NZX50 lifts to a seven week high

The New Zealand sharemarket picked up steam late in the day and pushed through the 12,000 points mark for the first time in seven weeks.

Wednesday, July 5th 2023, 6:29PM

by BusinessDesk

With the United States markets closed for the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday, the S&P/NZX 50 Index fluctuated on light trading before coming alive in the last 45 minutes.

After reaching an intraday low of 11,950.76, the index surged to 12,002.46, up 22.12 points or 0.18%.

There were 73 gainers and 56 decliners on the main board, with 28.55 million shares worth $83.44m changing hands.

Paul Robertshaw, chief investment officer with Octagon Asset Management, said some of the strength around last week’s rally drained earlier on, but the market is still consolidating.

The market is on wait and watch for the latest Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) move.

ANZ Research is predicting the RBNZ will keep the official cash rate on hold – just like Australia’s – when it delivers its latest monetary policy statement next week.

“Anything else would be a massive surprise,” ANZ said. “Local (economic) data since the May statement has been mixed, but overall supports the RBNZs wait-and-see stance.

“Demand is definitely cooling, but we expect the ‘real’ recession (the one that reflects the aggregation of individuals’ more cautious decision-making and rising unemployment) to occur in the second half of the year.”

The ANZ World Commodity Index, down 2.3% in June, wasn’t bright news for NZ primary exporters, and the NZ dollar strengthened slightly to US61.98c against the American greenback.

Lamb prices fell 10.2% last month and beef was down 7.2% as the major markets in Europe and China come under economic pressure. Meat prices are expected to fall further.

The forestry index declined 3% in June with weak demand from China, and logs are now worth 21% less than a year ago. Dairy prices were down 0.2%, with cheese and butter prices lifting and milk powder softening.

But better news for horticulture exporters, with the sector index increasing 5% in June. New-season apple prices rose sharply but are still 12% lower than they were at this time last season.

Aluminium prices, down 3.2% in June, are now at their lowest level in more than two years.

The latest NZX statistics showed total equity trades fell 28.5% to 752,760 in June but the total value was up 4.3% to $2.96 billion.

The average on-market trade size was $2661. The total capital listed and raised was $1.71b in June and $7.156b for the year to date, down 23.7%.

Local trading

On the local market, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare gained 10c to $24.70; Freightways picked up 8c to $8.30; Mainfreight collected $1 to $72.980; Spark added 4.5c to $5.10; Ryman Healthcare increased 8c to $6.83; and Skellerup Holdings was up 7c to $4.50.

Global marketer A2 Milk was up 8c to $5.44 after losing a trademark legal battle to stop Chinese Theland Farm Group from using A2 in its infant formula brand.

In the energy sector, Meridian gained 5c to $5.55; Mercury was up 6c to $6.60; and Manawa Energy increased 10c or 2.04% to $5.

Among retailers, The Warehouse increased 4c or 2.26% to $1.81; Hallenstein Glasson was up 12c or 2% to $6.12; and KMD Brands gained 2c or 1.98% to $1.03.

Other gainers were Colonial Motor Company increasing 22c or 2.52% to $8.95; Scott Technology adding 11c or 3.45% to $3.30; Chatham Rock Phosphate up 1.5c or 9.15% to 17.9c; and My Food Bag improving 1.5c or 7.5% to 21.5c.

CDL Investments was up 2.5c or 3.7% to 79c; 2 Cheap Cars gained 1c or 3.45% to 30c; and Blackpearl Group increased 1.5c or 3.53% to 44c.

In the property sector, Argosy was up 3c or 2.67% to $1.155; Vital Healthcare Trust gained 1.5c to $2.34; Precinct was down 1.5c to $1.315; and Goodman Trust declined 2.5c to $2.185.

Auckland International Airport declined 16c or 1.86% to $8.42. Auckland council has now appointed investment bank UBS to advise on the sale of a 7% stake in the company out of its 18% shareholding in the airport. The council is looking to fetch around $865m for the sale.

Robertshaw said UBS could find a strategic asset buyer or provide advice on a private placement of the airport shares.

Restaurant Brands was down 14c or 2.21% to $6.20, and Carbon Fund fell a further 6c or 4.62% to $1.24.

Blis Technologies chief executive Brian Watson has resigned and will be leaving the company within six months. Its share price was down 0.001c or 4% to 2.4c.

Tags: Market Close