NZ Stocks Eke Out Gain As Investors Tread Water

The New Zealand sharemarket managed to eke out a slight gain on Friday as investors continued to tread water before the end of the year. The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended 11.04 points (0.08%) higher at 13,406.91, with 23.8 million shares, worth $92.1m, trading. There were 84 gains and 48 falls on the main board. Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average and its S&P 500 reached new highs after the Federal Reserve cut its interest rate. Still, results from tech giants Oracle and later semiconductor firm Broadcom dampened the mood.

Locally, the market took some heart from the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI), which hit 51.4 in November. A reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining.

Among the banks, ANZ firmed 78c to $41.41 after announcing that it would “vigorously” defend action commenced by former CEO Shayne Elliott in the NSW Supreme Court over remuneration outcomes in the 2025 financial year.

Cash-strapped mānuka honey Comvita gained 2.5c to 53c after advising the market that it had secured support from its bankers and that it would require a $25m capital raise. The financing extension follows a failed attempt by Florenz – a unit of Christchurch-based Masthead, the investment vehicle of the Stewart family – to take the company over at 80c a share.

Among the bigger stocks, retirement village company Ryman gained 7c to $2.95.  Clothing retailer Hallensteins firmed by 30c or 3% to $10.20 after its upbeat sales report. Tourism Holdings slips Tourism Holdings – which initially firmed after announcing it was going to close the Australian manufacturing business – lost 8c to $2.60.

Port of Tauranga (POT) gained 8c to $7.58. Research firm Morningstar, citing improved consumer confidence data for November, upgraded its annual net profit outlook for POT by 5% to $144m, in the top half of the company’s own $137m to $147m guidance range and 14% above last year's.

Source: Business Desk

Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 51 points lower at 8659.

- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has finished higher for a third straight week, with miners carving a path to victory after a string of weak sessions.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 105.3 points on Friday, up 1.23 per cent, to 8,697.3, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 105.8 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 8,983.3.

The top 200 ended the week 0.64 per cent higher after losses in the first three sessions and something of a false start on Thursday when excitement about US borrowing costs gave way to worries about lofty tech valuations.

The bourse's best session in five weeks followed a mixed session on Wall Street, where the tech-heavy Nasdaq traded lower but the S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to record highs.

Any mixed feelings faded by Friday as miners rallied on higher commodity prices, Betashares chief economist David Bassanese told AAP.

"The optimism around Asia today seems to be a delayed reaction to US rate cut optimism, and the strength today was a little bit surprising given that the US market was only up by a little bit overnight."

"I'm not sure it's a tech rotation story here in Australia; maybe this is part of a growth-to-value rotation because we're seeing non-US markets do better than the US market overnight."

The raw materials sector charged two per cent upward as gold surged to seven-week highs to trade hands at $US4,277, less than $US100 from October's record highs.

Evolution and Ramelius Resources soared more than four per cent each, while US-headquartered Newmont rocketed 5.7 per cent to $150.06, getting an extra boost from its exposure to silver, which trounced its own record to top $US64 an ounce.

Major miners also performed well, with Rio Tinto jumping 2.5 per cent as the Albanese government revealed a rescue bid for the miner's Tomago aluminium smelter, while BHP and Fortescue notched more than one per cent lifts as iron ore futures hovered near $US106 a tonne.

Lithium producers ended the day slightly lower despite a mostly strong week, while rare earths stocks were broadly higher on a broadly rosier outlook for their underlying commodities and the resource sector.

The Commonwealth Bank led the big four banks higher, up 2.1 per cent to $155.96 and helping the broader sector notch a 1.7 per cent boost for the week to its highest value since mid-November.

NAB was the second-best of the bunch, up 1.8 per cent as leaders struck a conciliatory tone with shareholder activists at the bank's annual meeting.

It was a mixed five sessions for the healthcare sector, which ended the week lower despite a 1.5 per cent rally on Friday.

Energy stocks edged 0.4 per cent higher as oil prices firmed on supply concerns amid reports the US is preparing to seize more Venezuelan oil tankers.

Elsewhere in the sector, uranium producers Paladin and Deep Yellow posted gains of more than four per cent, while laser enrichment company Silex Systems tumbled 4.4 per cent as it continues its volatile ride towards fair value after a sharp run-up in September-October.

Locally listed IT stocks had a rough week, down 4.7 per cent over the five sessions, while consumer discretionaries and staples lost 1.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

The Australian dollar is buying 66.68 US cents, holding at three-month highs for a third-straight session against the greenback and up from 66.35 US cents on Thursday.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 rose 105.3 points, or 1.23 per cent, to 8,697.3

The broader All Ordinaries gained 105.8 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 8,983.3

The NZX 50 Lost -41.88 points (-0.31%) to 13365.03

Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):

FleetPartners Group Limited

[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA declined 0.5% to 48,458.05, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% to 6,827.41 and the Nasdaq fell 1.7% to 23,195.17.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Lululemon Athletica Inc LULU surging 9.67%, The Mosaic Co MOS jumped 4.15%, and GE Aerospace GE lifted 3.97%.

The biggest decliners were SanDisk Corp SNDK which dropped 14.67%, Broadcom Inc AVGO fell 11.41%, and Corning Inc GLW lost 7.98%.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4% to 3,889.35 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.7% to 2,473.40.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 1.7% to 25,976.79.

Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.4% to 50,836.55.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX gained 0.5% to 85,267.66.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.6% to 9,649.03. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX declined 0.4% to 24,186.49, and the France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 8,068.62