Market Announcements
Market Summary
Interest rate-sensitive property stocks had a stronger day on Wednesday as the New Zealand sharemarket climbed more than 1% on steady oil prices. The S&P/NZX 50 Index powered ahead in the afternoon and closed at 13,315.6, up 133.37 points or 1.01%. But the index has fallen nearly 3% this month because of the Middle East conflict. There were 90 gainers and 45 decliners on the main board, with turnover reaching 35.58 million shares worth $155.13 million.
Brent Crude was trading at US$101 a barrel (6pm NZ time), down from $102.7 the day before. Markets were waiting for the latest commentary from the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to keep cash rates unchanged at 3.5-3.75%. Of greater interest will be the Fed’s view on the inflationary impact of the Middle East conflict and rising oil prices. Diesel prices in the US have jumped back above US$5 a gallon at the pumps for the first time since December 2022. A survey showed most economists think that if oil stays around current elevated levels for an extended period, it could add roughly 0.5 percentage points to US headline inflation, complicating the Fed’s path to cutting rates. Uber Technologies was up 4.19% to US77.79 after announcing a partnership with Nvidia to roll out self-driving taxis (autonomous robotaxis) in Los Angeles and San Francisco from next year, with expansion to 28 cities by 2028.
At home, BNZ has followed Westpac in lifting its mortgage rates. Stats NZ reported the country’s seasonally adjusted current account balance widened by $857m to a deficit of $4.6 billion in the December quarter. And the annual deficit was $16.3b, 3.7% of gross domestic product, compared with a $15.4b deficit in the year ending September.
The property sector on the NZX gained 1.84%, with Argosy increasing 4c or 3.6% to $1.15; Precinct up 2.5c or 2.33% to $1.10; Property for Industry gaining 5c or 2.17% to $2.35; Investore adding 2.5c or 2.34% to $1.095; and Goodman Trust collecting 2c to $1.96.
Meridian Energy was up 16c or 2.93% to $5.63; a2 Milk increased 25c or 2.17% to $11.75; Freightways gained 29c or 2.23% to $13.29; Infratil added 17c to $11.07; and Port of Tauranga collected 12c to $7.99.
Tourism Holdings rose 14c or 6.57% to $2.27 after confirming full-year net profit guidance of $43m-$47m in a presentation to the NZ Shareholders Association. The recreational vehicle company said it has not experienced a material level of immediate cancellation in the Australia and New Zealand bookings as a result of flight disruptions through the Middle East. The impacts from the conflict are less relevant to North American bookings, as international customers travelling there do not typically transit through the Middle East.
Chorus was up 14c to $9.43; Scales Corp rose 24c or 4.06% to $6.15; Vector collected 12.5c or 2.75% to $4.67; Tower added 5c or 2.71% to $1.895; Sky TV rebounded 9c or 2.95% to $3.14; and NZX increased 4.3c or 3.22% to $1.38. Summerset was down 23c or 2.28% to $9.85; Vista Group decreased 9c or 4.86% to $1.76; The Warehouse shed 1.5c or 2.14% to 68.5c; Move Logistics declined 2c or 8.7% to 21c; and Metro Performance Glass fell 10c or 9.52% to 95c.
Rua Gold, unchanged at $1.80, told the market that recent test drilling at the Auld Creek project in the West Coast Reefton Goldfield has shown strong evidence for expansion of the resource. The early results support the decision to undertake a preliminary economic assessment as part of a fast-track application for a mining permit at the end of the year, Rua said.
Source: Business Desk
Australian Market Report
Ahead of the local open SPI futures were 86 points lower at 8573.
- close [Morningstar with AAP]: Australia's share market has logged a second session of gains on easing oil prices, and as the Reserve Bank's recent split interest rate decision softened the outlook for future hikes.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 26.3 points on Wednesday, up 0.31 per cent, to 8,640.6, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 28.3 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 8,847.7.
Oil prices faded by 2.4 per cent during the session, after Iraqi and Kurdish authorities agreed to resume crude exports via Turkey's Ceyhan port, providing an alternative to the effectively halted Strait of Hormuz.
"I really don't feel like the ASX200 has got a lot of potential to get back up much higher than 8760 to 8770 ... until we get some sort of resolution about what is going to play out in the Middle East," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"It feels like a bit of a parting of the storm clouds, but I just don't know how far away the return of those storm clouds is at this point in time."
Ten of 11 local sectors ended the session higher, led by IT and real estate stocks as swap markets softened their bets on a May rate hike following a surprisingly close RBA board vote to lift the cash rate on Tuesday.
Energy stocks gained 0.7 per cent, with much of the strength coming from coal producers and some modest gains from uranium stocks.
Oil and Gas giant Woodside traded slightly better than flat as it named Liz Westacott as CEO and managing director, in a widely expected appointment.
Santos gained 0.8 per cent, despite news the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility is appealing a Federal Court decision that cleared the explorer of greenwashing in investor communications.
Basic materials stocks rose 0.5 per cent, with decent leads from BHP and Rio Tinto, as iron ore futures hovered near two-month highs.
BHP has announced Brandon Craig will replace Mike Henry at the helm after more than six years in the top job.
Gold miners were sluggish as the precious metal fell to $US4,990 ($A7,013) an ounce, with investors cautious ahead of a Federal Reserve interest rate decision due overnight on Wednesday.
In financials, CommBank and Westpac carved out gains, while NAB and ANZ dragged after Morgan Stanley flagged potential earnings downgrades for the sector due to ongoing economic uncertainty.
Commonwealth Bank's share price would likely be the most resilient, researchers said, while NAB was the most exposed to slowdown scenarios.
Health care stocks made up the only sector to end the day lower, sliding 0.7 per cent as blood plasma giant CSL tumbled more than two per cent, despite inking some favourable deals for its CSL Seqirus arm this week.
In company news, metals recycling group Sims rocketed 9.9 per cent higher on the back of an earnings upgrade, thanks to price strength in non-ferrous metals and chip memory markets.
Droneshield performed even better, up more than 10 per cent and beating out the top-200, as the US Pentagon flagged plans to dramatically increase attack drone production.
ARN Media shares dipped 1.5 per cent to 33.5 cents on news the group terminated Kyle Sandilands' $100 million contract after pulling Kyle and Jackie O radio show off the air.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.19 US cents, up from 70.61 US cents on Tuesday afternoon.
ON THE ASX:
The S&P/ASX200 rose 26.3 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 8,640.6
The broader All Ordinaries gained 28.3 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 8,847.7
The NZX 50 Lost -108.3 points (-0.82%) to 13207.3
Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):
Cochlear Limited
Kelsian Group Limited
Macmahon Holdings Limited
Spark New Zealand Limited
The a2 Milk Company Limited
Yancoal Australia Limited
Overseas Market Report
[Morningstar with Dow Jones]:
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA slipped 1.6% to 46,225.15, the S&P 500 declined 1.4% to 6,624.70 and the Nasdaq fell 1.5% to 22,152.42.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were LyondellBasell Industries NV LYB surging 5.62%, SanDisk Corp SNDK jumped 4.56%, and Ciena Corp CIEN lifted 4.11%.
The biggest decliners were Carvana Co CVNA which dropped 7.49%, Otis Worldwide Corp OTIS fell 6.67%, and Charter Communications Inc CHTR lost 6.08%.
Asia
Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lifted 0.3% to 4,062.98 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1% to 2,680.88.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.6% to 26,025.42.
Japanese shares ended higher. The Nikkei Stock Average lifted 2.9% to 55,239.40.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 0.8% to 76,704.13.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index declined 0.9% to 10,305.29. In Europe, shares closed lower. The Germany's DAX fell 1% to 23,502.25, and the France's CAC 40 dropped 0.1% to 7,969.88
