Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket held up well Monday in the face of uncertainty and nervousness over the US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. Oil and gold prices spiked as a result. The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell to a morning low of 13,483.72 and then traded steadily before a late recovery, closing at 13,656.65 – down 66.32 points or 0.48%. On the Monday after the local results season, turnover remained healthy with 38 million shares worth $122.7m changing hands. There were 50 gainers and 90 decliners on the main board.
ASB senior economist Kim Mundy said, “When you don’t know what to expect, you can at the very least expect volatility in global financial markets.” He said initial impacts for NZ will be contained to financial market moves, but “we are wary for what this may mean for the near-term outlook for inflation. It remains too early to make any concrete calls, but the risks are clearly skewed to the upside”. At 6pm NZ time, the Brent Crude oil price was up 6.13% to US$77.34 (NZ$129.5) a barrel, creating an inflationary pressure. The safe-haven gold had risen 2.4% to US$5,357.97, and the NZ dollar was down slightly to US59.74c against the American greenback.
At home, leading stocks Ebos Group was down 55c or 2.3% to $23.41; Mainfreight declined $1.35 or 2.1% to $63; and Westpac eased $1.09 or 2.15% to $49.63
Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare finished the eventful day up 33c to $41.23 on trade worth $21.5m after reaching an intraday low of $39.782. Tourism Holdings fell 26c or 9.56% to $2.46 over concerns that the tourist trade may be interrupted. Fletcher Building was down 6c to $3.45, and Gentrack decreased 29c to $8.01.
Property for Industry, down 1.8c to $2.37, postponed an investor conference call and meetings about its proposed bond offer because of “the uncertain market conditions following the conflict escalation in the Middle East”.
Other decliners were Napier Port down 16c or 4.22% to $3.63; Vista Group falling 12c or 6.35% to $1.77; Serko decreasing 7c or 3.47% to $1.95; and global apple exporter Scales Corp shedding 16c or 2.54% to $6.15.
Oceania Healthcare was down 1.5c or 1.81% to 81.5c after telling the market it has sale agreements worth $50m in place for six small villages in Paeroa, Whitianga, Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington. Oceania is also planning four more divestments for $40m during the 2026 financial year, and the money will be used to reduce debt. All sites have been sold at or around carrying book value.
Fellow retirement village operators Ryman Healthcare fell 9c or 3.61% to $2.40, and Summerset was down 34c or 3.19% to $10.32. Amongst the gainers, Vulcan Steel increased 15c or 1.9% to $8.05; Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ gained 7c or 2.1% to $3.40; and Bremworth, under takeover offer, rose 9.5c or 14.18% to 76.5c. Retailer Hallenstein Glasson was up 22c or 2.18% to $10.32, and Briscoe was down 20c or 4.18% to $4.58.
Kiwi Property, down 1.5c to 99c, said in an investor update that sales at its retail centres were up 0.8% in December and pedestrian counts increased 1.3%. For the final quarter last year, sales were up 2% compared with the previous corresponding period.
Synlait Milk, unchanged at 48c, has obtained waivers and extensions to its syndicated bank facilities ahead of receiving funds from the sale of the North Island Pokeno plant on April 1.
Manuka Resources gained 1.8c or 11.46% to 17.5c after announcing a US$30m senior secured term facility with US global resource fund Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 20 points lower at 9137.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has clawed back early losses to scrape a record high as investors weigh the escalating conflict in the Middle East and markets tip hostilities will be "short and sharp".
The S&P/ASX200 rose 2.3 per cent points on Monday, up 0.03 per cent to 9,200.9, as the broader All Ordinaries lost five points, or 0.05 per cent, to 9,430.6.
The meagre gain was enough to top Friday's record high close, the top-200 closing above 9,200 for the first time.
The bourse had dipped sharply - as the first major stock market to open after US and Israeli air strikes killed Iran's supreme leader, sparking a wave of retaliatory strikes from the Islamic republic and its proxies - before gradually wiping losses in the afternoon.
"It's a difficult one, because it really depends on how long this conflict goes on for, but I think the market is pricing in somewhat a short and sharp conflict," CommSec equities strategist James Gruber told AAP.
"But if the conflict drags on for longer, oil prices will stay higher, petrol prices will be hit quite hard, which is also potentially likely to impact the inflation outlook as well, already concerningly high for the Reserve Bank and could further impact the cost of living for ordinary Australians."
Energy stocks rallied on the back of a more than nine per cent surge in oil prices as the Straight of Hormuz - a thoroughfare for about a fifth of global oil supply and a quarter of LNG shipments - was effectively closed.
While no formal closure has been declared, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued radio warnings to ships that Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are prepared to resume their Red Sea attacks on shipping containers.
Gold stocks rallied as investors leaned into safe haven assets, sending the precious metal 1.5 per cent higher to $US5,359 ($A7,561) an ounce, boosting the All Ordinaries gold sub-industry 4.7 per cent.
Consumer staples stocks jumped more than two per cent as liquidity rotated into the defensive sector, with an outsized 3.8 per cent move higher for Coles, as it rebounded from Friday's heavy post-earnings sell off.
Economists at financial services group AMP believed an extended conflict in Iran was possible, but limited action was more likely and a 60 per cent probability, chief economist Shane Oliver said.
"There are few examples of successful regime change from US interventions in recent decades," Dr Oliver said.
"Overall, we see the outbreak of war with Iran as negative for shares, but positive for oil and energy prices, gold and government bonds."
Australia's heavily-weighted financial sector dragged on the bourse, tumbling 1.8 per cent as all big four banks ticked lower.
IT stocks were hit hard as risk sentiment plummeted, the sector tumbling more than three per cent and compounding a weak lead from US tech stocks on Friday.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.77 US cents, slipping from 71.26 US cents on Friday at 5pm, tracking with major currencies as the greenback benefited from its safe-haven status.
Ultimately, the road ahead for markets was unclear, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"While assessing the precise path of the conflict ahead is impossible, it is important to recognise the significant risks, particularly if the regime were to lose command and control over the unpredictable Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps," Mr Sycamore said.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,200.9
The broader All Ordinaries fell five points, or 0.05 per cent, to 9,430.6
The NZX 50 Lost -20.91 points (-0.15%) to 13635.74
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Accent Group Limited
Dicker Data Limited
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited
Downer EDI Limited
Evolution Mining Limited
HMC Capital Limited
Jumbo Interactive Limited
Propel Funeral Partners
Qube Holdings Limited
REA Group Ltd
Redox Limited
Sims Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA slipped 0.1% to 48,904.78, the S&P 500 was unchanged at 6,881.62 and the Nasdaq lifted 0.4% to 22,748.86.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Northrop Grumman Corp NOC surging 5.91%, Marathon Petroleum Corp MPC jumped 5.88%, and Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR lifted 5.83%.
The biggest decliners were The AES Corp AES which dropped 17.77%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH fell 10.53%, and The Estee Lauder Companies Inc EL lost 8.47%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5% to 4,182.59 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.7% to 2,744.86.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 2.1% to 26,059.85.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 1.3% to 58,057.24.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 1.3% to 80,238.85.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index slipped 1.2% to 10,780.11. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX declined 2.6% to 24,638.00, and the France's CAC 40 fell 2.2% to 8,394.32
