Market Announcements
Market Summary
Heavyweights Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Auckland International Airport and Infratil led the New Zealand sharemarket to a handy gain yesterday despite a sharp Wall Street dip on cryptocurrency concerns. The S&P/NZX 50 Index opened weaker, hitting a morning low of 13,438.1, before recovering in the afternoon and closing at 13,502.77, up 54.28 points or 0.4%. There were 67 gainers and 62 decliners on the main board, with trading reaching 33.02 million shares worth $125.88m.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Auckland Airport and Infratil, in the top four of NZ’s biggest listed stocks on market capitalisation, increased 57c to $38, 11c to $8.09 and 15c to $11.75, respectively.
In the US, the latest Institute of Supply Management manufacturing survey came in softer than expected, with the index slipping to 48.2 - its weakest reading since July and the ninth straight month in contraction territory. In NZ, the BWA Insolvency September quarterly report showed total insolvencies increased 5% from the previous quarter to 777. While this was 6% lower than the same period last year, the quarterly rise signalled ongoing stress for businesses burdened by legacy debt and tighter credit conditions, the report said. While construction remains the largest contributor with 192 insolvencies in the September quarter, the sharpest increases came from transport and delivery (up 29% from the second quarter and 40% year-on-year), manufacturing (up 21% and 37%), and food and beverage (up 15% and 27%).
Other leading stocks making good gains were Channel Infrastructure, up 9c or 3.37% to $2.76; Ebos Group, up 28c to $28.61; and Napier Port, up 5c to $3.57. Third Age Health gained another 24c or 3.05% to $6.79, while Bremworth added 2.5c or 2.84% to 90.5c.
In the property sector, Vital Healthcare Trust gained 5.5c or 2.85% to $1.98, and Property for Industry was up 4c to $2.47. Gentrack declined 40c or 3.79% to $10.15; Summerset decreased 24c or 1.89% to $12.48; Briscoe Group was down 14c or 2.64% to $5.17, and Seeka shed 8c or 1.77% to $4.45. Skellerup Holdings was down 12c or 2.2% to $5.33; Mainfreight drifted 87c to $67.05; and Eroad declined 4.5c or 3.1% to $1.40.
Scott Technology, down 9c or 3% to $2.91, told shareholders at the annual meeting that it was entering the 2026 financial year with solid momentum, ongoing demand for automation and productivity solutions, and a forward work pipeline of $169m. Scott’s Destination 2030 growth plan has targeted revenue of $530m, up from $275m in FY25, with 35% of it coming from services, and a 14% increase in operating earnings (ebitda).
Air NZ, unchanged at 59.5c, carried 1.26m passengers in October, up 0.8% on the same month last year, and 5.2m for the year to date, an increase of 1.9%. The passenger load factor in October was 84.4% compared with 85.3%. Domestic passengers were down 2.8% to 780,000, while passengers on the Tasman/Pacific routes increased 10.8% to 331,000.
Tourism Holdings, unchanged at $2.54, presented to the ASX CEO Connect conference, saying FY26 is a transition year for a return to growth, supported by the continued recovery in international tourism and rental revenue, alongside the expansion of its fleet in recent years to 8,564 recreational vehicles. Uvre, unchanged at 22c, is changing its name to Minerals Exploration on the NZX, with Norman Seckold moving to chairman and Brett Mitchell becoming executive director.
New Talisman Gold Mines, presently in a trading halt, told the market it had pledges for short-term funding of $550,000 on terms still to be finalised, contingent on the successful negotiation with other long-term potential investors. The gold miner said initial grades achieved were below expectations, and its first shipment netted US$21,700, resulting in the need for short-term cash flow support.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 15 points higher at 8607.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has ended the day slightly higher after see-sawing during the session, buoyed by strength in energy and mining.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 14.5 points on Tuesday, up 0.17 per cent to 8,579.7, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 11.1 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 8,877.5.
Energy and raw materials stocks led five of 11 local sectors higher, while IT stocks dropped 1.6 per cent in a sell-off.
"There was a real standout in today's session, and that's largely because our mining and energy stocks have been tracking stronger commodity prices," CommSec market analyst Laura Besarati said.
"We saw oil prices gaining ground amid geopolitical risks to supply following drone attacks by Ukraine, we've seen gold touch a six-week high amid US rate cut bets ... and copper and silver both climbed to fresh peaks."
The 1.1 per cent boost to the energy sector came with Woodside and Santos shares lifting on the back of stronger crude prices as investors continued to weigh the conflict in Ukraine against recent supply glut concerns.
Coal miners also rallied with Yancoal and Whitehaven up three and two per cent respectively, while metallurgical coal producer Stanmore was the top-200's second-best performer with a nearly four per cent gain.
BHP and Rio Tinto led the materials sector 0.7 per cent higher, buoyed by iron ore futures as they spiked to four-week highs before settling just above $US107 a tonne.
Gold prices stalled near November's highs to trade at $US4,226 ($A6,450) an ounce, providing a backdrop for a mixed performance from ASX-listed miners.
Newmont and Northern Star each faded more than 0.3 per cent, while Evolution carved out a 0.9 per cent improvement.
Pantoro Gold was the top-200's weakest performer, tumbling 11.9 per cent to $4.75 after significant shareholder Tulla Resources sold 25.8 million shares to return capital to principals and fund other projects.
The heavyweight financials sector traded slightly better than flat, as NAB grinded 0.7 per cent higher, while CBA lifted 0.4 per cent to $152.24, as ANZ broke even and Westpac fell behind as it provided a sustainability update to shareholders.
Buy-now, pay-later providers came under selling pressure as the attorneys-general from seven US states launched an inquiry into the sector, dragging Zip more than ten per cent into the red.
Droneshield continued its downtrend and has dropped 17 per cent in five sessions as it struggles to win back shareholder trust after its leadership dumped $70 million in stock in November, tanking the defence stock's share price.
In company news, shares in KFC owner operator Collins foods slipped 3.5 per cent despite boosting revenue in the recent half and upgrading its profit target, which came alongside a $1.3 million provision top-up for further "potential" wage underpayments.
Embattled bourse operator ASX swung from a sell-off to a 1.4 per cent lift a day after an announcements outage locked scores of companies into trading halts.
The turnaround wiped some of Monday's 2.8 per cent loss and came despite a downgrade from research group Morningstar.
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin has found some support near the $US87,000 ($132,740) level, but remains under selling pressure in a steep downtrend after tanking more than 30 per cent since hitting an all time high above $126,000 in early October.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.53 US cents, up from 65.44 US cents at Monday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 14.5 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 8,579.7
The broader All Ordinaries gained 11.1 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 8,877.5
The NZX 50 Lost -12.64 points (-0.09%) to 13490.13
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited
Liberty Financial Group
Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA added 0.4% to 47,474.46, the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 6,829.37 and the Nasdaq rose 0.6% to 23,413.67.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Boeing Co BA surging 10.27%, Intel Corp INTC jumped 8.46%, and NXP Semiconductors NV NXPI lifted 7.84%.
The biggest decliners were Block Inc XYZ which dropped 6.59%, Packaging Corp of America PKG fell 5.26%, and International Paper Co IP lost 3.42%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.4% to 3,897.71 and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 0.7% to 2,462.26.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.2% to 26,095.05.
Japanese shares ended flat. The Nikkei Stock Average was unchanged at 49,303.45.
India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 0.6% to 85,138.27.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished flat. The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 9,701.80. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX climbed 0.5% to 23,710.86, and the France's CAC 40 declined 0.3% to 8,074.61
