic.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.59 US cents, down from 71.78 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm AEST.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 61.3 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 8,785.7
The broader All Ordinaries improved by 51.2 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 9,017.2
The NZX 50 Lost -48.98 points (-0.37%) to 13066.1
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 1.2% to 50,687.07, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% to 7,553.68 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.9% to 26,853.98.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Texas Pacific Land Corp TPL surging 9.69%, Moderna Inc MRNA jumped 7.49%, and SanDisk Corp SNDK lifted 6.71%.
The biggest decliners were Lumentum Holdings Inc LITE which dropped 8.86%, Global Payments Inc GPN fell 8.35%, and Charter Communications Inc CHTR lost 8.03%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2% to 4,083.97 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.3% to 2,812.92.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 1.6% to 25,633.21.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 2.5% to 68,402.13.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.4% to 74,346.17.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index declined 0.4% to 10,332.30. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX dropped 1.3% to 24,795.94, and the France's CAC 40 declined 0.7% to 8,150.42
