Market Announcements
Market Summary
The retirement village stocks stole the show as the New Zealand sharemarket ended a volatile week with a gain of nearly 1% on Friday. The S&P/NZX 50 Index climbed strongly in the late afternoon and closed at 12,991.31, up 113.24 points or 0.88%. In a week of big swings, the index finished ahead by nearly 0.3% and is down more than 4% for the year to date. There were 95 gainers and 43 decliners on the main board with 38.2 million shares worth $153.7m changing hands.
Oceania increased 6c or 9.23% to 71c after reporting a 3% increase in full-year revenue to $267.14m and a fall in net profit to $119,000 from $30.4m, reflecting lower property revaluation. Operating earnings (ebitda) rose 20% to a record $97.7m, and net debt was reduced by $121.4m to $506.7m. Oceania’s net tangible assets per share were $1.62, up 7.3%. Sales volumes reached 603 units, up 16%, with a gross value of $375m. Fellow retirement stocks Summerset rose 39c or 5.34% to $7.70, and Ryman Healthcare gained 13c or 6.34% to $2.18. Oceania’s share price is down 24% so far this year, Ryman, which reports on Tuesday, has declined 26%, and Summerset has fallen nearly 36%.
Mainfreight increased $2.38 or 4.27% to $58.13 ahead of its latest result on Thursday. Serko was up 9c or 5.81% to $1.64; Tourism Holdings increased 18c or 8.96% to $2.19; AFT Pharmaceuticals gained 8c or 2.11% to $3.88; Hallenstein Glasson added 21c or 2.15% to $10; and Delegat Group improved 9c or 2.42% to $3.81.
Infratil, reporting on Tuesday along with Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, was unchanged at $15.90. Fisher and Paykel was up 26c to $34.10. Turners Automotive was down 18c or 2.1% to $8.40; Tower declined 6c or 3.12% to $1.86; and Vista Group shed 5c or 2.15% to $2.28. Fletcher Building, up 5c to $3.06, told the market the sale of its construction division to Paris-based VINCI will be completed on May 29 at an increased price of $334m, up from $315.6m. The sale price rose after Higgins Contractors signed the East Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Hawke’s Bay integrated delivery contracts.
Investore, which owns bulk retail buildings, was up 2c or 1.94% to $1.05 after earlier reporting a 5.15% increase in revenue to $65.45m and a 17.33% drop in net profit to $31.7m for the 12 months ending March. The portfolio value increased 14% to $1.1b, and net tangible assets per share were $1.62, up from $1.160. Elsewhere in the sector, Property for Industry was up 11c or 4.72% to $2.44, and Kiwi Property was up 0.53% to 94c.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 35 points higher at 8681.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Optimism for a Persian Gulf peace deal has supported the Australian stock market's best day since early April, helped by a surprise uptick in unemployment that softened the odds of further interest rate hikes.
The S&P/ASX200 surged 125.1 points on Thursday, up 1.47 per cent, to 8,621.7, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 123.8 points, or 1.42 per cent, to 8,840.8.
"Today's ASX rebound is a classic relief rally after weeks of heavy selling, with strong Wall Street leads, Nvidia-driven tech optimism and a slight cooling in geopolitical tension all arriving at the same time - giving the market the oxygen it was waiting for," Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen told AAP.??
"The weaker April jobs report added the final piece, taking some heat out of near-term Reserve Bank hike expectations and giving equities a cleaner runway to bounce."
Strong rallies in banks, miners and real estate trusts led the market higher, with eight of 11 local sectors improving.
Energy and utilities stocks underperformed, as the Brent crude benchmark dipped to $US106 a barrel from more than $US111 on Wednesday.
Woodside fell two per cent, while coal miners were mixed and uranium stocks clawed back some recent losses.
Mega miners Rio Tinto and BHP each soared more than three per cent as copper prices improved but iron ore eased to less than $US109 a tonne.
Gold miners broadly improved as the precious metal hovered about $US4,535 ($A6,365) an ounce, while Northern Star tumbled two per cent after managing director Stuart Tonkin announced his retirement after almost 10 years at the helm.
Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Rare Earths charged more than five per cent higher after green-lighting its flagship ore-to-oxide Nolans Project in the NT.
James Hardie shares surged by a similar amount after its sales swelled by a quarter between its 2025 and 2026 financial years.
The big four banks and Macquarie all carved out gains after coming under pressure earlier in the week, with NAB and Westpac out front with advances of two per cent or more.
Real estate trusts gained more than two per cent in a broad sector upswing, buoyed by improving risk sentiment and after the soft jobs print moderated investors' fears of interest rate hikes.
Rates markets now tip one more increase by year-end.??
"Consequently, the RBA's terminal rate is now viewed at 4.60 per cent - a significant drop from the 4.85 per cent peak we saw at the end of last month," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
Industrials stocks bounced 1.6 per cent as peace deal hopes launched Qantas and Virgin Australia higher, while Brambles clawed back some of the week's almost 25 per cent post-guidance-downgrade wipe-out.
Consumer discretionaries bounced 1.3 per cent with strong performances from Temple & Webster, Domino's Pizza and JB Hi-Fi, despite cost pressures clouding the segment's outlook.
In company news, piercing chain Skin Kandy rallied 6.8 per cent to $2.35 as it made its ASX debut.
Buy-now, pay-later offering Zip Co jumped 2.7 per cent to $2.26 after winning the right to continue using the name Zip following settlement of a trademark stoush with mortgage lender Firstmac.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.13 US cents, up from 71.02 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 125.1 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 8,621.7
The broader All Ordinaries gained 123.8 points, or 1.42 per cent, to 8,840.8
The NZX 50 added 42.21 points (0.33%) to 12920.28
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA lifted 0.6% to 50,285.66, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 7,445.72 and the Nasdaq added 0.1% to 26,293.10.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Ralph Lauren Corp RL surging 13.79%, International Business Machines Corp IBM jumped 12.47%, and Lumentum Holdings Inc LITE lifted 11.09%.
The biggest decliners were Intuit Inc INTU which dropped 19.98%, EchoStar Corp SATS fell 9.42%, and Walmart Inc WMT lost 7.21%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2% to 4,077.28 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 2.4% to 2,800.37.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 1% to 25,386.52.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 3.1% to 61,684.14.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 0.2% to 75,183.36.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.1% to 10,443.47. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX dropped 0.5% to 24,606.77, and the France's CAC 40 fell 0.4% to 8,086.00
