Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket staged a late recovery and finished flat yesterday, while the $300 million sale of its construction division brought new life to Fletcher Building. The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell to 13,496.69, but rose sharply in the brokers’ matching session, closing at 13,573.93, down 6.36 points or 0.05%. There were 88 decliners and 47 gainers on the main board, with a total of 39.9 million shares traded, worth $158.3m.
Ebos Group was again the most heavily traded stock, with 1.4m shares worth $38.8m changing hands, but there was plenty of buying demand as its share price turned around, gaining 9.5c to $26.20.
The BNZ–BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index for December was 51.5, 4.3 points higher than in November. It was the strongest result since June 2023, but is still below the survey's average of 52.8. Fletcher Building increased 9c or 2.37% to $3.89 after signing a deal with global French firm VINCI to buy its construction division for $315.6m – with the potential of increasing to $334.1m for some contracts currently under negotiation. Chief executive Andrew Reding said Fletcher Building’s future lies in being a focused building products manufacturer and distributor, supported by a strong balance sheet and disciplined capital allocation. The sale includes Higgins, Brian Perry Civil and Fletcher Construction Major Projects, but not Fletcher’s South Pacific operations. Fletcher Building is recognising additional provisions of $55m-$65m for probable future claims relating to retained legacy construction contracts. The provision doesn’t include potential litigation liability associated with the NZ International Convention Centre.
A2 Milk was down a further 10c to $9.70 on trade worth $11m after reaching an intraday low of $9.25, following the 17% fall in China’s birth rate last year. Summerset decreased 4c to $12.22 after reporting a 26% increase in total unit settlements to 1,560 for the 2025 financial year. This included 125 care bed conversions being sold under occupation right agreements. With these excluded, new sales were up 16% to 680, from 588 in the previous year. Summerset also had a record fourth quarter ending in December, with 448 sales, comprising 207 new sales and 241 resales. Fellow retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare was up 6c or 2.05% to $2.98.
Port of Tauranga, up 10c to $8.20, told the market it has made another application under the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024 for the extension of its wharves at the Sulphur Point container terminal and across the harbour at Mount Maunganui (the Stella Passage project). The reapplication followed the passing of the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Act in December, which corrected a legislative drafting error in the project description.
Napier Port declined by 9c, or 2.33%, to $3.78. Amongst other decliners, Infratil was down 13c to $11.15; Spark decreased 5c or 2.16% to $2.27; Vulcan Steel fell 36c or 4.17% to $8.27; Michael Hill shed 1.5c or 3.26% to 44.5c; and NZME was down 4.5c or 3.78% to $1.14.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 28 points lower at 8806.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has dropped for a second straight session, as ongoing trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment and the nation's biggest miner took a tumble.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 58.6 points on Tuesday, down 0.66 per cent, to 8,815.9, as the broader All Ordinaries gave up 56.3 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 9,138.6.
"We've had a second day of falls this week, and Friday's 11-week high is looking more significant now in terms of a potential short-term or medium-term top," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
US President Donald Trump's tariff threats against select European nations over potentially annexing Greenland have roiled global equities markets, but analysts are divided on whether this is a negotiation tactic or something more.
"It's a very strong part of the administration's plans to get hold of Greenland by hook or by crook," Mr Sycamore said.
"And with diplomatic channels proving limited in their effectiveness, I think they're probably seeing economic coercion by tariffs as the most effective way to try and achieve their objectives."
The first US trading session for the week will open on Tuesday night following a bank holiday, and futures have been pointing firmly lower since the weekend with little sign of budging.
Raw materials stocks and financials led seven of 11 local sectors lower, as BHP took a hit after an update revealed a major project cost blowout and persistent price tussles with a key steelmaker.
BHP shares slipped almost two per cent, and fellow iron-ore giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue also traded lower, as iron ore futures fell to two-week lows.
The resurgence in risk-off sentiment sent investors clambering for safe havens, launching gold's price above $4,700 ($A6,975) for the first time.
ASX-listed gold miners had a mixed day, the late-session uptick in the underlying commodity offering modest boosts to names like Northern Star and Newmont.
Bellevue Gold was the top-200's best performer, up fiver per cent following a strong quarterly update.
Lynas Rare Earths tumbled more than six per cent ahead of the group's quarterly report and briefing on Wednesday, while mineral sands producer Iluka slipped 2.8 per cent.
The fellow-heavyweight financials sector lost 1.1 per cent, led by a 1.8 per cent drop in CBA shares to $150.48, as all big four banks lost ground.
AMP pared early losses to 0.8 per cent by the close after announcing Blair Vernon, the group's chief financial officer, will take the reins from Alexis George as chief executive from March 30.
Energy stocks fell 0.3 per cent, as oil prices edged slightly lower, but losses in oil and gas producers were counterbalanced by a good day for coal producers after Origin extended the life of the Eraring coal-fired power station to 2027.
Origin shares jumped 2.6 per cent to $11.34 following the announcement, helping lift the utilities sector 1.6 per cent by the close.
The ASX-listed tech sector was the second-best performing, up 0.9 per cent as Xero and Megaport each charged three per cent higher.
Droneshield soared more than four per cent to $4.71, boosted by a broad uplift in defence stocks ahead of an expected increase in European defence spending, and its selection for a local defence department counter-drone project panel the previous week.
The Australian dollar is buying 67.36 US cents, up from 66.96 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell 58.6 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 8,815.9
The broader All Ordinaries dipped by 56.3 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 9,138.6
The NZX 50 Lost -74.85 points (-0.55%) to 13499.08
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA slipped 1.8% to 48,488.59, the S&P 500 fell 2.1% to 6,796.86 and the Nasdaq slipped 2.4% to 22,954.32.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were SanDisk Corp SNDK surging 9.55%, Albemarle Corp ALB jumped 5.83%, and Expand Energy Corp EXE lifted 4.90%.
The biggest decliners were NetApp Inc NTAP which dropped 9.37%, Dell Technologies Inc DELL fell 7.85%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH lost 7.45%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed mixed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was unchanged at 4,113.65 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.8% to 2,677.79.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to 26,487.51.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 1.1% to 52,991.10.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX fell 1.3% to 82,180.47.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.7% to 10,126.78. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX fell 1% to 24,703.12, and the France's CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 8,062.58
