Market Announcements
Market Summary
Markets rebounded yesterday with New Zealand gaining more than 0.5% as oil prices steadied and soothed fears that an energy shock would increase inflation and slow economic growth. The S&P/NZX 50 Index had strong momentum in the afternoon and closed at 13,617.89, up 86.77 points or 0.64% after hitting an intraday low of 13,536.74. There were 91 gainers and 43 decliners on the main board with a turnover of 31.73 million shares worth $121.64m.
Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said it was good to see green on the screen again. “The US markets were positive and we followed in kind,” he said. “Oil prices have come off the boil. The United States alleviated the pressure by indicating it will provide (maritime) insurance and safe passage for oil tankers through the Hormuz Strait. “It calmed some nerves that the oil price wasn’t going to US$100 a barrel and more. The worst-case scenario was that if oil hit $150, then inflation would tick up 1% or 2% and the Reserve Bank would have to raise interest rates,” Sullivan said. “The oil price is still elevated but is stabilising, though the geopolitical uncertainty is not good. What the US’s exit strategy from Iran is, we don’t know. But the markets have bounced quite nicely.”
Brent Crude oil was trading at US$84.25 a barrel, up 3.5%, and it hasn’t been more than $85 during the turbulent week. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.49% to 48,739.41 points; S&P 500 increased 0.78% to 6,869.5; and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.29% to 22,807.48. Investors were cheered by better-than-expected jobs and services data. Private sector companies added 63,000 workers in February, above the estimate of 48,000. The ISM services index lifted 2.3 points to 56.1 in February, ahead of the forecast of 53.5.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.51% to 8,946.4 points at 6pm NZ time. Further afield, the Japanese Nikkei 225 had rebounded 2.27% to 55,477.94 points; the Hong Kong Hang Seng had gained 0.84% to 25,462.3; and the South Korean Kospi Index had risen 9.76% to 5,590.79 after two days of sharp falls.
At home, Tāiko Critical Minerals - which is mining minerals and heavy metals on the West Coast - made a strong debut on the NZX, doubling its listing price after climbing 11c or 100% to 22c. The company has resource consents to mine on private farmland at Barrytown Flats north of Greymouth and build a minerals separation plant at Rapahoe. It is focusing on producing critical minerals of ilmenite, zircon and garnet for export. Tāiko is the seventh mining stock listed on the NZX. The others are Chatham Rock Phosphate, Minerals Exploration, Manuka Resources, New Talisman Gold Mines, Rua Gold, and Santana Minerals which gained 3c or 2.96% to $1.045.
Gentrack rose 32c or 4.19% to $7.95; a2 Milk increased 41c or 3.59% to $11.84; Fletcher Building gained 8c or 2.33% to $3.51; Infratil was up 14c to $10.89; Freightways added 21c to $14; and Vista Group rebounded 6c or 3.26% to $1.90.
The property sector was stronger, improving 1.7% on the NZX. Investore increased 2.5c or 2.3% to $1.11; Precinct was up 4.19c or 3.92% to $1.11; Argosy gained 2c or 1.75% to $1.16; and Property for Industry added 5c or 2.15% to $2.38.
In the energy sector, Contact gained 15c or 1.61% to $9.45; Meridian was up 10.4c or 1.87% to $5.67; and Genesis improved 4c or 1.81% to $2.25.
In the retirement village sector, Summerset added 24c or 2.35% to $10.45; Ryman Healthcare was up 3c to $2.32; and Oceania Healthcare gained 2c or 2.52% to 81.5c.
Other gainers were Port of Tauranga up 23c or 2.87% to $8.24; Turners Automotive increasing 22c or 2.64% to $8.56; Vulcan Steel collecting 16c or 2.08% to $7.87; Sky TV adding 12c or 3.57% to $3.48; and Delegat Group up 12c or 2.8% to $4.40. Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare decreased 36c to $40.74; Auckland International Airport was down 14c to $8.80; CDL Investments fell 5.5c or 6.75% to 76c; and Move Logistics declined 3.5c or 14.29% to 21c. Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge gained 0.007c or 3.54% to 20.5c after telling the market that Townsville University Hospital in Australia has begun Cxbladder testing under a nurse-led clinical programme. California electronics company Bourns has increased its stake in Rakon to 64.16% after making a takeover bid at $1.55 a share. Rakon was up 0.005c to $1.465.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 125 points lower at 8801.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australian shares have rebounded to snap two-session losing streak, as dip-buying investors sought bargains after more than $60 billion was wiped from the bourse during the previous day's trading.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 39.1 points on Thursday, up 0.44 per cent, to 8,940.3, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 47.8 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 9,164.9.
Despite the uptick, the top-200 is still down 2.8 per cent from its recent record high and oil prices have continued higher after Iran denied rumours its officials had sought de-escalation via diplomatic backchannels and on reports of fresh Iranian air strikes on Israel.
While US promises of naval support to oil tankers in the Straight of Hormuz had done little to stem surging crude prices, markets were lending credence to talk of de-escalation, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"They've been absolutely pummelled and it certainly makes sense to put the feelers out to find where the off-ramp or de-escalation point is," he told AAP.
"And if you were one of the part of the regime which reached out to find out where the US is on this situation, you're probably not going to admit it, but it could also be the US putting it out there to calm everybody down, so we really don't know."
Local energy stocks recovered after dipping in the morning, as Santos shares gained one per cent but Woodside fell by a similar margin.
Coal producers continued to push higher and most uranium stocks rebounded, except Deep Yellow as it denied reports it was looking to raise more capital.
Gold stocks were under pressure, weighing on the basic materials sector, which dropped 0.5 per cent leading four of 11 local sectors into the red.
The dip in local gold miners came as investors weighed conflict de-escalation against continuation, which would reduce safe-haven buying on one hand and inflation, higher interest rates and less central bank gold-buying on the other.
Despite the tough day for producers, the precious metal edged higher during the session to $US5,173 ($A7,333) an ounce.
Elsewhere in mining, BHP shares dropped almost one per cent to $55.15 after going ex-dividend, although Rio Tinto managed to swing higher despite locking in its shareholder kickback.
The Commonwealth Bank did the same, rising 0.4 per cent to $172.66, lifting the heavily-weighted sector with the help of three of its big four competitors and investment giant Macquarie Group.
Health care stocks rebounded almost two per cent, as investors looked for bargains in the beaten down sector and as biotech giant CSL rallied on the back of a fresh Canadian government contract.
IT stocks also benefited from dip-buying, rallying 4.6 per cent and following a strong lead from US tech stocks overnight.
The consumer discretionary group missed out on improving confidence, ending the day just below flat as January consumer spending came in weaker than forecast.
In company news, Casino operator Star Entertainment ended the day flat after the Federal Court declared former boss Matthias Bekier failed to disclose details of suspicious conduct by junket operators in 2018 and 2019.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.41 US cents, up from 69.99 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm, with the Aussie benefiting from the tentative recovery in risk sentiment.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 39.1 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 8,940.3
The broader All Ordinaries gained 47.8 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 9,164.9
The NZX 50 Lost -61.32 points (-0.45%) to 13556.57
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Ampol Limited
Aussie Broadband Limited
Objective Corporation Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 1.6% to 47,954.74, the S&P 500 dropped 0.6% to 6,830.71 and the Nasdaq fell 0.3% to 22,748.99.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were The Trade Desk Inc TTD surging 18.38%, Expedia Group Inc EXPE jumped 13.47%, and Booking Holdings Inc BKNG lifted 8.34%.
The biggest decliners were Ciena Corp CIEN which dropped 12.88%, Corning Inc GLW fell 6.97%, and Southwest Airlines Co LUV lost 6.89%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lifted 0.6% to 4,108.57 and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.2% to 2,672.82.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 0.3% to 25,321.34.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average lifted 1.9% to 55,278.06.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX gained 1.1% to 80,015.90.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 1.5% to 10,413.94. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX dropped 1.6% to 23,815.75, and the France's CAC 40 declined 1.5% to 8,045.80
