Market Announcements
Market Summary
Mainfreight created some life with a nearly 4% rise yesterday, while the New Zealand sharemarket remained directionless and finished flat on low turnover. The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded between 13,578.16 and 13,663.89 before closing at 13,615.51, down 19.56 points or 0.14%. There were 69 gainers and 65 decliners on the main board, and the light trading saw 21.8 million shares worth $98.1m change hands.
Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said it was a quiet day on the local market, and it was waiting for the latest reporting season – Contact Energy goes first with its annual result on Aug 10. “The US was continuing its attacks on Iran, Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh expressed concerns about the spending on AI and an overcapacity in chips, and SpaceX dipped below its initial public offer (IPO) price.” The US markets, however, had a solid day after the June Producer Price Index (PPI) declined by 0.3%, the largest drop in more than a year. On an annual basis, the PPI increased 5.5%, also below forecasts. Financial groups such as Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America have reported strong quarterly results and exceeded Wall Street expectations.
At home, Mainfreight rose by $2.30, or 3.75%, to $63.63, back to where it was nearly a month ago. In a company newsletter, Mainfreight confirmed improved sales growth and freight volumes across the transport operation in all regions – and that finding similar improvements in the warehousing and air and ocean divisions was a priority.
Summerset was down a further 22c, or 2.57%, to $8.33; Auckland International Airport eased 12c to $8.43; Hallenstein Glasson decreased 12c to $10.40; Skellerup shed 6c to $6.74; and Serko declined 4c, or 2.88%, to $1.35. SkyTV was down 6c, or 1.8%, to $3.27; T&G Global declined 7c, or 2.98%, to $2.28; Winton Land fell 6c, or 4.72%, to $1.21; Bremworth decreased 2.5c, or 3.3%, to 72.5c; and Santana Minerals shed 2.5c, or 4.5%, to 53c.
Datacentre investor Infratil was down 12c to $15.26. The Australian Government is proposing new standards for artificial intelligence by requiring datacentres to generate as much power as they consume and ensure creative professionals retain control over work that may be used to train AI systems. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 12c to $39.65; Contact gained 11c to $9.22; SkyCity improved 2c or 3.88% to 53.5c; and KMD Brands increased 3.5c or 2.1% to $1.70. Green Cross Health was up 6.5c, or 3.4%, to $1.97; Burger Fuel added 1c, or 3.03%, to 34c; and 2 Cheap Cars collected 2c, or 2.56%, to 80c.
Meridian Energy, down 6c to $5.54, told the market that careful management of the southern hydro lakes was enabling the sector to comfortably manage the current winter – reflecting relatively low wholesale spot prices for this time of year. Longer term, 2027 forward wholesale electricity prices fell by more than 35% from April through to now, and 2028 and 2029 prices have fallen15% over the same period as new renewable generation is built, Meridian said. In the month to July 13, national hydro storage increased from 125% to 136% of the historical average, with South Island storage increasing to 139% of the average and North Island storage decreasing to 126%. National electricity demand in June was 0.1% lower than the same month last year, and retail sales volumes were up 6.4%. For the fourth quarter, customer numbers were up 12.3%, and retail sales volume increased 7.4 compared with the same period last year.
Livestock Improvement Corporation, unchanged at $1.21, reported a 6.67% gain in full-year revenue to $314.8m and net profit of $21.3 m, down 30.44%, mainly due to increased investment in upgrading technology and security platforms. LIC is paying a final dividend of 121.26c a share on Aug 14. LIC said technology is helping farmers drive better herd performance – the number of animals connected through LIC’s wearable integrations grew 93.8; the use of Sexed Semen increased 52%, and Genomic profiling was up 19%. Tāiko Critical Minerals was down 2c or 6.67% to 28c after opening a share purchase plan at 25c a share to raise up to $3m. This follows a placement which raised $7m.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 2 points higher at 8849.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has clawed back some early losses for a flat finish in what is shaping up to be a quiet week for the exchange.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 0.4 points on Thursday, down less than 0.01 per cent, to 8,840.7, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,036.9.
BHP weighed heavily on the bourse with a 2.3 per cent drop after its copper guidance missed forecasts, but a resurgent banking sector helped cap the losses.
"It was a little bit dull, to be frank, and disappointing too as we had positive leads, but that weight on the market from BHP's production report has really spread." Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.
"When things are looking really grim, Australian banks are in favour and when growth prospects are excellent, miners are in favour, but mixed days of bottom-up sunshine and top-down rain make it very hard for the Australian market to go ahead."
The energy and mining sectors were the main drags on the exchange on Thursday, each falling more than 1.5 per cent, as oil and most metals prices lost ground.
Oil prices slipped below $US85 a barrel, in what has been a subdued market reaction to renewed hostilities between the US and Iran.
"With the big rundown in inventory from the first outbreak on the 28th of February, the world simply doesn't have the buffer that it had then," Mr McCarthy said.
"I would suggest the biggest risk to markets is much higher oil prices than current, and its inflationary impact driving interest rates higher everywhere."
Gold miners were lower as the precious metal eased almost one per cent to $US4.024 ($A5,752) an ounce
CommBank led the big four banks higher with a more than 1.8 per cent rally to $173.13, its best price since May, after raising its stake in mortgage broker aggregator Australian Finance group to 5.1 per cent.
Consumer discretionary stocks and the communications segment also notched gains of 1.1 per cent, with good leads from Wesfarmers, Eagers Automotive and REA Group.
In company news, Perpetual received an improved takeover offer from Swedish private equity group EQT.
Coles will appeal a competition watchdog decision to reject a planned second supermarket and liquor store at a mining hub in Kalgoorlie.
Shares in financial services former giant AMP rocketed more than nine per cent higher after a strong earnings update, the company now targeting an underlying post-tax net profit of up to $180 million for the first half, up from $131 million in the prior corresponding period.
The Australian dollar is buying 70 US cents, up from 69.86 US cents as a softer US interest rate outlook subdues the greenback after its recent surge on safe-haven buying.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell 0.4 points to 8,840.7
The broader All Ordinaries rose by 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,036.9
The NZX 50 Lost -28.04 points (-0.21%) to 13586.74
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 0.2% to 52,552.97, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 7,533.77 and the Nasdaq declined 1.5% to 25,881.95.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Abbott Laboratories ABT surging 10.69%, JB Hunt Transport Services Inc JBHT jumped 8.08%, and FedEx Freight Holding Co Inc FDXF lifted 7.50%.
The biggest decliners were SanDisk Corp SNDK which dropped 12.63%, Seagate Technology Holdings PLC STX fell 10.00%, and Corning Inc GLW lost 9.19%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.8% to 3,882.41 and the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 1.5% to 2,568.83.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.3% to 25,008.60.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 2.8% to 66,835.54.
India shares ended flat. The BSE SENSEX was unchanged at 77,186.87.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.5% to 10,572.24. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX declined 0.3% to 24,915.49, and the France's CAC 40 dropped 0.1% to 8,377.86
