Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket followed a slide across the Asia-Pacific region, falling nearly 0.5% yesterday amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. The S&P/NZX 560 Index was down sharply at the open and recovered only slightly, closing at 13,723.20, down 62.47 points (0.45%), after reaching an intraday low of 13,670.41. There were 50 gainers and 88 decliners on the main board, with turnover reaching 35.1 million shares worth $156.5m.
Offshore, the Japanese Nikkei had declined 2.73%, and the South Korean Kospi Index had fallen 8.7% at 6pm NZ time. The S&P/ASX 200 Index was down slightly at 8,798.7 points. Investors this week will be watching out for the latest US inflation rate, Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh’s testimony to Congress, and the start of the US reporting season with the big banks going first. Back home, the BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) returned to expansion in June with a reading of 50.6, being above the breakeven mark for the first time since January. The PSI was 48 in May and 48.9 in April. BNZ head of research Stephen Toplis said “the direction of travel is positive and the uplift, when combined with the surge in the Performance of Manufacturing Index (released last week), is enough to suggest economic growth should soon climb to around 2.0%. “This is hardly a spectacular number but further confirmation that the trend in growth prior to the oil shock is resuming.” ASB said the NZ Institute of Economic Research’s quarterly survey of business opinion this week will give a good gauge on both pricing pressures and activity. It will be the first check on the robustness of both inflation and the economy in the short term.
Local stocks Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 33c to $39.92; Freightways declined 19c to $13.85; a2 Milk fell 20c, or 2.29%, to $8.55; Port of Tauranga decreased 16c, or 1.83%, to $8.60; and SkyCity shed 2.5c, or 4.67%, to 51c. Other decliners were Delegat Group, down 18c, or 4.21%, to $4.10; Blackpearl Group, down 2.5c, or 4.42%, to 54c; and Property for Industry, down 5c, or 2.07%, to $2.36. Ebos Group was up 22c to $22.37; NZX gained 4c or 2.76% to $1.49; and Third Age Health added 7c to $4.67.
Dairy giant Fonterra has lowered its 2026/27 farmgate milk price to $9.25 per kgMS, down from the opening forecast of $9.75, due to a 11% fall in prices at the Global Dairy Trade auctions since May. Fonterra said the change to the farmgate forecast reflected softer-than-expected demand amid strong global supply. Fonterra Co-operative’s share price was down 5c to $4.20, and Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund eased 7c to $7.11.
Used car dealership 2 Cheap Cars increased 12c, or 18.18%, to 78c after receiving a takeover notice from Sena & Co to purchase the remaining 24% shareholding at 80c per share. Sena & Co already owns 76%, and one of the trustees, Yusuke David Sena, is a director and the chief executive of 2 Cheap Cars.
Channel Infrastructure, up 1c to $3.24, has signed an agreement with Dubai-based Integrate Scope DMCC for the US$5.95m sale and removal of the CCR Platformer unit at Marsden Point. Payment will be over three instalments during the 2027 financial year while the deconstruction of the unit takes place. The deconstruction is part of the site-clearing for a new biorefinery to produce low-carbon renewable fuels and fertilisers. Rua Bioscience rose 1.3c or 44.83% to 4.2c after announcing a distribution agreement with one of the UK’s largest medical cannabis clinics. Rua said the arrangement is expected to generate more than $10m in revenue over the initial two-year term.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 34 points lower at 8780.
Monday 13th July 2026- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has started the week flat as renewed fighting in the Persian Gulf boosts oil prices and weighs on mining stocks.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 2.5 points on Monday, up 0.003 per cent to 8,808.5, as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 0.7 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 9,003.
"On the ASX200 the volatility is just seeping out of that market, and I think probably for good reason," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"We've got the US earnings season coming up, we've got the Australian earnings season coming up in August, and there's still a fair bit of uncertainty around what's going on in the Middle East and whether the Reserve Bank have finished hiking rates."
Miners were under renewed selling pressure after a brief reprieve on Friday as investors continued rotating into resurgent financial stocks, which have gained more than six per cent since mid-June.
Gold producers were heavy, with the precious metal slipping to $US4,054 ($A5,851) an ounce during the session, dragging the sub-index 1.9 per cent lower.
The mega miners were mixed, with Fortescue gaining 1.6 per cent, Rio losing 0.3 per cent and BHP trading slightly better than flat after calling in the industrial umpire to help avert strike action at Port Hedland.
Battery minerals and rare earths producers also sold off.
The energy segment advanced 0.7 per cent as Brent crude hovered above $US79 a barrel, with no end in sight to renewed hostilities between the US and Iran.
Iran escalated its attacks on US bases in the Middle East during the session and says it has again halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Shares in refinery operator Ampol surged more than four per cent after it secured a $400 million subordinated notes debt facility backed by KKR.
Retail stocks were mixed ahead of Westpac and NAB's respective consumer and business surveys due on Tuesday, with discretionaries up 0.9 per cent while staples fell by the same degree.
IT stocks were the worst-performing sector, down 2.5 per cent with a big slump in Xero after its CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy unloaded almost $2.2 million in stock to manage her tax obligations.
In company news, oOh!Media swung four per cent higher after it revealed three suitors were considering takeover offers for the outdoor advertising company.
The Australian dollar is buying 69.29 US cents, down from 69.50 US cents on Friday at 5pm, as safe haven buyers retreat to the greenback.
Looking ahead, some big global names will deliver mid-year earnings this week including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Netflix, Taiwan Semiconductor and Johnson & Johnson.
The local earnings season kicks off on July 29 with Rio Tinto's half-year results.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 2.5 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 8,808.5
The broader All Ordinaries lost 0.7 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 9,003
The NZX 50 added 1.77 points (0.01%) to 13724.97
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Metcash Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA dropped 0.3% to 52,498.64, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8% to 7,515.34 and the Nasdaq slipped 1.6% to 25,873.18.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were FactSet Research Systems Inc FDS surging 6.49%, Gartner Inc IT jumped 6.12%, and Valero Energy Corp VLO lifted 5.39%.
The biggest decliners were AppLovin Corp APP which dropped 12.65%, SanDisk Corp SNDK fell 12.63%, and Oracle Corp ORCL lost 6.47%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.1% to 3,913.79 and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 4% to 2,568.09.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.2% to 24,213.72.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1.9% to 67,242.73.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX gained 0.1% to 77,616.40.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished flat. The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 10,498.29. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX climbed 0.2% to 25,114.25, and the France's CAC 40 lifted 0.3% to 8,364.65
