Market Announcements
Market Summary
A special dividend from a2 Milk, a rebound by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, and a new $740 million takeover bid for Tourism Holdings perked up the New Zealand sharemarket yesterday, finishing with a gain of more than 0.6%. The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded steadily throughout the day and closed at 13,493.05, up 92.98 points or 0.69%. There were 68 gainers and 65 decliners on the main board with 37.8m shares worth $140.5m changing hands.
On the S&P/ASX 200 Index, down 0.42% to 8,876.60 points at 6pm NZ time, CSL was up 2.75% to A$118.15 (NZ$144.28), and ResMed had gained 4.6% to $29.22. Locally, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rallied $1.18 or 3.15% to $38.68, and Ebos Group was up 32c to $20.44.
The banking sector in Australia was rattled by the fall of Judo Bank, down 39% to A93.7c, following losses on three business loans and wiping $800m from its market value.
At home, Tourism Holdings surged 34c or 13.33% to $2.89 after receiving an additional takeover offer from “a credible strategic buyer” at $3.30-$3.40 a share, with a mid-point value of $741m. The board said it is allowing the new bidder to undertake due diligence. The offer is higher than the earlier bid of $3.10 a share by BGH Capital and the family interests of Luke and Karl Trouchet. This consortium holds 19.9% of Tourism Holdings.
Infant formula supplier a2 Milk increased 28c, or 3.31%, to $8.75 after confirming that the $300m special dividend of 41.36c per share will be paid on July 24. The dividend follows the State Administration for Market Regulation approval for a2 Milk to rebrand two China label product registrations after acquiring them in the purchase of the Pokeno production facility.
Spark rallied 6.5c, or 3.66%, to $1.84 following broker reports that the market might be overly negative about the stock and that it was likely to meet its earnings numbers in the annual results announced in late August. Skellerup gained 17c or 2.66% to $6.55; Vector rebounded 8c to $4.94; Vulcan Steel increased 19c or 3.16% to $6.20; Hallenstein Glasson was up 15c to $10.20; Vista Group added 5c or 2.08% to $2.45; and Comvita collected 1.5c or 2.16% to 71c.
Fletcher Building was down 6c or 1.77% to $3.33; Summerset shed 16c to $8.44; and Scales Corp decreased 19c or 3% to $6.15. Other decliners were Third Age Health down 8c or 1.79% to $4.40; Serko falling 6c or 3.97% to $1.45; AFT Pharmaceuticals easing 8c or 2.13% to $3.67; and 2 Cheap Cars shedding 2c or 2.99% to 65c.
Winton Land, down 4c, or 2.63%, to $1.48, told the market that chief executive and board chair Chris Meehan is taking leave immediately for health reasons. The company said the leave was notified during the concluding stages of a board-led employment process with Meehan.
Oceania Healthcare, decreasing 2c or 2.63% to 74c, has completed its $125m, six-year bonds offer carrying an interest rate of 5.5% a year and including $25m of oversubscriptions. Eroad, down 0.005c to $1.01, announced that following voting at the annual meeting, Ryan Brosnahan and Ian Whiting, an Ampfield Holdings representative, were elected to the board. However, substantial shareholder Ampfield’s other two nominations were not elected, and existing directors John Scott and Sara Gifford retained their seats after the New York investment firm moved to remove them.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 25 points higher at 8807.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian bourse has slipped, with a sell-off in precious metals, oil and other commodities dragging down resource companies as the US dollar surges and more ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday finished 59.7 points lower at 8,748.7, a drop of 0.68 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 61 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 8,951.6.
The bourse got a bit of a bounce around midday after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported better-than-expected jobs figures for May, but the momentum couldn't be sustained in afternoon trading.
The ASX200 finished trading as its lowest closing level in two weeks.
IG analyst Tony Sycamore said the selling pressure had been driven by two profit warnings - from Judo Capital and Worley - and a renewed slide in commodity prices, due to the surging US dollar.
The greenback has jumped to its highest level since May 2025, as measured against a basket of other currencies, amid bets the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates later this year to combat inflation and limit fallout from the war.
Seven of the ASX's 11 sectors finished higher, and four closed lower, including the heavyweight mining sector.
The energy sector was the biggest loser, dropping 2.5 per cent as oil prices fell to their lowest level since the war on Iran began on February 28.
Brent crude was changing hands at $US72.80 as tankers carrying millions of barrels of crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Iran peace deal.??
Woodside fell 2.9 per cent to $27.43, Santos retreated 2.8 per cent to $7.04 and Whitehaven Coal also dipped 2.9 per cent, to $7.98.
The materials/mining sector dropped 2.3 per cent as the ascent of the greenback put pressure on commodity prices.
BHP dropped 1.7 per cent to $58.52, Rio Tinto lost 2.3 per cent to $169.99 and Fortescue retreated 1.6 per cent to $18.94.
Goldminers fared even worse, with Evolution down 3.8 per cent and Northern Star dropping 3.3 per cent, as the yellow metal dropped under $US4,000 an ounce for the first time since November.
Mineral Resources fell 2.6 per cent to $64.14 as the mining services company said it would shutter its Lucky Bay mineral sands mine in regional WA, shedding 110 jobs, because of the conflict in the Middle East.
Health care was the biggest gainer, rising 2.6 per cent as companies that earn most of their money in US dollars gained ground, buoyed by the rallying greenback.
CSL added 2.3 per cent, Pro Medicus climbed 3.6 per cent and ResMed grew 4.6 per cent.
In the financial sector, NAB dropped 3.4 per cent to $37.45, Westpac fell 2.0 per cent to $35.06, ANZ dipped 2.2 per cent to $34.86 and CBA retreated 1.3 per cent to $162.70.
Judo Capital plunged 40.4 per cent to a two-year low of 92.5 cents after the business-focused bank said three troublesome loans had emerged in recent weeks.
Insurance companies had a good day, with IAG up 4.3 per cent, Medibank Private rising 2.7 per cent and Steadfast Group climbing 2.6 per cent.
Worley fell 9.7 per cent to $11.08 after the service provider to resource companies estimated that the Middle East conflict could impact its earnings by up to $60 million, even with the recent ceasefire.
"While there have been no project cancellations, customers continue to delay the commencement and award of new projects," Worley said.
The Australian dollar dropped to its lowest level since late April against its US counterpart, trading for 68.91 US cents, from 69.06 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday.
ON THE ASX:
??The S&P/ASX200 dropped 59.7 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 8,748.7
The broader All Ordinaries fell 61 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 8,951.6
The NZX 50 added 23.42 points (0.17%) to 13516.47
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Centuria Capital Group
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA rose 0.1% to 51,920.62, the S&P 500 was unchanged at 7,357.49 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.5% to 25,358.60.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were SanDisk Corp SNDK surging 21.97%, Bio-Techne Corp TECH jumped 20.04%, and Micron Technology Inc MU lifted 15.84%.
The biggest decliners were Apple Inc AAPL which dropped 6.12%, TJX Companies Inc TJX fell 6.04%, and Ross Stores Inc ROST lost 5.83%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2% to 4,120.28 and the Shenzhen Composite Index lifted 0.7% to 2,876.11.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 1.4% to 23,076.91.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 4.6% to 72,366.34.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 0.1% to 77,100.47.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.7% to 10,529.89. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX climbed 1% to 24,994.83, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 0.6% to 8,431.61
