Market Announcements
Market Summary
Heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare led a sharp turnaround in the New Zealand sharemarket as the United States showed signs of a compromise to end the Middle East conflict. The S&P/NZX 50 Index climbed mid-afternoon strongly and closed at 12,912.11, up 163.19 points or 1.28% after hitting an intraday low of 12,689.78. There were 93 gainers and 37 decliners on the main board, with turnover reaching 56.3 million shares worth $280.1m.
Auckland International Airport, up 7c to $7.97, accounted for much of the trading with 13.7m shares worth $109.44m changing hands.
At 6pm NZ time, Brent Crude oil was trading slightly lower at US$112.80 (NZ$197.59) a barrel. The NZ dollar was weaker at US57.09c against the American greenback. The ANZ NZ Business Outlook survey for March showed confidence fell 26 points to 33, from 59 in February. The late-month responses averaged minus 23. Past activity fell from 23% to a net 18% of firms reporting stronger activity than a year ago, with a particularly sharp fall for retail (down 20 points to plus 5) and construction (down 16 points to minus 13). The net percentage of firms expecting to raise prices in the next three months rose 7 points to 60% (67% in the late-month sample), while the average amount firms expect to raise their prices rose from 2% to 2.4% (3.3% in the late-month sample).
Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare increased $1.27 or 3.52% to $37.39; Infratil was up 17c to $11.65; Ebos Group gained 44c or 2.02% to $22.25; Turners Automotive rose 40c or 4.75% to $8.82; and a2 Milk collected 16c to $11.55. Hallenstein Glasson was up 19c or 1.94% to $9.98; Air NZ improved 1.5c or 3.61% to 43c; and Santana Minerals gained 2.5c or 3.11% to 83c.
The dual-listed banking stocks rebounded, with ANZ up 52c to $43.50; Westpac adding $1.06 or 2.27% to $47.75; and Heartland Group gaining 2.5c or 2.15% to $1.19.
Argosy was up 3c or 2.73% to $1.13, and Precinct increased 3c or 2.99% to $1.03. In the technology sector, Vista Group increased 8c or 4.97% to $1.69, and Eroad gained 4.5c or 5.36% to 88.5c. Seeka declined 32c or 6.67% to $4.48; Accordant fell 9.5c or 39.58% to 14.5c; and Synlait shed 3c or 6.38% to 44c.
KMD Brands reported a 7.3% increase in revenue to $505.45m and a net loss of $13.08m for the six months ending January. Rip Curl had sales of $291.4m, up 4.6%; Kathmandu $176.1m, a gain of 12.3%; and Oboz shoes $38m, up 6.5%. The retailer, last traded at 19.5c, will remain in voluntary suspension on the NZX and ASX while it makes a capital raise of $65.3m – made up of a $6.8m placement and $58.5m rights offer of 6c a share, a discount of more than 69%. KMD’s gross margin fell 1.2% to 56.8%, and it has net debt of $94m. For the first six weeks of the second half of the financial year, Kathmandu sales increased 11.1% with gross margin improvement of 50 basis points, and Rip Curl was up 1.2%.
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund was up 8c to $8.20 after the co-operative completed the $4.22 billion sale of Mainland Group to French dairy company Lactalis. Fonterra will now return $3.2b to shareholders by way of a one-for-three share buy-back.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 90 points higher at 8577.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: The Australian share market has closed higher following reports US President Donald Trump is willing to wind up its military campaign against Iran without first reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P/ASX200 closed 20.8 points, or 0.25 per cent, higher at 8,481.8, on Tuesday as the broader All Ordinaries gained 26.4 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8,683.9.
The bourse pared back earlier losses following reports the Republican president had told aides he was open to ending the military campaign while the Strait of Hormuz remained mostly closed.
This followed reports Iran had struck a Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai.
The benchmark Brent crude oil price remains above $US100 a barrel but has tempered following the White House reports.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the latest sign of de-escalation comes as US motorists face retail petrol prices above US$4 a gallon and the president's approval rating tanks.
"While Trump's desire to wind down the campaign quickly is understandable, the decision to defer the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz leaves a critical chokepoint firmly in Tehran's hands for the foreseeable future," he said.
"Unfortunately, this also pushes back any concrete resolution regarding the Strait's reopening, effectively extending the uncertainty weighing on markets and the broader global economy."
In Australia, investors learnt more about the split decision behind the central bank board's 0.25 percentage point interest rate hikes at the March meeting.??
ANZ economist Adam Boyton said the lack of forward guidance suggests the board does not have a preconceived view on the next policy move, and weaker domestic data since supported the big four banks' prediction for a hold in May.??
The Reserve Bank of Australia has also banned credit and debit card surcharges despite concerns voiced by banks and small firms.
In another regulatory development, the Fair Work Commission decided to scrap junior pay rates, adding to retail, pharmacy and fast-food operating costs.
Eight of the ASX-200's 11 sectors were higher, led by a rally in tech stocks as traders sought attractive deals.
Accounting tech firm Xero finished 6.5 per cent higher and logistics software company WiseTech global posted a 4.1 per cent gain.
Energy stocks closed lower after higher fuel prices helped them outperform other sectors in recent weeks, with Santos losing 1.1 per cent and Woodside down 0.5 per cent.
Miners broadly finished lower, with Fortescue down 1.2 per cent, to $20.31, and BHP falling 0.1 per cent, to $50.39.??
Rio Tinto gained 0.4 per cent, to $161.43. ??
Banks were higher despite tighter surcharge regulation, with Westpac gaining one per cent, to $39.47, NAB picking up 0.5 per cent, to $41.44, and ANZ climbing 0.2 per cent to $35.97.??
CBA stocks fell 0.6 per cent, to $167.70.??
Mattress and sofa e-commerce retailer Koala made a successful debut on the ASX, with shares trading up 8.8 per cent from their $3.40 price during an initial public offering.
Shares in radio giant ARN dived 19 per cent as a second lawsuit was levelled at one of its subsidiary by morning radio heavy-weight Jackie "O" Henderson.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 gained 20.8 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 8,481.8.
The broader All Ordinaries lifted 26.4 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8,683.9.
The NZX 50 added 47.03 points (0.36%) to 12959.14
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
ARB Corporation Limited
Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd
Ridley Corporation Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA gained 2.5% to 46,341.51, the S&P 500 climbed 2.9% to 6,528.52 and the Nasdaq added 3.8% to 21,590.63.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were ON Semiconductor Corp ON surging 11.25%, SanDisk Corp SNDK jumped 10.98%, and Monolithic Power Systems Inc MPWR lifted 9.08%.
The biggest decliners were Constellation Energy Corp CEG which dropped 6.48%, McCormick & Co Inc MKC fell 6.11%, and CF Industries Holdings Inc CF lost 5.64%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.8% to 3,891.86 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.7% to 2,535.36.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lifted 0.2% to 24,788.14.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.6% to 51,063.72.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 2.2% to 71,947.55.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.5% to 10,176.45. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX climbed 0.5% to 22,680.04, and the France's CAC 40 rose 0.6% to 7,816.94
