Lockdown 'net positive' for NZ sharemarket

New Zealand’s benchmark equity index finished the day almost unchanged having risen 1.6% across the week driven by good earnings results and an extended period of low-interest rates.

Saturday, August 21st 2021, 9:13AM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 16.48 points, or 0.1%, to 12,940.49. Turnover was $163 million.

General manager of CMC Markets NZ, Chris Smith said while the index dipped today it had been a strong week with stocks such as Chorus, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, and A2 Milk driving the gains.

Meal-kit company My Food Bag was one of the best performers today, closing up 4.5% at $1.38 – having traded as high as $1.43 – as investors bet it would benefit from the extended lockdown.

Briscoe Group was another stock that ultimately saw increased demand after the previous lockdown, it climbed 3.5% to $6.21.

“Lockdown certainly was a net positive for stocks,” Smith said.

Smith said the lockdown was “certainly a net positive” even for stocks that don’t benefit from it, as the covid outbreak stopped the RBNZ from hiking interest rates as it had planned.

“Every bank was forecasting rates to move higher, so to see the official cash rate on hold certainly lifted the spirits of equity investors,” he said.

The exception is travel stocks which have been hit once again. Tourism Holdings and Air New Zealand will both finish the week down almost 4%, at $2.31 and $1.42 respectively.

Skycity Entertainment has dropped almost 6% to $3.04 after unknowingly hosting a covid case in its Auckland casino on the weekend.

All Skycity’s NZ locations are closed, at least until midnight next Tuesday when alert levels will be reviewed by the government.

Vista Group International climbed 1.4% to $2.18 today on the news it had has signed a three-year agreement with British multinational cinema operator Vue International to use its campaign management and data analytics platform.

Vue, which also operates in Taiwan, has 226 sites with 1,997 screens in nine countries.

The kiwi dollar was trading at a nine-month low of 68.15 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, down from 68.52 cents yesterday.

Global traders were selling commodity currencies and risk assets on growing concern of slow economic growth that saw oil prices plunge to their lowest level since May.

This added to weakness in the currency after the RBNZ chose to defer their rate hikes, although simultaneously it warned the market the increases would still have to come at some stage.

The trade-weighted index was at 73.13, from 73.30 yesterday. The kiwi traded at 95.56 Australian cents from 94.99, traded at 74.75 yen from 75.44 yen, 58.35 euro cents from 58.64 cents, 50.02 British pence from 49.91 pence, and 4.4309 Chinese yuan from 4.4483 yuan.

Tags: Market Close