NZ shares stabilise as buyers bag bargains

New Zealand shares got some respite today snapping a four-day decline which saw the benchmark index drop more than 4%.

Wednesday, March 9th 2022, 6:33PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 37 points, or 0.3%, to 11,785.13. Turnover was $172 million.

US markets had another volatile night but spent much of it trading in positive territory and the S&P 500 closed just 0.7% lower.

There are some hints the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine may be making progress behind the scenes, although there haven’t been any public announcements.

US president Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports which prompted Russia to retaliate with a wider ban on commodity exports, although details are yet to be set.

This has pushed already high oil prices even higher and will exacerbate the risk of inflation and a global recession.

Stephen Innes, a managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said the oil shock had the potential to push prices to US$150 (NZ$220) a barrel before falling back to $100.

NZ government bond yields continued to set new highs as traders shifted their market positions now that many expect the official cash rate could be doubled by May.

Despite all this uncertainty, the local share market found reason to rally with fishery firm Sanford leading the benchmark index higher, with a 3.4% gain at $4.55.

Healthcare company Pacific Edge rose 2.4% at 87 cents after Harbour Asset Management disclosed it had raised its stake from 12% to 12.6%.

The fund manager said in a note yesterday that equity prices had “largely adjusted” to the move in bond yields and share prices were at reasonable levels.

“As a result, to the extent that the equity risk premia are now elevated to consider geopolitical risk, they could eventually be a buying signal for longer-term investors,” it said.

Harbour said it had also increased its stake in Meridian Energy, Contact Energy, and Ebos Pharmaceuticals during the market weakness.

“All these companies had excellent earnings reports; hence the decision-making was already largely in place to increase the positions,” it said.

Ebos Group shares rose 1.2% to $37.50, Meridian Energy's shares fell 1% to $5.13, and Contact Energy was up 1.9% at $8.09.

Shares in Plexure Group jumped almost 8% to 34 cents after it announced it had been selected to design a mobile app for the Accor Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park.

The company did not say how much the contract would be worth.

In currency markets, the kiwi dollar lost some ground today after being elevated by rate hike expectations and soaring commodity prices

It was trading at 68.15 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, down from 68.41 cents yesterday.

Tags: Market Close