Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket rose on Wednesday with a largely in-line result from KMD Brands, while investor attention was drawn to the announcement of the Reserve Bank of NZ’s new governor.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 0.34% or 44.77 points, rising to 13,181.31 after 37.6 million shares worth $138.2m traded.
The S&P/NZX 20 index closed at 7,585.83 points, up 0.31%, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,705.89, rising 0.39%.
There were 68 gainers and 68 decliners on the main board.
KMD Brands positives
KMD Brands, which owns Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz, released its 2025 full-year results, largely in line with market expectations.
The group reported total sales of $989m, up 1% from the year prior at $979.4m, but posted a statutory $93.4m loss.
KMD Brands' share price rose 6.52% to $0.24 after 655,997 shares changed hands on turnover worth $163,538.84.
FSF price lift
Elsewhere, the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund's share price lifted 6.04% or 45c to $7.90 ahead of the co-op’s result.
Infratil had its share price rise late in the day, following an announcement that CDC Data Centres had secured about 100MW of new contracted capacity.
Infratil’s share price rose 1.14% or 14c to $12.39 after 695,203 shares changed hands on turnover worth $8.5m.
The market’s largest inhabitant, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, also rose late in the session, rising 1.07% or 40c to $37.80 on turnover worth $34.99m.
Reserve Bank news
Finance Minister Nicola Willis also ended speculation by confirming Swedish economist Dr Anna Breman had been appointed the new governor of the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ).
Christian Hawkesby has done a great job holding the fort, and he’ll be there for a little bit longer to ensure that there’s a seamless handover.”
“The new governor is very credible and has the right skill set, so I think the market will be happy with that appointment. Although I don’t think it really changes the short-term outlook for the Reserve Bank.”
Bull run fatigue
Wall Street’s bull run showed signs of fatigue on Tuesday (US time) as major indices retreated from records on drops by Amazon, Nvidia and other tech giants.
The pullback followed comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, warning that cutting interest rates “too aggressively” could stoke inflation, while the central bank boss also emphasised the need to try to prevent the labour market from softening “unnecessarily”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.2% at 46,292.78. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.6% to 6,656.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.0% to 22,573.47.
Source: BusinessDesk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 12 points lower at 8775.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The local share market has suffered its worst drop in three weeks after a domestic inflation readout and cautious commentary from the US Federal Reserve dimmed hopes for quick interest rate cuts at home and abroad.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday fell 81.4 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 8,764.5, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 80.2 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 9,057.6.
The market was already in the red but fell further after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported consumer prices rose 3.0 per cent in the year to August, slightly more than what economists had collectively predicted, in a sign that inflation remains hard to tame.
Betashares chief economist David Bassanese said the results effectively killed off any fleeting hope the Reserve Bank would cut interest rates next week.
Mr Bassanese said a rate cut on Melbourne Cup day in November was still a "firm favourite," but NAB chief economist Sally Auld predicted the RBA would now keep rates on hold until May. She had previously forecast cuts in November and February.
The Australian dollar spiked to a five-day high after the inflation readout, buying 66.16 US cents, from 65.93 US cents at 5pm on Tuesday.
Overseas, Fed chairman Jerome Powell told business leaders that the US central bank faced a challenging situation, balancing control of inflation with supporting America's somewhat softer labour market.
Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said Mr Powell's language was neutral and he had refused to be drawn on when the Fed might next cut rates, which many are hoping the Fed will do at its next meeting in late October.
The ASX's losses did moderate slightly in the one-minute auction that comes after normal trading, but nine out of its 11 sectors still finished in the red.
Energy and utilities were the outliers, with both supported by a rise in oil prices following hawkish comments by US President Donald Trump to the United Nations General Assembly, where the mercurial American president talked of shooting down Russian drones that invade NATO airspace and Ukraine reclaiming all the territory it has lost in the war.
Santos climbed 0.3 per cent, Whitehaven Coal advanced 0.8 per cent and Origin Energy grew 1.0 per cent.
Anti-drone military contractor Droneshield posted the best performance out of the ASX200, rising 6.2 per cent to a one-month high of $3.76 in a move likely supported by Mr Trump's remarks.
Elsewhere however, the market was mostly a sea of red.
The financial sector was the biggest loser, dropping 1.8 per cent, with all of the big four banks down significantly.
Westpac fell 3.2 per cent to a three-week low of $37.58, NAB declined 2.3 per cent to $43.10, ANZ retreated 1.8 per cent to $32.67 and CBA lost 1.4 per cent to $164.53.
In the heavyweight mining sector, goldminers were mixed as the yellow metal changed hands above $US3,800 for the first time ever.
Newmont rose 0.7 per cent and Evolution grew 0.5 per cent, while Northern Star was flat and Ramelius Resources lost 1.1 per cent.
Iron ore giant Rio Tinto dipped 0.6 per cent to $117.54, while BHP edged marginally higher to $40.24 and Fortescue climbed 0.2 per cent to $19.13.
Overall the day was the ASX200's worst since a 1.8 per cent decline on September 3, with the losses giving back the bulk of the index's gains from its three-day winning streak.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose fell 81.4 points on Wednesday, or 0.92 per cent, to 8,764.5
The broader All Ordinaries dropped 80.2 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 9,057.6
The NZX 50 added 12.20 points (0.09%) to 13193.51
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Air New Zealand Limited
Suncorp Group Limited
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
PRL Global Ltd
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA dropped 0.4% to 46,121.28, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 6,637.97 and the Nasdaq declined 0.3% to 22,497.86.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Xcel Energy Inc XEL surging 6.74%, Intel Corp INTC jumped 6.24%, and Centene Corp CNC lifted 5.97%.
The biggest decliners were Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX which dropped 16.95%, Axon Enterprise Inc AXON fell 10.23%, and KKR & Co Inc KKR lost 6.32%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8% to 3,853.64 and the Shenzhen Composite Index lifted 1.6% to 2,505.51.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 1.4% to 26,518.65.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.3% to 45,630.31.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 0.5% to 81,715.63.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.3% to 9,250.43. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX climbed 0.2% to 23,666.81, and the France's CAC 40 declined 0.6% to 7,827.45
