Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket shook off a negative lead from overseas markets to end firmly but on light volume on Friday. The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 22.39 points or 0.16% to end at 13,599.21 but off its peak for the day, with 25 million shares, worth $110.3 million, trading. On the day, there were 63 rises and 80 falls on the main board.
Wall Street’s S&P 500 index was down on the back of weak jobs data.
Domestically, there was little in the way of corporate news, aside from an update from retailer Briscoe Group and telco Spark. Shares in Briscoe ended 10c down at $5.40 after releasing its third quarter sales report, which showed total group sales fell by 1.76% in the quarter. Managing director Rod Duke said the company intended to improve margins over the fourth quarter as it approached the important Christmas season. “Margin and cost pressures continue to affect the bottom line, but we remain hopeful that recent OCR [Official Cash Rate] reductions will boost consumer confidence and drive retail spend during the crucial final trading period,” Duke said. Looking ahead, Duke was cautious about the retail environment.
There was no change to Spark’s earnings outlook at the company’s annual meeting, and chief executive Jolie Hodson said she expected economic conditions to remain subdued in the near term. Spark shares closed 5c down at $2.29. Among the other movements, Scales finished 19c or 3.22% up at $6.09. On the downside, transport technology company Eroad lost 18.5c to finish at $1.60.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 32 points lower at 8718.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has notched its lowest weekly close since in more than three months, with interest rate-sensitive stocks under pressure from an increasingly grim rates outlook.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 58.6 points on Friday, down 0.66 per cent, to 8,769.7, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 66.9 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 9,031.7.
The top 200 has given up almost three per cent of its value in a fortnight and is sitting at a six-week low heading into the weekend.
"It hasn't been a great day for financial markets," CVS Lane director Fiona Clark said.
"A few highlights there, but overall, not a lot to look forward to."
An afternoon tumble in financials stocks wiped out an early lift for the bourse, with three of the big four banks in the red by the close, and investment giant Macquarie Group weighing heavily with a 5.7 per cent drop after an earnings miss.
Westpac led the big four's losses, followed by CBA, which lost 1.5 per cent to $175.91, while NAB was alone in bouncing higher after tanking 3.3 per cent after disappointing financial results on Thursday.
Other rate-sensitive and highly leveraged sectors were under pressure, with IT stocks plummeting 2.3 per cent, consumer discretionaries down 1.1 per cent and industrials fading 0.9 per cent.
Raw materials slipped lower, despite a long-awaited rebound for rare earths, as large cap miners tumbled in step with iron ore futures, which dipped below $US103 a tonne for the first time since September.
Weaker prices came amid softening demand from China's steelmakers, and with fresh concerns for the world's second-largest economy as exports unexpectedly fell in October after months of front-loading by US importers trying to get ahead of President Trump's tariffs.
Goldminers were mixed as spot prices edged tentatively above $US4,000 an ounce, with Evolution and Northern Star fading more than 0.5 per cent, while Newmont, Perseus and Ramelius notched gains.
Energy stocks grinded 0.5 per cent higher, tracking with a modest lift in oil prices overnight, with steady gains for fossil fuel producers but uranium plays still fall out of favour with investors.
The broad-based IT stock slump followed a tech-led sell-off on Wall Street overnight, so it was only fitting the dual-listed fintech Block Inc was the top-200's weakest performer, tanking more than 15 per cent after an earnings miss.
Closer to home, IT stocks such as Xero, WiseTech, Technology One fell between 1.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent, while California-headquartered tracking software company Life360 slumped more than 3.5 per cent to $46.64.
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin notched modest gains during the session, but remains under pressure as risk sentiment continues to dwindle, trading at $US102,680, in a technical bear market at more than 23 per cent short of recent record highs.
In company news, Qantas shares dropped 6.6 per cent to $9.51 after leaning into the lower end of guidance for projected domestic revenue growth.
Nine Entertainment shares lost 1.8 per cent to $1.12 after flagging advertising revenue was expected to remain soft heading into Christmas.
Looking ahead, Coles, Goodman Group, Downer, TPG Telecom and Domino's will hold annual meeting's next week, while ANZ, Orica, Aristocrat, Zero, GrainCorp and Infratil are among companies providing earnings updates.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.80 US cents, down from 65.07 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell 58.6 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 8,769.7
The broader All Ordinaries lost 66.9 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 9,031.7
The NZX 50 Lost -64.43 points (-0.48%) to 13534.78
Companies Holding Annual General Meeting (ASX 300):
Develop Global Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA rose 0.2% to 46,987.10, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to 6,728.80 and the Nasdaq fell 0.2% to 23,004.54.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Expedia Group Inc EXPE surging 17.45%, Akamai Technologies Inc AKAM jumped 14.59%, and Solventum Corp SOLV lifted 7.88%.
The biggest decliners were Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO which dropped 8.11%, Block Inc XYZ fell 7.70%, and The Trade Desk Inc TTD lost 6.30%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.3% to 3,997.56 and the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.3% to 2,519.29.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 0.9% to 26,241.83.
Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1.2% to 50,276.37.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 0.1% to 83,216.28.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.5% to 9,682.57. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX dropped 0.7% to 23,569.96, and the France's CAC 40 fell 0.2% to 7,950.18
