Market Announcements
Market Summary
Skellerup hit an all-time high on an earnings upgrade, but the New Zealand sharemarket was down a further 0.5% yesterday amid uncertainty in the Middle East. The S&P/NZX 50 Index was in gradual decline for most of the day, then rose late and closed at 13,651.22, down 71.98 points, or 0.52%, after reaching an intraday low of 13,571.85. There were 62 gainers and 75 decliners on the main board, with 29.8 million shares worth 115.5m changing hands.
US President Donald Trump suddenly announced a 20% toll on all non‑Iranian cargo transiting the Hormuz Strait and reinstated a blockade targeting only Iranian ships and their customers. Brent Crude oil surged more than 9% – the biggest single-day gain since 2020 – following the announcement, and at 6pm NZ time it was trading at US$84.21 (NZ$145.31) a barrel.
At home, the NZIER’s Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) for the second quarter ending June showed a partial rebound in sentiment, with activity indicators soft overall and cost and pricing indicators pointing to acute inflationary pressures. ANZ said the signals on costs and pricing will be of some concern to the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ), but perhaps not a complete surprise. Confidence in the general business situation rebounded from plus 1 to plus 12, and reported past trading activity lifted one point to plus 1, suggesting annual growth will rise from 1.5% to 1.9%. Pricing and cost indicators intensified significantly. Expected selling prices increased 11 points to 54, and expected costs rose another 9 points to 54. ANZ said the RBNZ’s monetary policy will want to see these indicators recede quickly.
Skellerup Holdings, a global supplier of industrial, medical and agricultural rubber and plastic products, surged 37c or 5.67% to a new record of $6.89 after increasing its full-year 2026 net profit forecast to $64m-$65m, up from $57m-$62m. Its net profit in the previous year was $54.5m. Skellerup said sales in the US, its largest market, had been higher than anticipated, as was the seasonal peak of dairy consumables in NZ.
The NZX’s four leading stocks were weaker. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 17c to $39.75; Meridian Energy declined 9c, or 1.87%, to $5.58; Infratil declined 29c, or 1.87%, to $15.18; and Auckland International Airport shed 29c, or 3.29%, to $8.53. Serko fell 6c or 4.14% to $1.39; Scott Technology declined 9c or 3.28% to $2.65; The Warehouse was down 2c or 3.36% to 57.5c; Bremworth decreased 3c or 4.11% to 70c; and Move Logistics shed 1.8c or 9% to 18.2c. Ebos Group added 21c to $22.58; Scales Corp was up 12c, or 1.81%, to $6.75; Tower gained 2.5c to $1.87; Vista Group increased 6c, or 2.55%, to $2.41; Steel & Tube rose 2c, or 6.06%, to 35c; and Synlait improved 1.5c, or 4%, to 39c.
Ryman Healthcare, up 2c to $2.14, reported 325 sales – 265 resale and 60 new – for the quarter ending June. Resales were in line with the same period last year, and net resale contract volumes increased by 7%. New sales stock was reduced by 65 units to 414, and Ryman is on track to meet its building guidance of 157-168 units and aged care beds. Aged care demand was strong, with occupancy across the 4,700 beds at 96.1%.
Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge, unchanged at 27.5c, told the market that commercial Cxbladder tests in the Asia-Pacific region increased 12.9% to 1,158 in the first quarter of full-year 2027, up from 1026 in the previous quarter. Regional cash burn reduced to $170,000 for the quarter, an improvement of 9% on the previous quarter. Total laboratory throughput for the first quarter was 5,116, down 8.3% from 5,582 in the previous quarter, mainly due to fewer clinical trials.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 17 points lower at 8783.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has clawed back some early losses to end the session flat despite oil trading at one-month highs as the US and Iran ramp up attacks in the Persian Gulf.
The S&P/ASX200 traded flat at 8,808.5 on Tuesday as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 1.7 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 9,001.3.
Energy and utilities stocks outperformed the market, while an uplift in gold, copper and iron ore futures helped support the raw materials sector following an early dip after US President Donald Trump threatened to levy tolls on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The turnaround in materials looks more like hesitation after the early sell-off than a full recovery in confidence," Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen told AAP.
Markets could face more volatility before reaching firmer ground, because neither the geopolitical risk nor the inflation outlook had reached a turning point.
"Tonight's US CPI and tomorrow's China GDP figures are the next pieces of the puzzle, but even supportive data may only calm the market rather than fully clear the storm," Ms Chen said.
Woodside Santos, coal producers and refinery stocks charged higher as Brent crude rose to $US85 a barrel, up roughly 13 per cent since Friday.
Gold stocks helped lift the materials sector, as the precious metal firmed to $US4,027 ($A5,809) an ounce, lifting the sub-index 0.6 per cent.
Genesis Minerals and Vault Minerals each gained more than 1.6 per cent after announcing they would join forces to become Australia's third-largest gold producer in a $12.6 billion merger.
Mega miners were mixed, with BHP gaining 0.6 per cent to $58.71 and Rio Tinto down 0.3 per cent to $163.61, despite iron ore futures and copper prices rising to two and three-week highs respectively.
The heavyweight financials sector dragged on the exchange as the big four banks ran into profit-taking after performing strongly since early June.
Retail stocks were mixed, as Woolies and Coles led staples 0.8 per cent into the red, while discretionaries edged 0.4 per cent higher as Westpac and NAB's consumer and business confidence surveys ticked up in June.
In company news, Steadfast's shares improved after it announced an Amwins-led consortium had added KKR to its ranks in a $6.7 billion bid for the insurance broker, extending the group's deal exclusivity by four weeks.
Light & Wonder outperformed the top-200 with a more than eight per cent rally after reaffirming its 2026 financial year earnings guidance.
Endeavour shares sold off after the alcohol and hospitality giant ousted Oaktree chief winemaker David Bicknell as part of a broader restructure to exit its wine businesses.
The Australian dollar is buying 69.29 US cents, up from 69.28 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
After two ultimately flat days for the local bourse, investors will be closely watching US inflation data due overnight, while China's GDP data due Wednesday afternoon has the potential to impact local miners, still licking their wounds from a month of selling.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 traded flat at 8,808.5
The broader All Ordinaries lost 1.7 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 9,001.3
The NZX 50 added 11.95 points (0.09%) to 13663.17
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA was unchanged at 52,508.27, the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 7,543.59 and the Nasdaq gained 0.9% to 26,107.01.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were CrowdStrike Holdings Inc CRWD surging 12.14%, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS jumped 9.00%, and Carvana Co CVNA lifted 8.29%.
The biggest decliners were International Business Machines Corp IBM which dropped 25.20%, Biogen Inc BIIB fell 8.21%, and HCA Healthcare Inc HCA lost 6.94%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.4% to 3,967.13 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 2.3% to 2,626.15.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.5% to 24,340.73.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7% to 67,743.50.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 0.7% to 77,054.94.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3% to 10,529.39. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX gained 0.1% to 25,147.03, and the France's CAC 40 was unchanged at 8,366.85
