Shares slide as covid continues to wreak havoc

New Zealand shares continued to slide as the complications of navigating the pandemic caused concern among investors, with South Port reporting two covid cases aboard a ship.

Monday, July 19th 2021, 6:26PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 21.06 points, or 0.2%, to 12,652.09. Turnover was $106 million.

This mirrored Friday night’s trading session in the United States, where share prices fell on mixed economic data and spread of the delta variant of covid-19.

Travel-related stocks were among the worst affected today, as the Australian state of Victoria extended its lockdown and said it may tighten its border with New South Wales, which just recorded a fifth death from the recent outbreak.

Tourism Holdings declined 3.6% to $2.38, SkyCity Entertainment was down 3% at $3.30, and Air New Zealand fell 1.3% to $1.53.

Closer to home, two crew members aboard a container ship berthed at South Port have tested positive for covid-19. The port is working with the Ministry of Health to minimise risk to their staff and the wider Bluff community.

Shares in South Port declined 2.8% to $7.77 on light volume. Napier Port also declined 3.6% at $3.21, extending a decline which saw it fall 3.5% last week.

China’s largest port, the Yantian international container terminal, has been hit with a series of covid outbreaks that have caused severe shipping backlogs and congestion, which the port is struggling to overcome.

Port of Tauranga, on the other hand, rallied 1.5% to $6.80. It has had the least share price appreciation of the three, year-to-date.

Fuel retailer Z Energy said ending oil refining at Marsden Point will free up $150 million of working capital which will be used to deleverage and fund transition to a low carbon future.

Shares in the company climbed 0.7% to $2.85, while NZ Refining was up 1.2% at 82 cents per share.

Inflation data released last week prompted a strong reaction from financial markets, which are now pricing interest rate increases in anticipation of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand hiking the official cash rate as early as next month.

The two-year swap rate has climbed from 0.86% a week ago, to now sit above 1%, suggesting investors see the official cash rate at more than 1% during the next 12 months.

The NZ dollar, however, has had a more muted reaction and failed to hold above 70 US cents even after getting a boost last week.

The kiwi was trading at 69.84 US cents by 3pm in Wellington, down from 69.93 cents on Friday.

The trade-weighted index was at 74.18 at 3pm, from 74.12 on Friday. The kiwi traded at 94.64 Australian cents from 94.27 cents, 76.77 yen from 76.93 yen, 59.18 euro cents from 59.24 cents, 50.78 British pence from 50.57 pence, and 4.5270 Chinese yuan from 4.5229 yuan.

Tags: Market Close