Market Announcements
Market Summary
The New Zealand sharemarket edged toward record territory yesterday, helped by growing expectations that the economy is turning and 2026 could bring better times. After a late dip, the S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 7.98 points, or 0.06%, to 13,556.30 – just shy of the 13,558.19 peak reached on January 8, 2021. That record stood for nearly five years until October 9, 2025, when the index closed at a new all-time high of 13,570.86.
The benchmark has gained more than 3.3% so far this year. There were 78 gainers and 67 decliners on the main board with 39.51 million shares worth $134.72 million changing hands. The local market has quietly gone about making steady gains over the last 12 months. At the end of October, the NZX 50 increased 7.2% while the MidCap Index rose 20.1%. This compares with the S&P/ASX 200 Index up 8.8% over the past 12 months; US S&P 500 gaining 19.9%; Nasdaq Composite rising 31.1%, Japan Nikkei 225 Index increasing 34.1%; and Hong Kong Hang Seng up 27.5%.
Fisher & Paykel was down 35c to $36.75; Infratil slipped 1c to $12.35; and Ebos eased 3c to $28.87. Summerset rebounded 25c or 2.16% to $11.85; T&G Global increased 12c or 5.36% to $2.36; Scott Technology was up 10c or 3.25% to $3.18; Foley Wines gained 3c or 5.26% to 60c; and SkyCity added 1.5c or 2.05% to 74.5c. Turners Automotive was up 14c or 1.92% to $7.45; Hallenstein Glasson gained 14c to $9.99; and Colonial Motor increased 26c or 3.25% to $8.26.
Global marketer a2 Milk was up 12c to $10.92 after confirming the sale of its 75% stake and China Animal Husbandry Group’s 25% shareholding in Mataura Valley Milk to Open Country.
Westpac rose $1.65 or 3.77% to $45.40 after reporting full-year net profit of A$6.9 billion, down 1%, and net interest income of A$19.46b, up 3%. The New Zealand business contributed 16% of the net profit. The trans-Tasman banking group said loans were up 6% to A$851.9b and customer deposits increased 7% to A$723b. There was 22% growth in the agribusiness portfolio, with the majority from existing customers. In NZ, Westpac has an 18% market share in consumer lending, 17% of deposits and 16% in business lending.
Port of Tauranga was down 18c or 2.29% to $7.68 after setting a new net profit guidance of $137m-$147m. Other decliners were Gentrack down 20c or 2.19% to $8.95; and Eroad falling 5.5c or 2.82% to $1.895. Santana Minerals, down 1c to 88c, has lodged the application for consents under the new Fast-Track Approvals Act for the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project in Central Otago. The gold miner expects the project to generate 351 direct jobs, contribute $5.8b in gross domestic product and deliver $1.8b in government revenue through taxes and royalties over the initial 13.8-year life of the mine.
Medical cannabis company Rua Bioscience declined 0.004c or 11.43% to 3.1c after telling the market it was raising $2m through a one for three rights issue at 2.5c a share. Rua said the capital raise was expected to fund the business to a self-sustaining position. Rua has increased its revenue to $1.9m from $322,000 in the 2024 financial year and is expecting to hit $3m by the end of the 2026 financial year.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 2 points lower at 8881.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has eked a small gain to start the week, with banks and the tech sector counterbalancing losses in health care and mining stocks.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 12.9 points on Monday, up 0.15 per cent, to 8,894.8, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 4.5 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 9,182.5.
"It's been a pretty flat day now that the dust has settled on a massive week, so we've removed a lot of obstacles out of the way for markets but questions remain about what sort of momentum persists for equities," Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda told AAP.
"Basically, now we're really looking for a fresh catalyst to start the new week."
Five of 11 local sectors finished the session higher, led by financials, IT and energy stocks, while health care companies and raw materials producers dragged on the bourse.
Westpac and CBA led the big four banks higher, each up more than two per cent as investors gave Westpac's full-year results a tick of approval.
NAB and Macquarie will post results for the recent half later in the week.
Elsewhere in financials, insurers were broadly lower, led by a 1.3 per cent dip in Suncorp shares as claims from recent storms in southeast Queensland and Victoria continued to roll in.
Energy stocks were strong after an OPEC+ production pivot pumped up oil prices, supporting Woodside and Santos, which each lifted more than 1.1 per cent.
Coal producers edged higher while investors took profits on uranium plays after last week's run-up.
Materials stocks slipped 0.9 per cent as gold stocks weighed on the sector, with Northern Star, Evolution and Genesis each tumbling two per cent or more.
Despite pressure on miners, spot gold found some buyers during the session to help the precious metal reclaim the $US4,000 ($A6,100) an ounce level.
Iron ore miners had a quiet session, with BHP and Rio Tinto trading flat and Fortescue giving up 1.1 per cent, after iron ore futures fell to $US105 on the back of China's September manufacturing activity contracting by more than expected in September, prompting concerns about demand.
Lithium miners Pilbara Minerals and Liontown Resources sold off in the afternoon after a strong few days, while mixed miners and rare earths producers were also broadly weaker.
IT stocks outperformed the broader market with a 1.7 per cent improvement, after a strong Friday lead from the Nasdaq which gathered momentum as US futures pointed to further upside in the afternoon.
Accounting software Xero rallied more than two per cent, while tracking software Life360 surged 3.2 per cent to $51.36 and Megaport rocketed 7.6 per cent higher to $17.71.
Health care stocks continued to struggle, tumbling 1.7 per cent and led by a 4.3 per cent slump in sleep device maker ResMed despite a decent September-quarter performance.
Weaker-than expected September retail data helped consumer discretionary stocks snap the three-day sell-off that followed last week's surprise inflation spike.
The spending figures marginally reduced pressure on the Reserve Bank to consider tightening monetary policy to counteract the jump in price growth, CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun said.
"Household spending data disappointed expectations in September, adding some support for my contention that the underlying pace of consumer spending is not quite as strong as most economists and the RBA have been assessing in recent months," Mr Colhoun said.
"At the margin, this supports the view that some additional interest rate easing will be forthcoming from the RBA."
The Australian dollar is buying 65.59 US cents, up slightly from 65.41 US cents on Friday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 12.9 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8,894.8
The broader All Ordinaries gained 4.5 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 9,182.5
The NZX 50 added 3.4 points (0.03%) to 13559.7
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA slipped 0.5% to 47,336.68, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 6,851.97 and the Nasdaq lifted 0.5% to 23,834.72.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were IDEXX Laboratories Inc IDXX surging 14.84%, Kenvue Inc KVUE jumped 12.32%, and Incyte Corp INCY lifted 8.68%.
The biggest decliners were Kimberly-Clark Corp KMB which dropped 14.59%, Moderna Inc MRNA fell 8.36%, and Charter Communications Inc CHTR lost 4.99%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lifted 0.5% to 3,976.52 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.4% to 2,520.62.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1% to 26,158.36.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 2.1% to 52,411.34.
India shares ended flat. The BSE SENSEX was unchanged at 83,978.49.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.2% to 9,701.37. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX gained 0.7% to 24,132.41, and the France's CAC 40 dropped 0.1% to 8,109.79
