Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket continued to stride forward with a gain of more than 1% yesterday following the gyrations of the latest company reporting season. The NZX 50 Index bounced early afternoon and traded strongly to again break through the 13,000 points mark. It closed at 13,070.45, up 139.72 points or 1.08% on volumes of 47.1 million share transactions worth $146.28m, with 79 gainers and 62 decliners.
Across the Tasman, the ASX 200 Index was down 48.9 points or 0.54% to 8,924.2 points at 6pm NZ time. The ASX 200 has risen 9.5% so far this year, while the NZX 50 is almost level.
On the local market, Ebos rallied 67c or 2.05% to $33.28, and wine exporter Delegat Group rebounded 18c or 4.44% to $4.23.
Port of Tauranga is running at a four-year high after increasing 17c or 2.41% to $7.23 on broker upgrades, as well, following a strong result. Mainfreight increased $2.50 or 4.21% to $61.85; market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 35c to $36.95; Infratil gained 13c to $11.49; Spark gained 4c to $2.62; Tourism Holdings rose 9c or 3.98% to $2.35; and Winton Land was up 5c or 2.43% to $2.11.
Retirement village stocks Ryman Healthcare and Summerset increased 7c or 2.93% to $2.46 and 20c or 1.82% to $11.19, respectively. In the property sector, Argosy was up 3c or 2.54% to $1.21. Gentrack declined 45c or 4.32% to $9.96 on small volume.
Meridian Energy was up 13c or 2.28% to $5.84 after launching a $250m, 6.5-year green bond, with the ability to accept oversubscriptions of up to $100m. The green bonds are expected to be issued on Sept 11. Fellow energy stocks Mercury and Contact increased 7c to $6.63 and 18c or 1.99% to $9.22, respectively.
A2 Milk was down 2c to $10.68 after completing the purchase of the Pōkeno manufacturing plant, which has two Chinese-label infant formula product registrations. The registrations will be relaunched under the a2 Milk brand within 12-18 months. A2 Milk said the acquisition was a pivotal step in executing its supply chain transformation and returning value to shareholders through an intended $300m special dividend, subject to the China label regulatory approvals and completion of the Mataura Valley Milk divestment.
AoFrio, a provider of Internet of Things solutions and energy-efficient motors to the food and beverage industry, was the day’s leading riser, jumping 1.4c or 20.59% to 8.2c. AoFrio told the market it expected to deliver record revenue of about $86m in the 2025 financial year (a 7.9% increase), a $1m improvement in operating earnings (ebitda) to $3.5m, and does not require additional capital to fund planned activities.
Amongst the small-cap stocks, ArborGen rose 1.7c or 15.45% to 12.7c, and Bremworth declined 4c or 6.35% to 59c. Bremworth reported a 10.7% increase in full-year revenue to $88.9m and an operating earnings (ebitda) loss of $13.2m compared with a $4.7m loss in the previous year.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 8 points lower at 8886.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian share market has started the new month on the wrong foot, dragged down by the big banks and major miners, while gold surged to a new all-time high following another post by Donald Trump.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday fell 45.4 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 8,927.7, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 46.2 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 9,196.8.
Gold topped its April 22 record high of $US3,509, climbing $US44 to change hands as high as $US3,552 in Monday morning trading.
By late afternoon the yellow metal was just under that, at $3,548.
IG analyst Tony Sycamore said the rally was prompted by a social media post from the US president, who claimed outlandishly that prices in the United States were "WAY DOWN, with virtually no inflation".
The president's remarks come in the context of his campaign to dramatically lower US interest rates, which the Federal Reserve has been slow-walking due to concerns about inflation. Lower rates have historically sent gold prices higher.
The move sent goldminers soaring, with Northern Star climbing 6.4 per cent, Evolution adding 5.1 per cent and Genesis Minerals advancing 11.5 per cent.
Much of the rest of the heavyweight mining sector was in the red.
Fortescue fell 4.0 per cent to $18.52, BHP dropped 1.1 per cent to $42.70 and Rio Tinto retreated 1.3 per cent to $113.99.
Overall, seven of the ASX's 11 sectors finished higher, with consumer staples, telecommunications, materials and utilities slightly higher.
Technology was the biggest mover, dropping 2.7 per cent as Wisetech Global retreated 3.5 per cent and Xero lost 4.1 per cent.
All of the big four banks were down, with CBA sliding 0.8 per cent to $168.95, NAB dropping 0.6 per cent to $42.54, Westpac diving 0.9 per cent to $38.25 and ANZ dipping 0.3 per cent to $33.57.
The Australian dollar was buying 65.41 US cents, from 65.35 US cents at 5pm on Friday.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 dropped 45.4 points on Monday, or 0.51 per cent, to 8,927.7
The broader All Ordinaries fell 46.2 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 9,196.8.
The NZX 50 Lost -6.31 points (-0.05%) to 13064.14
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Collins Foods Limited
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited
Codan Limited
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited
Endeavour Group Limited
EQT Holdings Limited
Iluka Resources Limited
MA Financial Group Limited
Northern Star Resources Ltd
Santos Limited
Sigma Healthcare Limited
Wesfarmers Limited
Woolworths Group Limited
Worley Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 0.2% to 45,544.88, the S&P 500 declined 0.6% to 6,460.26 and the Nasdaq fell 1.2% to 21,455.55.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Autodesk Inc ADSK surging 9.07%, The Cooper Companies Inc COO jumped 4.37%, and JM Smucker Co SJM lifted 3.61%.
The biggest decliners were Dell Technologies Inc DELL which dropped 8.88%, Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA fell 7.14%, and Oracle Corp ORCL lost 5.90%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5% to 3,875.53 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.9% to 2,464.83.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 2.2% to 25,617.42.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1.2% to 42,188.79.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX added 0.7% to 80,364.49.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.1% to 9,196.34. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX added 0.6% to 24,037.33, and the France's CAC 40 gained 0.1% to 7,707.90
