Market Announcements
Market Summary
Property stocks continued their rally yesterday as the New Zealand sharemarket awaits a further interest rate cut to reboot the economy. The market expectation is split between an official cash rate (OCR) reduction this week of 25 and the heftier 50 basis points. The S&P/NZX 50 Index opened the week on a weaker note, declining 24.85 points or 0.18% to 13,489.24. The index has risen 2.9% so far this year. There were 69 gainers and 73 decliners on the main board with 35.2 million shares worth $103.1m changing hands.
The Reserve Bank last cut the OCR by 25 basis points to 3% in August, and one-year bank term deposits are down to 3.5%. ASB Bank is expecting the Reserve Bank to reduce the OCR by 50 basis points to 2.5% on Wednesday, saying let’s get the recovery started. “It’s not about if it will cut the OCR but whether it is a pedestrian 25 basis points or more get-up-and-go 50bp. We are in the 50bp camp, mainly because we think there is a growing risk the economic recovery will be too gradual to absorb spare capacity steadily,” ASB said.
After surging 14.6% in the September quarter, the property sector gained another 1.4% on strong trading. The rally has also spilled over to retirement village stocks. Stride Property rose 4.5c or 3.16% to $1.47; Argosy increased 2c to $1.31, Investore gained 2.5c or 1.98% to $1.29; Kiwi was up 1.5c to $1.095; Precinct Properties added 1.5c to $1.36; Vital Healthcare Trust improved 6c or 2.63% to $2.34; and Property for Industry was up 3c to $2.52. Ryman Healthcare increased 9c or 3.45% to $2.70, and Summerset gained 17c to $11.10.
The ANZ World Commodity Price Index fell 1.1% in September on lower dairy prices. Whole milk powder, New Zealand’s largest export product, fell 5.6%, skim milk powder was down 5.9%, and butter decreased 3.5%. After a surprisingly strong August, dairy prices have resumed the downward trend seen since May. Strong production outlooks in New Zealand and other key dairy exporting countries were weighing on global prices, ANZ said. The meat and fibre index increased 0.8% last month, wool was up 7.5%, and horticulture rose 1.8%, with apple prices falling slightly and kiwifruit gaining.
SkyCity declined 0.005c to 71c following the resignation of its chief financial officer, Peter Fredricson. He will most likely stay on till the end of February after being appointed to the role in early August last year.
Leading the market down were Ebos Group, declining 51c to $29.51; Meridian Energy decreasing 8c to $5.83; and Freightways falling 36c or 2.58% to $13.59 on profit-taking. Scales Corp was up 12c or 2.11% to $5.82; while Serko was down 7c or 2.56% to $2.66 and Skellerup decreased 9c to $5.16.
Auckland International Airport was down 2c to $7.89 after the Commerce Commission decided there was no need for an inquiry into airport regulation following another request from Air New Zealand. The airport company said effective and stable regulation was essential for ongoing private investment in critical infrastructure, with a planned spend of $5.7 billion over 10 years. “Between 2023 and 2027, the airport’s regulated per passenger domestic jet charges are rising by an average of $1.26 a year – a fair and reasonable price for capacity and improvements we are currently delivering that benefit all airport users, including airlines,” the company said. The commission said it still intended to proceed with a review of information disclosure requirements for major airport investment.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 19 points higher at 9005.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has retreated from record highs, as investors await a catalyst to send the bourse into unchartered territory.
The S&P/ASX200 fell six points on Monday, down 0.07 per cent, to 8,981.4, as the broader All Ordinaries eased 8.1 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 9,280.
The top 200 nudged its best-ever close in the morning, but quickly faded as investors mulled thin order books due in part to delayed US economic data and bank holidays in China until Thursday.
"We're just kind of looking for catalysts now to see if we can push to fresh record highs," Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda told AAP.
"And that will probably have to come from offshore and depends on this US government shutdown and whether we get more data in the week ahead."
Investors in the Brisbane Broncos didn't need to look far for their impetus after the team won the NRL grand final on Sunday, booting the organisation's value as much as 53 per cent higher in early trade.
By the close, that gain had returned to earth somewhat with a thoroughly respectable boost of 26.9 per cent, adding $35 million to its former $129 million market cap.
Four of 11 local sectors finished clearly higher on Monday, as gold, copper and oil price gains buoyed the raw materials, energy and utilities sectors.
Gold hit a new all-time high of $US3,945 ($A5,976), driven by safe-haven demand and growing hopes of US interest rate cuts, lifting local gold producers.
Copper prices rallied to above 16-month highs amid ongoing supply disruptions at major mines in Chile and Indonesia, supporting ASX-listed miners like Sandfire Resources, which surged four per cent to $15.54.
Larger miners BHP and Rio Tinto capped the sector's gains, edging lower and tracking with a modest dip in iron ore prices.
A rebound in oil prices lifted energy and utilities stocks, after OPEC+ crude oil production hikes announced on the weekend were smaller than expected, pushing crude higher.
Australia's financial sector handed back its early gains to finish the day 0.1 per cent lower, with mixed performances from the big four banks on either side of break-even.
IT stocks underperformed the bourse, tumbling 1.4 per cent as sector giants WiseTech and Xero sunk more than two per cent, tracking with a weak Friday performance from Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Consumer facing stocks also sold off, with both staples and discretionaries shedding 0.5 per cent in broad segment slumps.
Selling resumed in the health care sector, which dropped 0.9 per cent after closing out its first positive week of the previous seven on Friday.
Defence technology Droneshield was back on top of the S&P/ASX200 leaderboard, flying more than 10 per cent higher to a record close of $6.29.
At the other end of the table was Mesoblast, which handed back most of Friday's gains which followed news one of its medicines had been approved for rebates in the US.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.05 US cents, up slightly from 65.98 US cents on Friday at 5pm.
The Japanese yen has sold off against major currencies after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected Sanae Takaichi as leader, after she campaigned on debt-fuelled strategic spending and tax cuts.
Japan's leading stock index, the Nikkei, was up five per cent by 5pm AEDT and on track for a record close, while Japanese bond yields also pushed higher.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 fell six points, or 0.07 per cent, to 8,981.4
The broader All Ordinaries lost 8.1 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 9,280
The NZX 50 Lost -36.79 points (-0.27%) to 13452.45
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Reece Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA fell 0.1% to 46,694.97, the S&P 500 lifted 0.4% to 6,740.28 and the Nasdaq rose 0.7% to 22,941.67.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD surging 23.68%, Tesla Inc TSLA jumped 5.44%, and Monolithic Power Systems Inc MPWR lifted 5.31%.
The biggest decliners were AppLovin Corp APP which dropped 14.06%, Verizon Communications Inc VZ fell 5.11%, and Starbucks Corp SBUX lost 5.00%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3,882.78 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.4% to 2,519.42.
Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.7% to 26,957.77.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average lifted 4.8% to 47,944.76.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX added 0.7% to 81,790.12.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index declined 0.1% to 9,479.14. In Europe, shares closed mixed. The Germany's DAX was unchanged at 24,378.29, and the France's CAC 40 dropped 1.4% to 7,971.78
