Healthcare heavyweight leads NZ sharemarket upwards

Heavyweight Fisher & Paykel Healthcare had a strong rise, leading the New Zealand sharemarket to its highest level in nearly six months.

Friday, February 2nd 2024, 6:29PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded consistently until a late dip and closed at 11,931.23, up 14.45 points or 0.12% – after reaching 11,934.24 on Aug 7 last year.

The index climbed nearly 0.5% for the week. There were 87 gainers and 46 decliners over the whole market on volumes of 26.37 million share transactions worth $87.54m.

Paul Robertshawe, chief investment officer with Octagon Asset Management, said the local market was slightly bullish.

“It had an okay lead from Wall Street, but the rises locally are quite widespread with a couple of laggards like a2 Milk and SkyCity being re-rated,” he said.

“The reporting season this month is going to be tricky. We’ve already had some downgrades, and I think the market is looking beyond that and is cautiously optimistic.”

It was another strong day in the United States as the economy continued to show resilience. Gross domestic product grew 3.3% in the fourth quarter, much higher than the market expectation of 2%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.97% to 38,519.84 points; the S&P 500 increased 1.25% to 4,906.19; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3% to 15,361.64. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are carving out record highs.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was streaking to another record close after gaining 1.41% to 7,695.1 points at 6pm NZ time.

At home, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare – the biggest influencer on the market – increased 40c or 1.67% to $24.35. Its Australian competitor, ResMed, has been having a strong run after reporting a 12% increase in revenue to A$1.2 billion (NZ$1.28b) for the second quarter.

SkyCity rebounded a further 14c or 6.97% to $2.15 after a steady 18-month decline from $2.96 on Aug 24, 2022.

Chorus was up 10c to $7.965; Gentrack gained 14c or 2.12% to $6.74; a2 Milk added 8c to $5.35; Port of Tauranga collected 11c or 2.06% to $5.44; Turners Automotive improved 11c or 2.42% to $4.66; and Westpac Bank increased 58c or 2.29% to $25.90.

Green Cross Health increased 8c or 6.61% to $1.29; PGG Wrightson gained 9c or 2.89% to $3.20; NZX collected 2c or 1.9% to $1.07; NZME was up 2c or 1.98% to $1.03; Cooks Coffee rose 3.5c or 15.91% to 25.5c; Eroad improved 2c or 2.2% to 93c; and Serko was up 9c or 2.14% to $4.29.

Briscoe Group was down 2c to $4.50 after reporting record sales of $792m for the 12 months ending Jan 28, up 0.78% on the previous year. The expected net profit of more than $83m will represent 94% of last year’s record.

For the year ending Jan 28, Briscoes Homeware sales increased 0.54%, Rebel Sport was up 1.17%, and online sales represented 18.72%. The group sales for the second half were $422.7m, up 1.15% on the previous corresponding period.

Robertshawe said Briscoe looks like a high-quality stock compared with its peers. The management has been doing a great job running the business and holding onto margins.

Fellow retailers Hallenstein Glasson gained 15c or 2.76% to $5.58, and Michael Hill was down 2c or 2.2% to 87c.

Michael Hill earlier told the market that its Australian business had been ordered by the supreme court to pay A$2.6m in damages for the supply of packaging between 2014 and 2018. Meridian Energy shed 8c to $5.52; Mercury was down 12c to $6.665; Mainfreight decreased 94c to $70.51; Tourism Holdings fell 11c or 2.91% to $3.67; Napier Port was down 5c or 2% to $2.45; and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ declined 5c or 2.6% to $1.87.

Tags: Market Close