NZ shares fall with global rout

New Zealand shares dropped with a global sell-off which hit most major indices overnight as investors were rattled by everything from the Evergrande saga in China to the US debt limit impasse and surging energy prices.

Wednesday, September 29th 2021, 7:07PM

by BusinessDesk

New Zealand shares dropped with a global sell-off which hit most major indices overnight as investors were rattled by everything from the Evergrande saga in China to the US debt limit impasse and surging energy prices. The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 54.6 points, or 0.4%, to 13,189.23.

Turnover was $158 million. “The number and extent of global growth potholes are growing and there’s a whiff of stagflation concerns in the air, with global equity markets tumbling amidst a further incremental lift in global bond yields,” said BNZ interest rate strategist Jason Wong.

Currency traders flocked to safe havens such as the US dollar which rose at the expense of the kiwi and Australian dollars which fell as much as 1% overnight. Often during a market panic like this bond yields fall as investors moved to safe assets, however NZ government bonds remained near 1-year highs across the yield curve and global rates continued to grind slowly higher.

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Air NZ led the market lower, falling 3% to $1.625 – still above where many analysts have valued the company with borders closed for the foreseeable future.

The broad decline, which pulled two-thirds of the index lower, even hit traditionally defensive assets such as energy stocks.

Meridian dropped to near a yearlong low, down 0.9% to $4.98, while Vector declined 2.4% to $4.05 and Contact Energy slid 1.8% to $8.30.

Specialist lender Heartland Group bucked the trend and climbed 3.5% to reach $2.35, having fallen a similar amount last week.

Shares in big box retailer The Warehouse climbed 1.7% to $4.15 after it reported group sales up 8% at $3.4 billion and net profit more than double of last year’s $118m.

The group said increased demand after lockdowns and strong operational performance had allowed it to repay the near $70 million it received from the government’s wage subsidy.

Electronic components manufacturer Rakon shares surged more than 15% to hit a new record at $1.29 after it upgraded its earnings guidance. The company told investors to expect underlying earnings to fall somewhere between $39m and $44m in the year ending March 2022, a $12m upgrade to the guidance given in April.

Green Cross Health, another small-cap stock, also got a share price boost as it confirmed media reports saying it was considering acquiring NZ’s largest independent primary healthcare group, Tamaki Health.

The NZX-listed company told the market it was working with Pacific Equity Partners to make a bid for Tamaki Health, but the process was still in its early stages. Shares in Green Cross climbed 2.6% to $1.18 off the back of its confirmation it was involved in a bid, rumoured to be pitched at around $35m.

Tags: Market Close