Market Announcements
Market Summary
New Zealand blue-chip stocks finished on Tuesday higher thanks to a rich seam of corporate news and residual gains in heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. At the close, the S&P/NZX 50 Index was up 0.83% or 111.88 points to 13,532.31 as buyers outnumbered fallers to outpace a sluggish start to trade. The index's week-long ride higher amid earnings season continued. The S&P/NZX 10 Index and S&P/NZX 20 Index also closed firmer.
Property for Industry, up 1.35% to $2.26, guided for a full-year 2026 cash dividend of 9.05 cents a share, up 5.2% on the year. Its first-half after-tax profit was $46.94 million, from $28.76m.
Mercury NZ, up 2.44% to $6.30, lifted underlying interim earnings, statutory profit and dividend on the back of strong hydro and lower costs. Of the other gentailers, Meridian Energy was up 2.32% to $5.74, with Contact Energy adding 1.19% to $9.33. Genesis Energy – after yesterday’s rise in first-half earnings and news of its $400m raise – fell 1.24% to $2.38.
Elsewhere ANZ Holdings was up 1.42% to $47.99. In Australia, the parent company’s former ANZ chief executive, Shayne Elliott, has quit his high-profile legal action against the lender, the bank said.
Vulcan Steel, down 0.13% to $7.90, said cost pressure remained as it increased sales but posted a decline in interim net profit to $8.3m, from $9.2m. PGG Wrightson was 0.86% lower at $2.30 as it posted a first-half net profit after tax of $17.3m, up 8% on the year. Revenue was up 9% to $619.4m.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 61 points higher at 9042.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has edged lower as a rout in tech stocks counterbalanced a rally in energy stocks and miners.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 3.7 points on Tuesday, down 0.04 per cent, to 9,022.3, as the broader All Ordinaries handed back 7.2 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 9,244.3.
Five of 11 local sectors ended the day lower, but a supersized 3.5 per cent slump in IT stocks weighed as concerns around artificial intelligence disruption dragged the segment to its lowest value since October 2023.
Miners and energy stocks ran in the other direction, thanks to a modest uptick in oil prices and as markets in China reopened after a bank holiday.
"Obviously, AI has turned into something that is a cause of concern and risk aversion, rather than something that is prompting FOMO (fear of missing out) and risk taking," he told AAP.
"But on the flipside we've got Chinese markets back online, and there seems to be a little bit of perkiness in commodity prices with the heavy hitters in the market doing some of that heavy lifting."
BHP shares topped $55 for the first time in history, before easing to $54.75 for a tidy 1.4 per cent gain, while Rio Tinto lost 1.1 per cent and Fortescue gained 1.1 per cent ahead of its half-year results announcement on Wednesday.
Gold miners eased from a promising start to a mixed finish, as the precious metal slipped to $US5,169 ($A7,324) an ounce.
Liontown was the top-200's best performer, with it and fellow lithium producer PLS each up more than eight per cent.
Energy stocks outperformed the broader market, thanks in part to a healthy 2.4 per cent surge in Woodside shares, after it touted record full-year production despite a drop in bottom-line and underlying profit.
Coal miners swung into the green during the session, while uranium stocks were mostly weaker or flat.
Consumer discretionary stocks remained under pressure amid a gloomy interest rate outlook and multiple earnings misses this season, the segment falling to 10-month lows.
Vehicle accessory company ARB was the top-200's worst performer, tanking 13 per cent after its first-half reported profit fell by more than a sixth.
Real estate trusts have also had a rough ride in the wake of the Reserve Bank's first interest rate hike in more than two years this month, down more than six per cent since the decision.
The heavyweight financials sector dipped 0.3 per cent, with mixed fortunes for the big four banks but a sharp dip in major insurers, as concerns about the potential for AI tools to disrupt the sector dragged names such as Suncorp (-0.9 per cent), IAG (-3.3 per cent) and QBE (-1.6 per cent) lower.
In earnings news, Southern Cross Media shares tumbled nine per cent after first-half cash earnings dipped 14.5 per cent, handing down results after the sudden exit of chief executive Jeff Howard on Monday night.
Industrials gained 0.5 per cent as Monadelphous Group rallied after it doubled its revenues in the first half to $95.2 million.
Fortescue, WiseTech, Tabcorp, Flight Centre and Domino's will hand down results on Wednesday.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.65 US cents, down from 70.74 US cents on Monday at 5pm, holding almost steady ahead of incoming January consumer price index figures.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell 3.7 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 9,022.3
The broader All Ordinaries lost 7.2 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 9,244.3
The NZX 50 added 17.44 points (0.13%) to 13549.75
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Australian Finance Group Ltd
Codan Limited
MyState Limited
Oohmedia Limited
Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Limited
Telstra Group Limited
The Lottery Corporation Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA added 0.8% to 49,174.50, the S&P 500 lifted 0.8% to 6,890.07 and the Nasdaq rose 1% to 22,863.68.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Keysight Technologies Inc KEYS surging 23.05%, Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD jumped 8.72%, and PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL lifted 6.72%.
The biggest decliners were Expeditors International of Washington Inc EXPD which dropped 7.22%, ONEOK Inc OKE fell 5.08%, and Molina Healthcare Inc MOH lost 5.06%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9% to 4,117.41 and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.2% to 2,713.38.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 1.8% to 26,590.32.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average lifted 0.9% to 57,321.09.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX fell 1.3% to 82,225.92.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished flat. The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 10,680.59. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX was unchanged at 24,986.25, and the France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 8,519.21
