Covid hits sharemarket - again

New Zealand’s share market fell in tandem with equity markets around the world as the global economy continues to be hampered by covid-19 despite vaccine rollouts.

Wednesday, April 21st 2021, 6:37PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 143.21 points, or 1.1%, to 12,535.34. Within the index, 30 stocks fell, 16 rose and four were unchanged. Turnover was $147 million.

The fall wiped out almost all the progress made this month as the index moves up and down in volatile jolts, leaving jagged lines painted on the chart.

Wall Street declined for a second time overnight Wednesday and Asian markets followed it lower: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.8% and Australia’s ASX 200 was down half a percent.

Data collated by Johns Hopkins University shows daily Covid-19 infections remain near all-time highs, even as some wealthy countries begin to make progress with vaccination.

The so-called ‘stay at home stocks’ which propped up the share markets during the pandemic have not supported the market this time. Netflix reported disappointing subscriber growth and its shares plummeted more than 10%.

In NZ, Pushpay Holdings fell 2.6% to $1.86 today. It had been touted as a pandemic winner as its donation software enabled US churches to continue collecting revenue during lockdowns.

However, the company failed to pick up new customers during the period and lost market share to rivals.

Auckland International Airport also dropped 2.4% to $7.51 as the ongoing pandemic will limit how much traffic will pass through its terminals, even with the trans-Tasman bubble now open.

The day’s biggest fall was Ryman Healthcare which was down 3.7% at $14.10, followed by A2 Milk – another stock once thought of as benefitting from the pandemic – which fell 3.6% to $8.31.

Kiwi Property Group got resource consent to build a $63m office building at Sylvia Park in Auckland and it will start construction in October.

Its share price rose 0.8% to $1.245, but the day’s biggest gain belonged to Argosy Property which jumped 3.4% to $1.52. Precinct Properties also rose 1.8% to $1.66.

The NZ dollar was trading at 71.72 US cents at 5pm in Wellington, down from 72.08 cents yesterday.

The trade-weighted index was at 74.81 at 5pm, from 74.95 yesterday. The kiwi traded at 92.96 Australian cents from 92.49 cents, 77.46 yen from 78.02 yen, 59.61 euro cents from 59.73 cents, 51.47 British pence from 51.51 pence, and 4.6575 Chinese yuan from 4.6812 yuan.

Tags: Market Close