Market Announcements
Market Summary
Blue-chip stocks were hit as the New Zealand sharemarket again succumbed to weakness offshore and the oil price continued to rise at the start of the fifth week of the Middle East conflict. As United States indices entered correction territory, the S&P/NZX 50 Index opened lower and stayed that way, closing at 12,748.92 – down 186.47 points or 1.44%. The index is now at its lowest level in nearly eight months, and is more than 7.2% below the recent high of 13.757.71 points set on Jan 14. There were 115 decliners and 30 gainers on the main board with 35.9 million shares worth $137.8m changing hands.
Brent Crude oil was trading at US$115.30 (NZ$201.03) a barrel, up 2.47%, and has increased 55% over the past month. The US Volatility Index, or fear factor, increased 13.16% to 31.05, the highest level since Israel and the US invaded Iran. Over the past 35 years, the index average has been 21. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.77% to 8,451 points at 6pm NZ time; the Japanese Nikkei 225 had fallen 3.36% to 51,581.71; and the Hong Kong Hang Seng had declined 0.9% to 24,727.84.
At home, leading stocks Fisher and Paykel Health was down $1.08 to $36.12; Infratil declined 23c or 1.96% to $11.48; Ebos Group fell 79c or 3.5% to $21.81; and Fletcher Building shed 12c or 3.85% to $3. Mainfreight decreased $1.18 or 2% to $57.83; Freightways shed 32c or 2.6% to $11.98; and port companies Tauranga and Napier were down 18c or 2.27% to $7.75 and 12c or 3.43% to $3.38, respectively.
In the banking sector, ANZ decreased 54c to $42.98; Westpac declined $21.83 or 3.77% to $46.69; and Heartland Group was down 2.5c or 2.1% to $1.16. Summerset Group was down 32c or 3.43% to $9 after deciding to withdraw a resolution, at next month’s annual meeting, to increase directors’ fees by $134,000 to $1.34m a year. Summerset said, “With fuel and other goods seeing marked price increases, we don’t feel it’s appropriate for the board to seek an increased remuneration pool while residents and shareholders are managing very challenging issues.” Other retirement village operators, Ryman Healthcare, fell 8c or 3.76% to $2.05, and Oceania Healthcare decreased 2c or 2.82% to 69c.
Kiwifruit grower and packer Seeka declined 32c or 6.25% to $4.80; Skellerup was down 14c or 2.62% to $5.20; The Warehouse decreased 2c or 2.88% to 67.5c; Michael Hill fell 6c or 12% to 44c; Delegat Group shed 18c or 4.58% to $3.75; and NZME was down 3c or 2.7% to $1.08. Amongst the few gainers, Contact Energy gained 8c to $9.17; Serko increased 6.5c or 4.23% to $1.60; Third Age Health was up 9c or 1.85% to $4.95; and Santana Minerals gained 2c or 2.55% to 80.5c.
NZX, up 1c to $1.31, is launching the S&P/NZX 20 Index Futures on April 28, providing investors with a low-cost hedging tool to manage risk or gain exposure to NZ’s equity markets. Index futures are exchange-traded contracts that lock in a price for exposure to the S&P/NZX 20 Index, with settlement on a set date in the future. On expiry, the contract is cash settled based on the index level, so gains or losses reflect how the index has moved over the contract term, NZX said.
Property for Industry, down 4c to $2.21, is making a $125m, 6.5-year bond offer, with the ability to accept oversubscriptions of $75m.
KMD Brands, last traded at 19.5c, was voluntarily suspended on the NZX while it continues to finalise the details of its capital raise and refinancing of existing bank facilities. As a result, KMD’s half-year financial results have been delayed.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 7 points higher at 8470.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian share market has fallen again after oil rose to near a four-year high, amid fears another strategic Middle East waterway could become an energy choke point.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished down 55.3 points, or 0.65 per cent, to a six-day low of 8,461.0, while the broader All Ordinaries also dropped 55.3 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 8,657.5.
The ASX200 was down by as many as 137 points in morning trading, but clawed back most of those losses in the afternoon to finish on the highs of the day.
The drop came as hundreds of US Special Operations forces arrived in the Middle East for a possible ground offensive, the latest indication that the war is unlikely to wind down anytime soon as it enters its second month.
Yemen's Houthi forces joined the conflict over the weekend, firing a salvo of missiles at "sensitive Israeli military sites" and saying they would continue fighting until Israel's aggression came to an end.
All eyes were on the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, near Yemen, for signs whether the Houthis would seek to close that key shipping route between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean the same way that Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude surged as high as $US116.75 a barrel, a price it last traded at for a few weeks in mid-2022 amid the COVID reopening.
Crude had dropped under $US100 a barrel last week, when the war appeared to be de-escalating.
"Basically, everything is an oil trade and everyone is an oil trader right now," said Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the ?government would ?halve the excise ?on fuel ?and ?diesel ?for three ?months ?to bring ?down ?costs for ?households.
Seven of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower on Monday and four closed higher.
The tech sector was the biggest mover, dropping 3.2 per cent, as Wisetech Global retreated 4.8 per cent, Life360 shrunk 6.0 per cent and Technology One fell 3.0 per cent.
The financial sector lost 2.2 per cent, with CBA falling 2.8 per cent to $168.72, Westpac sliding 4.1 per cent to $39.09, NAB declining 1.8 per cent to $41.25 and ANZ dropping 1.6 per cent to $35.90.
The energy sector rose 2.3 per cent, with Woodside advancing 2.2 per cent, Santos adding 1.3 per cent and Whitehaven Coal rising 6.6 per cent.
The heavyweight mining sector gained 1.3 per cent, with Fortescue climbing 1.8 per cent to $20.55, South32 rising 9.4 per cent to $4.41 and BHP edging 0.1 per cent higher to $50.43.
Rio Tinto added 4.9 per cent to $160.78 after operations at its iron ore ports in the Pilbara resumed following impacts from Cyclone Narelle.
Gold miners were mostly higher as the precious metal changed hands at $US4,552 an ounce.
Northern Star added 5.2 per cent, Evolution rose 0.5 per cent and Greatland Resources climbed 11.1 per cent on an updated resource statement.
Elsewhere in the sector, Alcoa Corporation's ASX-listed shares rose 8.6 per cent to $93.33 after two Middle Eastern aluminium producers were hit by Iranian attacks.
The Australian dollar fell to a two-month low against its US counterpart, trading at 68.69 US cents, from 68.98 US cents around 5pm on Friday.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the Aussie lost 2.1 per cent last week, its biggest drop since March 2025.
"As a risk-sensitive, pro-cyclical commodity currency, the Aussie has naturally found itself squarely in the crosshairs," Mr Sycamore said.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 dropped 55.3 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 8,461
The broader All Ordinaries fell 55.3 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 8,657.5
The NZX 50 added 15.18 points (0.12%) to 12764.1
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Cromwell Property Group
MAAS Group Holdings Limited
New Hope Corporation Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA gained 0.1% to 45,216.14, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 6,343.72 and the Nasdaq fell 0.7% to 20,794.64.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were ServiceNow Inc NOW surging 5.59%, Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW jumped 4.99%, and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co AJG lifted 4.27%.
The biggest decliners were Sysco Corp SYY which dropped 15.28%, Micron Technology Inc MU fell 9.92%, and Ciena Corp CIEN lost 9.12%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2% to 3,923.29 and the Shenzhen Composite Index was unchanged at 2,579.50.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 0.8% to 24,750.79.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 2.8% to 51,885.85.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 2.2% to 71,947.55.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 1.6% to 10,127.96. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX lifted 1.2% to 22,562.88, and the France's CAC 40 added 0.9% to 7,772.45
