NZ sharemarket down, but up 8.2% for the year

The New Zealand sharemarket couldn’t hold onto its big gains from the day before, but it is still heading for its best annual performance in four years.

Thursday, October 10th 2024, 6:30PM

by BusinessDesk

After surging 1.75% on the Official Cash Rate (OCR) cut, the S&P/NZX 50 Index gained another 0.4% before dipping late in the day to close at 12,754.58, down 21.55 points or 0.17%.

The index reached an intraday high of 12,833.94 points and has risen nearly 8.2% so far this year.

There were 73.07 million share transactions worth $95.24m, highlighted by the trade of 50.5m KMD Brands shares worth $24.25m.

Mark Lister, investment director with Craigs Investment Partners, said the local market is pushing ahead and maybe it has turned a corner.

“We are hearing more optimism from the corporates which are seeing early signs of recovery – but that will be the 2025 story with an uplift in February/March. The OCR is expected to be 4.25% [currently 4.75%] by the end of the year, and term deposit rates will be coming down,” he said.

“Investors need to realise they have to work harder and they could put their money into equities, bonds or property. This could happen in the next month or two. The market looks ahead, and it should have a solid end to the year.”

Lister said with a bit of luck, the market could crack a double-digit return this year. “We are knocking on the door of 8.5-9% gain so far this year.”

The NZX 50’s previous best year was in 2020, when it rose 13.92%. Since then, the index was down 0.4% in 2021, had a decline of 12% in 2022 and gained 2.6% last year.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 reached fresh all-time highs, rising 1.03% to 42,512 points and 0.71% to 5,792.04, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.6% to 18,291.62 points.

Investors there were holding out for the latest consumer price index data and another 25-basis-point reduction in interest rates next month.

Local stocks

Clothing retailer KMD Brands was down 3c or 5.77% to 49c after the sale of a large block of its shares, which, it’s understood, was picked up by multiple buyers.

ACC said in a substantial holder notice to the NZX that it increased its stake in KMD to 6.5% from 5.08%, buying 10.83m shares for $4.95m between mid-February and this month.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare increased 55c to $36.60; a2 Milk was up 14c or 1.99% to $7.16; Mercury Energy added 9.5c to $6.665; Manawa gained 6c to $5.32; and Briscoe Group collected 10c or 2.06% to $4.95.

ANZ Bank was up 80c or 2.44% to $33.55; Winton Land climbed 11c or 5.5% to $2.11; Colonial Motor gained 20c or 2.99% to $6.90; 2 Cheap Cars increased 4c or 5.33% to 79c; and Vista Group added 5c to $3.02.

Other gainers were Seeka increasing 11c or 4.31% to $2.66; Rakon improving 2c or 2.9% to 71c; Pacific Edge up 0.004c or 2.55% to 16.1c; Allied Farmers picking up 2c or 2.63% to 78c; and TradeWindow adding 0.004c or 2.05% to 19.9c.

Spark was down 6.5c or 2.08% to $3.055; Freightways decreased 16c to $9.59; Infratil shed 16.5c to $12.11; Vulcan Steel declined 24c or 2.63% to $8.90; and Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund eased 10c or 2.01% to $4.88.

Fletcher Building declined 11c or 3.45% to $3.08; Chorus was down 16c or 1.79% to $8.77; SkyCity shed 3c or 2.03% to $1.45; Property for Industry fell 9c or 3.96% to $2.18; and Blackpearl Group decreased 3c or 2.14% to $1.37.

Auckland International Airport was down 0.005cc to $7.45 after completing its $200m retail offer at $6.95 a share. The offer was oversubscribed, and the airport has now raised $1.4 billion following its earlier $1.2b institutional placement of new shares.

Air NZ slipped 1c or 1.85% to 53c after reporting a 5.9% drop in passengers to 1.145m in August compared with the same month last year. Domestic passengers were down 8.2% to 721,000, and long haul 6.1% to 145,000 but Tasman/Pacific was steady at 279,000.

Napier Port was down 5c or 2.22% to $2.20 after reporting that annual container volumes increased 3.4% to 230,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) and bulk cargo was up 9% to 3.5m tonnes compared with the previous year.

Fourth quarter container movements increased 24.5% to 59,000 TEUs, and bulk cargo decreased 10.7% to 800,000 tonnes. Wood pulp and timber exports rose 73% to 11,000 TEUs as a result of the continued reinstatement of Pan Pac’s mills following Cyclone Gabrielle.

Synlait Milk, down 0.005c to 40c, has increased its 2024/25 forecast milk price of $9 per kg of milksolids, up from $8.60, because of continued strengthening in global commodity prices.

Tags: Market Close