Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket was flat on Wednesday after a poor United States close, although eyes are turning to Trump’s tariffs which are set to take effect. On the main board, the S&P/NZX 50 Index closed up 0.02% or 3.124 points, rising to 12,880.16, after 31.2 million shares changed hands worth $135.9m. The S&P/NZX 20 index closed at 7,557.08 points, up just 0.06%, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,631, falling 0.03%. There were 53 gainers on the main board and 74 decliners.
Chorus and Gentrack Group had positive days, Chorus lifted 29c to $9.09 on turnover of $5.4m, while Gentrack rallied by 3.78% or 37c to $10.15. Infratil also continued its positive run, its share price has gained just over 4% in the week. Infratil lifted 1.26% or 15c to $12.05, on turnover worth $24.6m.
As for the decliners, SkyCity was down 2.04% to $0.96, Restaurant Brands fell 1.72% to $2.85 on turnover of $3.57m, and Auckland Airport fell 1.18% to $7.55 on turnover of $7.6m.
Stats NZ released unemployment data for the June quarter, with the headline figure rising to 5.2%, slightly below economists’ predictions of 5.3%. While it hadn’t gone up as much as people were expecting, it was still at its highest levels since the pandemic.
The Global Dairy Auction took place with the second increase in a row following four consecutive declines.
Wall Street stocks retreated on Tuesday (US time) as markets monitored ongoing trade talks before new tariff hikes set to take effect this week. US stocks initially looked poised to extend their Monday rally, but soon tumbled into negative territory.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 31 points lower at 8811.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has topped 8800 points for the first time, as inflows into global miners and continued banking sector strength trounced worries about global growth.
The S&P/ASX200 hit a record intraday peak of 8,848.8 points before settling at its highest-ever close of 8,843.7, up 73.3 points, or 0.84 per cent for the day.
The broader All Ordinaries rose 82.3 points, or 0.91 per cent, to its own record-high close of 9,111.1.
The relentless run-up, despite global headwinds of US tariffs and lumbering economic growth, continued to surprise AMP chief economist Shane Oliver.
"It seems like our market is ignoring that, given optimism about future rate cuts and so-far some okay or good profit results," Dr Oliver told AAP.
"But that said, we are trading on relatively rich valuations for the market and that does leave us a little bit vulnerable if anything goes wrong."
Materials, energy and consumer discretionary stocks led 10 of 11 local sectors higher, while interest rate-sensitive segments such as financials, real estate and IT stocks surged on expectations of cheaper incoming borrowing costs in Australia and the United States.
Wednesday's milestone session was spearheaded by recent strength in the big miners, IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"They have regained favour following a shakeout last week after Rio Tinto's lacklustre earnings, supported by strong results today from REA, News Corp and Pinnacle Investments," he told AAP.
Pinnacle was the top-200's best performer rallying 9.5 per cent to $25.21 posting a nearly 50 per cent lift in full-year net profit to $134.4 million.
REA Group shares jumped 6.9 per cent after posting a double-digit boost to earnings and net profit and News Corp, which holds a controlling stake in REA, gained more than five per cent after its results impressed investors.
Iron ore prices are at their highest level since May and continued strength in gold helped local miners take several places on the daily leaderboard, with Stanmore, Capricorn Metals and West African Resources all rallying more than five per cent.
Fortescue was the best of the large cap miners, pushing 1.3 per cent higher to $18.58, followed by Rio Tinto (+1.0 per cent) and BHP (+0.3 per cent).
Gold is trading at $US3,432 ($A5,286) an ounce, roughly two per cent short of its record peak above $US3,500 an ounce, supported by expectations of lower interest rates, which boosts its attractiveness relative to yield-bearing assets like bonds.
Investors shrugged off concerns of lofty valuations in Australia's heavyweight banking sector, as the Commonwealth Bank gained one per cent to $179.08 per share, its recent 10 per cent correction from its $192 record proving short-lived.
The financial sector pushed 0.8 per cent higher over the session.
Energy stocks outperformed the broader market, rising 1.3 per cent, tracking with similar gains in Woodside and Santos after oil prices staged a modest rebound.
Coal producers performed even better, with Yancoal and New Hope Corporation each gaining more than 2.5 per cent, after data pointed to an uptick in coal imports to Asia in July.
While the market celebrated new highs, its operator the Australian Securities Exchange was forced to blush after tagging TPG Telecom in an unrelated takeover deal by TPG Capital, wiping as much as $437 million from the telco's market cap.
The Australian dollar is higher against most major currencies, buying 64.90 US cents, up from 64.60 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday gained 73.3 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 8,843.7
The broader All Ordinaries rose 82.3 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 9,111.1
The NZX 50 added 34.28 points (0.27%) to 12914.44
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA climbed 0.2% to 44,193.12, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 6,345.06 and the Nasdaq added 1.2% to 21,169.42.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Arista Networks Inc ANET surging 17.49%, Assurant Inc AIZ jumped 11.23%, and Match Group Inc MTCH lifted 10.50%.
The biggest decliners were Super Micro Computer Inc SMCI which dropped 18.23%, NRG Energy Inc NRG fell 13.56%, and The Mosaic Co MOS lost 13.34%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5% to 3,633.99 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.7% to 2,225.74.
Hong Kong shares ended flat. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was unchanged at 24,910.63.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% to 40,794.86.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.2% to 80,543.99.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.2% to 9,164.31. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX climbed 0.3% to 23,924.36, and the France's CAC 40 rose 0.2% to 7,635.03
