Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket ended strongly Friday as investors anticipated better things to come on the back of an improved reporting season and lower interest rates. The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed 56.95 points or 0.42% higher at 13,489.15, with 35.48 million shares, worth $130.4 million trading. There were 81 gains and 56 falls on the main board. Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX200 index was flat late in the NZ day and markets globally were subdued because of the US Thanksgiving holiday.
Among the big cap stocks, Infratil gained 28c to $11.67 on the back of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing new capital expenditure rose 6.4% in the September quarter. “The lift in investment was the result of a large rise in spending on datacentres, and investment in air transport,” the ABS said. Infratil owns 48% of Canberra-based CDC – the largest privately owned and operated datacentre business across Australia and New Zealand.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare continued to gain after reporting a strong first-half result, firming 45c to $37.30.
Among the other heavyweights, the previously out of favour Ebos rallied by 55c or 2% to $28.50, while Mainfreight gained $1.60 to $67.20, up 2.4%. Infrastructure software specialist Gentrack gained 36c to $10.75 before its investor day in Sydney on Monday. Ryman gave up some post-result gains to end 1c down at $2.91 while Vulcan Steel dropped 23c or 2.8%to $8.00. Among the small caps, New Talisman Gold Mines (NTL) traded at 4c a share before the company went into a trading halt pending the possible addition of a new investor. “The NTL board must meet to consider the company’s current financial position and its strategic path forward,” NTL said. “The board cannot reach a conclusion until it has heard from a potential investor who will advise us on their position early next week.”
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 4 points higher at 8628.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has broken a four-week losing streak despite a flat final session, notching its best weekly performance since May.
The S&P/ASX200 slipped 3.2 points on Friday, down 0.04 per cent, to 8,614.1, while the broader All Ordinaries edged 6.7 points higher, or 0.08 per cent, to 8,918.7.
Trading volumes sunk as a US bank holiday provided the backdrop for the quiet session, after hopes of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve buoyed global equities during the week.
"The gains we've seen back reflect that change in global thinking about US interest rates," Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.
"But it's cold comfort, really for Australian investors, because the inflation data we saw this week clearly indicates the Reserve Bank has no room to reduce rates at the moment."
With the focus on US rates, any rationale for the week's local equities rally was a bit shaky, Mr McCarthy said.
"I'm concerned that this might dawn as a slow burn over Australian investors that rates aren't coming down and they might be going up," he said.
"That might mean we need to reprice the risk of shares."
Eight of 11 local sectors ended the day higher, led by consumer staples, IT stocks and utilities, while financials, real estate plays and the communications segment fell behind.
Woolworths led staples higher with a 3.2 per cent rally on the back of an upgrade from JP Morgan, while Endeavour surged almost two per cent.
A 0.7 per cent drop in financials came as all big four banks traded lower, but the broader sector still managed to snap a two-week losing run with a 0.2 per cent push since Monday.
Raw materials stocks surged more than five per cent over the week, but were mixed on Friday as concerns about China's property sector weighed on iron ore futures.
BHP and Rio Tinto traded slightly lower on Friday but were up more than three per cent each over the five sessions.
Gold stocks were broadly higher on the back of higher US rate cut expectations, as the spot price climbed to $US4,184 ($A6,406) an ounce, lifting VanEck's Goldminers ETF more than 10 per cent since Monday to five-week highs.
Energy stocks edged slightly lower over the five sessions, coiling tightly as investors weighed oil oversupply concerns and a potential Ukraine-Russia peace plan against a re-escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
The tech sector was the week's best performer, soaring more than six per cent to snap a four-week losing streak, with dip buyers scooping up IT stocks in unison with a lift in Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.29 US cents, down from 65.38 on Thursday evening, but trading at two-week highs on the back of shifting US interest rate expectations.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell 3.2 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 8,614.1
The broader All Ordinaries gained 6.7 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 8,918.7
The NZX 50 added 17.60 points (0.13%) to 13506.75
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Dyno Nobel Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended higher. The DJIA climbed 0.6% to 47,716.42, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,849.09 and the Nasdaq added 0.7% to 23,365.69.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Intel Corp INTC surging 10.19%, Moderna Inc MRNA jumped 3.88%, and SanDisk Corp SNDK lifted 3.83%.
The biggest decliners were Eli Lilly and Co LLY which dropped 2.61%, Best Buy Co Inc BBY fell 2.10%, and NVIDIA Corp NVDA lost 1.82%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 3,888.60 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1% to 2,453.81.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3% to 25,858.89.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.2% to 50,253.91.
India shares ended flat. The BSE SENSEX was unchanged at 85,706.67.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.3% to 9,720.51. In Europe, shares closed higher. The Germany's DAX rose 0.3% to 23,836.79, and the France's CAC 40 gained 0.3% to 8,122.71
