NZ Sharemarket Ends Flat As US Federal Reserve Decision Looms

The New Zealand sharemarket ended flat on Friday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of this week’s GDP data and an all-important rate call from the US Federal Reserve. The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended at 13,277.90, down 1.24 points or 0.01%, with 40.69 million shares worth $130.6m trading. There were 71 rises and 53 falls on the main board.

On Thursday, Stats NZ releases June quarter GDP data, which economists expect to show the economy contracted after gains in the previous two quarters.  There is also the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on the same day.  The Fed has not cut interest rates this year, unlike many other central banks around the world.

Among the movements, Tower gained 2.5c to $1.75 after announcing an upgrade to its earnings forecasts for 2025. The insurer now expects its underlying net profit to be in a range of $100m to $110m, provided that no large events are recorded this month, up from a previous guidance of $70m-$80m.

Out-of-favour Spark, which unveiled a five-year strategy called SPK-30 on Thursday, fell 7c or 2.9% to $2.37.

Takeover target Vital ended up 4.5c or 11.7% at 43c after the mobile radio networks company announced that Tait International’s bid had gone unconditional upon reaching over 90% in acceptances. Dual-listed infrastructure services provider Ventia Services gained 12c to $5.68 after announcing that it had extended its facility management agreement with the City of Sydney over two years. Robotics firm Scott Technology continued to enjoy a rerating – gaining 10c to $2.35 after laying out its strategic goals to the market on Thursday.

Source: Business Desk

Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 59 points lower at 8804.

- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has clawed back most of the week's losses, as materials and banks rallied to help end the week on a high.

The S&P/ASX200 rebounded 59.9 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 8,864.9, as the broader All Ordinaries jumped 57.3 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 9,128.7.

The top-200 finished the week roughly six points lower, or down 0.07 per cent.

"It's pretty much a dead rubber for the week, but we've held the line ... and the market's looking pretty robust overall," Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda told AAP.

"Today's bounce stemmed from Wall Street and inflation data that's basically made it all systems go for a rate cut from the Fed next week."

Six of 11 local sectors finished the day in the green, led by financials, materials and real estate stocks, which each gained between 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent.

All big four banks rallied at least one per cent higher, led by Westpac (up 1.4 per cent), and CBA, which surged 1.3 per cent to $169.97, helping the broader sector close 0.4 per cent higher than a week ago.

A push in BHP shares to $40.81 buoyed the materials sector, almost wiping the week's losses as iron ore miners rallied on reports Beijing plans to address local government balance sheets, which could unlock more infrastructure funding.

ASX-listed gold miners continued to shine, with Newmont and Evolution up more than two per cent each and Northern Star gaining 1.6 per cent as the precious metal edged towards Tuesday's record $US3,764 ($A5,655) an ounce.

Energy stocks slipped 2.4 per cent after US crude demand and global oversupply concerns snapped a three-day winning streak for oil prices.

Woodside shares slid 3.4 per cent to $24.22, despite the company winning federal environmental approval to extend its North West Shelf gas project by 40 years.

The real estate sector also benefited from the rally in cyclicals, as Goodman Group added two per cent and Scentre, Mirvac and Stockland all gained 1.4 per cent or more.

IT stocks improved by 0.6 per cent as Megaport lifted 0.8 per cent on broad market strength to $94.93, despite going ex-dividend.

Companies including Qantas, Cochlear, A2 Milk and South32 will go ex-dividend next week.

The Australian dollar is trading at its highest value in 10 months, buying 66.59 US cents, up from 66.12 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 jumped 59.9 points on Friday, or 0.68 per cent, to 8,864.9

The broader All Ordinaries slipped 57.3 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 9,128.7

The NZX 50 Lost -49.57 points (-0.38%) to 13178.33

Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):

Chorus Limited

Credit Corp Group Limited

Data3 Limited

Fleetwood Limited

Guzman Y Gomez Limited

Kelsian Group Limited

Lovisa Holdings Limited

Qube Holdings Limited

Ramelius Resources Limited

[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA declined 0.6% to 45,834.22, the S&P 500 was unchanged at 6,584.29 and the Nasdaq gained 0.4% to 22,141.10.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Warner Bros. Discovery Inc WBD surging 16.85%, Paramount Skydance Corp PSKY jumped 7.76%, and Tesla Inc TSLA lifted 7.36%.

The biggest decliners were Arista Networks Inc ANET which dropped 8.92%, Moderna Inc MRNA fell 7.40%, and Oracle Corp ORCL lost 5.09%.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 3,870.60 and the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.2% to 2,462.49.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lifted 1.2% to 26,388.16.

Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.9% to 44,768.12.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX lifted 0.4% to 81,904.70.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index declined 0.2% to 9,283.29. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX was unchanged at 23,698.15, and the France's CAC 40 was unchanged at 7,825.24