Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket closed up on Wednesday after a better-than-expected result from Mainfreight, as well as buoyed expectations ahead of Infratil’s result today. The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 0.49% or 67.182 points to 13,671.73 after 30.5 million shares worth $131.2 million were traded. The S&P/NZX 20 index was up 0.55%, closing at 7,830.15 points, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 13,101.35 after rising 0.76%. There were 66 gainers on the main board and 60 decliners.
Mainfreight released its half-year result for the six months to September. Its share price rallied 6.80% or $4.01 to $63.00, despite reporting an 18.5% fall in its net profit to $93.4m. Mainfreight said it was well positioned to take advantage of improving economic conditions across its international network, with the trading performance across the NZ divisions improving as the half year had progressed.
Kiwi Property Group drew attention from investors, lifting 0.47% to $1.07 on high volume of 2.4 million shares after announcing it had signed a conditional land deal for a second Costco Wholesale shop to be built at South Auckland’s Drury.
Infratil also rose ahead of its half-year result due out on Thursday, with its share price lifting 0.56% or 7c to $12.67 on turnover worth $14.59m.
Elsewhere, Freightways’ share price fell 2.73% or 39c to $13.91, while Goodman Property Trust fell 0.97% or 2c to $2.05.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 22 points higher at 8823.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has ended the day lower after a mining sector lift could not counterbalance a tech sector dump and ongoing weakness in Commonwealth Bank shares.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 19.3 points on Wednesday, down 0.22 per cent, to 8,799.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 19 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 9,079.4.
"It's two straight days of losses now, but there were more winners than losers on the market, and we've still dropped back. It's largely due to some pretty significant declines from some of the banks, a few other stocks and tech did quite poorly," CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian told AAP.
CBA shares are down more than nine per cent in two sessions after Tuesday's quarterly update, wiping more than $16 billion from its market value and sending its share price below $160 for the first time since April.
"It still has been the best of the banks, essentially for years, as far as share price performance goes and it does have the highest PE (price to earnings ratio) so it's under some pressure at the moment," Mr Daghlian said.
Australia's tech sector tumbled 3.3 per cent as family tracking app Life360 cratered more than 13 per cent on weaker than expected customer growth, while names like NextDC (-2.5 per cent), Xero (-2.2 per cent) and Technology One (-2.0 per cent) also sold off.
Pokie maker Aristocrat Leisure dragged on discretionary spending stocks, tumbling 7.5 per cent to $59.42 after its full-year result failed to impress.
Raw materials stocks pushed higher on the back of gold producer strength and a 2.3 per cent rally in Rio Tinto shares to $132.47 after it kicked off operations at its massive Simandou mine and infrastructure project in Guinea.
Iron ore futures also edged higher on hopes of potential stimulus measures in China, giving BHP and Fortescue a lift in the second half of the session.
Spot gold is trading hands just above $US4,106 ($A6,291) an ounce, slightly lower over the session but producers such as Northern Star, Evolution and Newmont all ended the session higher.
Rare earths and critical minerals plays were mixed, however Liontown (+6.1 per cent) and Mineral Resources (+9.2 per cent) rocketed higher in light of fresh deals.
Energy stocks gained one per cent as oil prices rose on the back of US sanctions on Russian oil producers, supporting Woodside (1.3 per cent) and Santos (+1.7 per cent), while natural gas futures jumped to eight-month highs.
The defensive consumer staples sector was Wednesday's best performer, up 1.1 per cent as Coles and Woolworths edged higher, while Endeavour has rallied more than five per cent in two sessions since snagging Supercheap Auto boss Benjamin Ward to head up Dan Murphy's.
Travel company Flight Centre jumped soared seven per cent higher in early trade on the back of a guidance uplift, but settled to a cruising altitude of around one per cent above break-even for the session.
ARN Media shares tumbled more than ten per cent after it projected a 25 per cent hit to annual earnings due to advertising market weakness and economic uncertainty.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.29 US cents, up from 65.18 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.
All eyes will be on Thursday's Australian jobs data, despite little to no hope it will significantly move the dial on the Reserve Bank's next interest rate cut, which isn't expected until the second quarter 2026, if at all.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 lost 19.3 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8,799.5
The broader All Ordinaries fell 19 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 9,079.4
The NZX 50 added 45.90 points (0.33%) to 13717.63
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Arena REIT
AUB Group Limited
Catalyst Metals Limited
Greatland Resources Limited
Guzman Y Gomez Limited
Ingenia Communities Group
Pacific Current Group Limited
PEXA Group Limited
Strike Energy Limited
Superloop Limited
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
ANZ Group Holdings Limited
Dicker Data Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA lifted 0.7% to 48,254.82, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to 6,850.92 and the Nasdaq fell 0.3% to 23,406.46.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD surging 9.00%, Albemarle Corp ALB jumped 6.20%, and United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL lifted 5.29%.
The biggest decliners were Paramount Skydance Corp PSKY which dropped 6.99%, Qnity Electronics Inc Q fell 4.73%, and SLB Ltd SLB lost 4.09%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.1% to 4,000.14 and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 0.4% to 2,507.84.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 0.8% to 26,922.73.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.4% to 51,063.31.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX gained 0.7% to 84,466.51.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.1% to 9,911.42. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX rose 1.2% to 24,381.46, and the France's CAC 40 added 1% to 8,241.24
