NZ market dragged down

The New Zealand sharemarket was weighed down by weakness in the energy and property sectors while offshore investors were more hopeful that the banking sector had settled.

Tuesday, March 21st 2023, 6:34PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index tumbled in the afternoon after a steady morning’s trading and closed at 11,531.3, down 33.45 points or 0.29%. The index reached an intraday high of 11,577.73 points.

There were 64 gainers and 66 decliners over the whole market on steady volume of 30.67 million share transactions worth $111.51m.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the New Zealand market was dramatically lagging behind Australia which is having a relief rally following the collapse of US banks, SVB and Signature, and the uncertainty at First Republic.

“There doesn’t look to be contagion to the rest of the financial sector, but with liquidity being strained it may result in a pause in the US Federal Reserve quantitative tightening,” he said.

Most analysts now expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points when it makes its next announcement on Thursday morning NZ time.

Wall Street also rallied overnight with Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.2% to 32,244.58 points; S&P 500 up 0.89% to 3951.57; and Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.39% to 11,675.54.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had risen 0.9% to 6960.8 points at 6pm NZ time. The dual-listed banks are bouncing back, ANZ gaining 45c or 1.86% to $24.58, and Westpac rising 97c or 4.31% to $23.49.

Red ink

At home, the energy sector in the NZX 50 was down 0.68% and real estate declined 0.77%. Property stocks on both sides of the Tasman are trading at 20 to 30% below their net tangible asset values.

Contact Energy fell 16c or 2.11% to $7.42; Meridian declined 10c or 1.94% to $5.;05; and Manawa was down 8c to $4.81.

Goodman Property Trust, down 3.5c or 1.7% to $2,025, told the market it expects a $238m or 4.7% reduction in the valuation of its $4.8 billion portfolio for the 2023 financial year ending March.

Property for Industry declined 2.5c to $2.20, and Precinct Properties decreased 1.5c to $1.255.

Ebos Group shed 44c to $44.47; Mainfreight decreased $1.33 or 1.93% to $67.67; Spark was down 6c to $4.84; Napier Port declined 6c or 2.22% to $2.64; and Restaurant Brands fell 20c or 3.13% to $6.20.

Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 27c to $25.15; Auckland International Airport gained 12c to $8.82; Fletcher Building added 5c to $4.29; and Chorus collected 6c to $8.

The strong run by Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund ended with a fall of 18c or 5.07% to $3.37.

Synlait was down a further 19c or 7.01% to $2.52, and a 2 Milk declined 8c to $6.25, falling from $7.40 two weeks ago.

Retirement village operators Ryman Healthcare decreased 9c to $5.03, and Arvida Group was down 2c or 2.02% to 97c.

Retailers Briscoe Group declined 11c or 2.24% to $4.80; Hallenstein Glasson was up 3c to $5.35; and KMD Brands gained 1c to 99c on the eve of reporting its latest financial result.

Other decliners were Scales Corp down 10c or 3.23% to $3; Serko decreasing 7c or 2.92% to $2.33; Smartpay Holdings shedding 3c or 2.56% to $1.14; Eroad falling 5c or 6.25% to 75c; and Winton Land down 5c or 2.5% to $1.95.

NZME was down 4c or 3.85% to $1; AFT Pharmaceuticals fell 14c or 4% to $3.36; Gentrack declined 10c or 3.61% to $2.67; and Green Cross Health decreased 3c or 2.14% to $1.37.

Skellerup Holdings rebounded 18c or 3.73% to $5; SkyCity was up 5c or 2.16% to $2.36%; Steel & Tube improved 3c or 2.63% to $1.17; Rakon rose 5c or 5.88% to 90c; My Food Bag added 2.5c or 12.5% to 22.5c; ikeGPS collected 3c or 3.53% to 88c.

Tags: Market Close