Market Announcements
Market Summary
New Zealand share prices ended firmer on light volume Friday as investors headed to the sidelines before next month’s reporting season. The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended up 49.96 points or 0.39% at 12,855.10, with 26.1 million shares, worth $94.6m trading. There were 69 rises and 66 falls on the main board. This followed Wall Street’s S&P 500 setting its fourth record close in a row as earnings from Alphabet pointed to artificial intelligence as a key growth catalyst.
The main influences on the local S&P/NZX50 index were infrastructure investor Infratil, up 26c or 2.3% at $11.45, and medical supplies distributor Ebos, up 41c at $41.17. On the downside, utilities software provider Gentrack dropped by 61c or 5.5% to $10.52 after announcing that it had been informed by an Australian customer that it was no longer in the frame for replacing its current platform.
Sky Network TV fell 8c to $3.06 after spiking higher earlier in the week on news that it would buy the troubled Discovery NZ for $1. Among the smaller caps, takeover target Metro Performance Glass (market cap $9m) gained 0.3 of a cent to 5c. Competitor Viridian NZ’s 8c per share offer for Metro Glass is before the Commerce Commission, which issued a “Statement of Issues” relating to the application. “[The] commission has identified potential adverse competitive effects arising from a loss of competition between Viridian and Metro in glass processing, supply and installation markets where they are close competitors,” it said.
Looking ahead, annual meetings this week for Ryman Healthcare and Mainfreight should give investors some clues as to how the two leading stocks are tracking in the current financial year. Later in the week, second-quarter results from Apple, Amazon and Microsoft – part of America’s so-called Magnificent Seven – are due out. In the big picture, the ongoing spat between US President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell continues to be a concern for the financial markets as investors worry about the US central bank’s independence.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 19 points higher at 8582.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian share market has lost ground after slightly hawkish comments by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, while the local currency climbed to an eight-month high.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday dropped 27.8 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 8,709.4, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 22 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 8,979.4.
The ASX200 was flat about midday and then fell after Ms Bullock delivered an address at a fundraiser, speaking on the RBA's dual mandate of addressing inflation and employment.
NAB head of market economics Tapas Strickland said the most interesting thing about the speech was Ms Bullock's comment that "some tightness in the labour market" remained, despite unemployment rising in June.
Mr Strickland said the speech leaned slightly hawkish and showed that an August rate cut was not a done deal.
A second-quarter inflation readout that will be released on July 30 would be important, he said.
The Australian dollar, which had already moved above 66 US cents for the first time since November 8 following weakness in the greenback, climbed further after Ms Bullock's remarks.
Close to 5pm the Aussie was buying 66.16 US cents, from 65.65 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday.
NAB economist Pat Bustamante said risk currencies including the Aussie had benefited from a risk-on tone overnight after a US-Japan trade deal eased fears of a global trade war.
Nine of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower, with utilities flat and health care gaining 1.0 per cent.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Bapcor plunged 28.4 per cent to a five-year low of $3.66 after the Autobarn owner posted disappointing sales in May and June, said it would write off $43 million in assets and announced the resignations of three directors. No reason was given.
On the flip side, Pexa Group soared 16.5 per cent to a nearly three-year high of $15.09 after the digital property exchange announced leading UK bank NatWest had agreed to facilitate future remortages on Pexa's platform.
In the financial sector, Macquarie dropped 5.1 per cent to $213.84 as the investment bank held its annual general meeting in Sydney.
It announced a drop in first-quarter net profit and the departure of long-serving chief financial officer Alex Harvey - and also narrowly received a "first strike" from shareholders disgruntled over perceived excessive executive pay despite compliance failings.
As for the big four retail banks, ANZ dropped 0.4 per cent to $30.44, while the other three were in the green.
NAB climbed 1.2 per cent to $37.66, Westpac advanced 0.5 per cent to $33.29 and CBA edged 0.1 per cent higher at $173.47.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP dropped 0.6 per cent to $41.60, Rio Tinto added 0.3 per cent to $119.86 and Fortescue rose 4.3 per cent to $19 as the iron ore giant announced record shipments in 2024/25.
Elsewhere in the sector, goldminers were in the red as the yellow metal changed hands at $US3,438, down about $16 from Wednesday.
Northern Star dropped 2.4 per cent, Evolution lost 2.7 per cent and Regis Resources retreated 2.2 per cent.
Calix Limited rocketed 28.6 per cent to a six-month high of 67.5 cents after the environmental technology company announced the Australian Renewable Energy Agency had awarded it a $44.9 million grant to fund its "green iron" demonstration plant.
PNG copper miner Bougainville Copper soared 12.4 per cent to a one-and-a-half-year high of 72.5 cents, for reasons not immediately clear.
ON THE ASX:
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday dropped 27.8 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 8,709.4
The broader All Ordinaries fell 22 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 8,979.4.
The NZX 50 added 5.91 points (0.05%) to 12811.04
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA declined 0.7% to 44,693.91, the S&P 500 lifted 0.1% to 6,363.35 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2% to 21,057.96.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were West Pharmaceutical Services Inc WST surging 23.08%, United Rentals Inc URI jumped 8.94%, and Labcorp Holdings Inc LH lifted 6.87%.
The biggest decliners were LKQ Corp LKQ which dropped 18.03%, Dow Inc DOW fell 17.63%, and Molina Healthcare Inc MOH lost 16.70%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7% to 3,605.73 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.2% to 2,203.09.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.5% to 25,667.18.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.6% to 41,826.34.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX dropped 0.7% to 82,184.17.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.8% to 9,138.37. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX rose 0.2% to 24,295.93, and the France's CAC 40 slipped 0.4% to 7,818.28
