Market Announcements
Market Summary
Heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare dragged the New Zealand sharemarket down as investors sat on the sidelines waiting for the next move in the Middle East conflict. Following another gain on Wall Street, the S&P/NZX 50 Index traded solidly in the morning but fell at midday and closed at 13,181.44, down 92.36 points or 0.7% after reaching an intraday high of 13,298.82. Trading reached 41 million shares worth $129.1m, with 55 gainers and 75 decliners on the main board. The index has fallen 2.8% so far this year, but in the shortened week it increased nearly 2.2% – the first weekly gain since the Middle East war began six weeks ago.
Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the local market took a breather. The ceasefire is looking a little fragile, and the geopolitical situation continues to dominate the market narrative. “Investors are having their own ceasefire, keeping a close eye on the developments, hoping for the best but expecting the worst,” Sullivan said.
The latest BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) showed the sector was still expanding but slower than previously. The PMI index was 53.2 in March, down from 54.8 in February and 55 in January, but still above the long-term average of 52.5. But 62% of the respondents commented negatively about their situation, up from 44.5% in February. BusinessNZ said the comments showed that the war in Iran and its wider consequences are weighing heavily on the minds of respondents in the manufacturing sector.
At home, market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare declined 79c or 2.01% to $38.54 on light trade worth $13.4m. Summerset Group was down 22c or 2.4% to $8.93; a2 Milk shed 14c to $11.21; Fletcher Building decreased 9c or 2.93% to $2.98; Ryman Healthcare declined 5c or 2.35% to $2.08; and Gentrack fell 30c or 4.62% to $6.20, its lowest level for more than two years. The Warehouse shed 1.5c or 2.08% to 70.5c; Synlait Milk decreased 1c or 2.33% to 42c; Comvita declined 2c or 2.88% to 67.5c; Eroad was down 3c or 3.09% to 94c; and Santana Minerals fell 4c or 5.26% to 81c.
Napier Port, down 5c to $3.60, reported a 3.5% increase in container volumes to 116,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) for the half year ending March, and bulk cargo was down 1.5% to 1.68m tonnes, with log exports declining 5.4%. Port of Tauranga was up 22c or 2.82% to $8.02; Move Logistics collected 2c or 10% to 22c; Bremworth gained 2c or 3.03% to 68c; and Stride Property added 1.5c to $1.15. Stride, trading at a 40% discount to net tangible assets, has increased nearly 10% over the last two weeks.
Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge, down 0.003c to 19.2c, reported a 2.7% increase to 5,582 Cxbladder tests for the three months ending March, compared with the previous quarter. Pacific Edge said Cxbladder triage was now covered by US health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield in North and South Carolina. PaySauce, unchanged at 26c, reported a 12% rise in processing fees to $1.8m for the March quarter and new customers, including the first commercial ones in Australia, increased 6% to 8,600. Annual recurring revenue was $8.9m, up 6%. Winton Land, unchanged at $1.85, told the market it has received an appeal from the Auckland Council against the Fast-track consenting panel's decision to approve the Sunfield community development, which includes 3854 homes, a town centre and a business park.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 39 points higher at 8997.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has notched its best week since October 2022, despite slipping ahead of key US-Iran ceasefire talks and with little sign Iran's Hormuz Strait blockade is easing.
The S&P/ASX200 slipped 12.6 points on Friday, down 0.14 per cent, to 8,960.6, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 13.1 points, down 0.14 per cent, to 9,155.8.
Despite the pullback, the top-200 charged more than four per cent higher for its best week since October 2022, buoyed by a fragile US-Iran ceasefire ahead of talks that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for a fifth of global oil and gas shipments.
There was hope the discussions could pave an end to the conflict that has raged for almost six weeks, despite signs the ceasefire was off to a shaky start, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said.
"The key thing to watch for remains a significant and sustained pick up in the number of ships coming through the Strait of Hormuz - it has picked up but it's a fraction of normal levels," Dr Oliver said.
"But if this were to occur, even with Iran collecting a fee, it could allow the war to continue but with less impact on the global economy and markets."
Energy stocks eased slightly as oil prices crept higher towards the end of the week, with the West Texas benchmark trading near $US99.60, down from above $112 before the truce was announced.
Oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos have lost ground, but each are trading more than 17 per cent higher than their pre-conflict prices.
Refinery operators Ampol and Viva ended Friday either side of break-even, with Viva edging 0.4 per cent higher after the federal government approved its planned gas export facility in Geelong near a Ramsar wetlands.
The ceasefire has returned some confidence to airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia, with Virgin snapping a seven-week losing streak.
The raw materials sector fell on Friday but was up more than six per cent for the week, as hopes the energy shock could settle brightened the global growth outlook.
Mega miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue dipped in the week's final session, after iron ore futures slipped on Thursday as China reported record stockpiles.
Gold clocked a third straight week of gains to trade near $US4750 ($A6,722), but the precious metal remains at a more than 11 per cent discount to its pre-war price.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.62 US cents, up from 70.39 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
Consumer discretionary stocks and real estate trusts rebounded during the week as confidence improved, but both have been sliding since October due to sticky inflation and higher interest rate expectations.
Australia's interest rate outlook remains largely unchanged despite the uptick in sentiment, with markets pricing two more Reserve Bank rate hikes by December.
"The key issue for Australia, and for the domestic interest rate outlook, is how much of the energy price shock is already being passed through to prices of other goods and services," Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis said.??
"The RBA will be watching for this kind of behaviour, including through its liaison program, and will see it as a further leg up in underlying inflation from a rate that was already higher than desired."
The central bank will make its next rates decision on May 5.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell 12.6 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,960.6.
The broader All Ordinaries slipped 13.1 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 9,155.8.
The NZX 50 Lost -114.77 points (-0.88%) to 13066.67
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA dropped 0.6% to 47,916.57, the S&P 500 declined 0.1% to 6,816.89 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.4% to 22,902.89.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Super Micro Computer Inc SMCI surging 8.74%, Texas Pacific Land Corp TPL jumped 8.49%, and Broadcom Inc AVGO lifted 4.65%.
The biggest decliners were Akamai Technologies Inc AKAM which dropped 16.66%, Fair Isaac Corp FICO fell 13.99%, and ServiceNow Inc NOW lost 7.58%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3,986.22 and the Shenzhen Composite Index lifted 1.5% to 2,652.30.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 0.5% to 25,893.54.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.8% to 56,924.11.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX added 1.2% to 77,550.25.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished flat. The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 10,600.53. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX was unchanged at 23,803.95, and the France's CAC 40 gained 0.2% to 8,259.60
