NZ shares down as US Fed signals hikes

The US Federal Reserve’s signal it would hike interest rates and data showing the local economy shrank 3.7% in the September quarter helped push the NZ sharemarket lower.

Thursday, December 16th 2021, 8:31PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 91.8 points, or 0.7%, to 12,777. Turnover was $135 million.

While both news events are highly negative for equity prices, neither were unexpected and US stocks rallied after the Fed’s announcement – investors thought it could have been even more hawkish.

The US central bank will stop buying bonds in March and will likely increase interest rates three times in each of the next two years.

Traders and economists in NZ were predicting an approximately 4% decline in GDP due to high levels of covid restrictions during the quarter, so the 3.7% didn’t scare the market.

The NZX 50 index actually opened higher this morning and didn’t decline until the Australian market opened weaker at midday.
Vista Group International led the market lower, dropping another 3% to $2.25. The stock has fallen more than 10% since the omicron variant started hitting the headlines.

Air New Zealand has followed a similar trajectory, although it is only down roughly 5%, after falling 1.3% to $1.53 today.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 2.6% to $31.77 and A2 Milk dropped 2.4% to $5.78.

Eroad climbed 4.3% to $5.10 as investors bought up the stock ahead of its inclusion in the NZX 50 which takes effect from Monday.

That means tomorrow investors benchmarked to the index will have to sell Napier Port – which today fell 1.6% to $3 – and buy the fleet management software company.

Sky Network Television confirmed the sale of its Mt Wellington campus in a sale and lease-back agreement with listed property group Goodman Property Trust for $56m.

Shares in the listed broadcaster continued their ascendancy, today up 3.8% at $2.73.

NZ Windfarms was up 4.5% at 23 cents after it appointed Craig Stobo to chair its board and said it would ask the government to fast track the consenting process for upgrading a wind farm in the Tararua Ranges.

The New Zealand Refining Company also got a bounce after announcing Australian mining and resources giant Fortescue was exploring the possibility of producing green hydrogen at the decommissioned oil refinery at Marsden Point.

Refining NZ confirmed last month that it will close the country’s only refinery after 60 years of operation, turning it into a liquid fuels import facility.

However, its leadership has talked over the last three years about the potential – with government assistance – to repurpose the site for biofuels or hydrogen production.

Today, its shares rose 5.8% to 92 cents on the Fortescue news.

The NZ dollar climbed after the US Federal Reserve announced the coming rate hikes and climbed from 67.34 US cents to as high as 67.89.

Tags: Market Close