Directionless NZ sharemarket slips 0.6%

The New Zealand sharemarket lacked any real direction as it slumped 0.6%, led down by heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare.

Wednesday, November 20th 2024, 6:42PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index couldn’t sustain a steady morning’s trading and closed at 12,737.06, down 79.26 points or 0.62%.

There was continued heavy trading in Auckland International Airport, up 2c to $7.55, with 8.7 million shares worth $65.6m changing hands out of the total volumes of 41.47 million transactions worth $187.16m.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.61% to 8322.8 points at 6pm NZ time.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said there were no real leads from offshore – Wall Street was mixed – and our market was a little bit directionless.

“I think it is awaiting further information next week with the official cash rate decision and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare half-year result,” he said.

In the United States, the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.04% to 18,987.47 points, with Nvidia rising 4.89% to US$147.01 on the eve of releasing its latest financial result.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28% to 43,268.94 points and S&P 500 declined 0.4% to 5916.98.

The world’s largest retailer Walmart reached a record high of US$86.60, up 2%, after reporting better-than-expected earnings. There was further good news for New Zealand farmers as the Global Dairy Trade index increased 1.9% at the latest auction following the 4.8% rise two weeks ago.

Whole milk powder was up 3.2% to an average of US$3826 a metric tonne following a 4.4% increase at the previous auction, and skim milk powder was up 0.9% to an average of US$2882/MT.

Local market

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare declined $1 or 2.63% to $37.07 on trade worth $14.7m.

Mercury Energy was down 21c or 3.05% to $6.67; Meridian shed 10c to $5.89; Chorus decreased 16c or 1.78% to $8.82; ANZ Bank declined $1.30 or 3.6% to $34.80; and Westpac was down 54c to $36.52.

Skellerup Holdings declined 17c or 3.42% to $4.78; a2 Milk was down 10c or 1.84% to $5.33; Vulcan Steel shed 36c or 4.23% to $8.15; and Winton Land fell 11c or 5.31% to $1.96.

There was heavy trading in Spark, 4.55m shares worth $13.92m, for the second day running as it drops out of the MSCI Global Index. Spark was down 5.5c or 1.78% to $3.03.

Infratil, going into the index, was up 25.75c or 2.13% to $12.37 on trade worth $31.9m.

Argosy Property, up 0.005c to $1.095, reported steady half-year revenue of $58.36m and a 270.4% rise in net profit to $32.97 which included an $8.7m portfolio revaluation gain.

Argosy’s net tangible assets (NTA) are $1.46 a share, it has an occupancy rate of 95.8% and it is aiming to have 50% of its portfolio in green buildings by 2031.

Goodson said as seen by the Argosy result, cap rates in the property sector had stopped going up and NTA had stabilised with rental growth coming through.

Industrial property had been the star sector and unsurprisingly had started to slow, he said. Interest rate cuts were yet to flow through and do their magic to the economy.

Vital Healthcare Property Trust was down 2.5c to $1.95 after telling the market its manager is considering restructuring and establishing separate New Zealand and Australian trusts with independently traded listings on the NZX and ASX exchanges.

Vital Healthcare would have a broader investor base and make it a more attractive investment vehicle, especially in accessing lower-cost capital, said the manager, Northwest Healthcare Properties Management. Unit holders will vote on the proposal in April.

Other property stocks Goodman Trust was down 4c or 1.87% to $2.10; Kiwi declined 2c or 2.11% to 93c; and Investore was up 2c or 1.79% to $1.14.

Ebos Group added 75c or 2.05 to $37.40; Summerset collected 37c or 2.88% to $13.20; Genesis Energy bounced back 10.5c or 5.07% to $2.175; AFT Pharmaceuticals increased 14c or 5.83% to $2.54; Scott Technology gained 13c or 6.57% to $2.11; and Seeka was up 10c or 3.57% to $2.90.

Synlait Milk improved 2c or 5.26% to 40c; NZME was up 2c or 1.96% to $1.04; Being AI collected 2c or 4.08% to 51c; Eroad added 5c or 5.68% to 93c; and Pacific Edge increased 0.007 or 5.6% to 13.2c.

Other gainers were Napier Port up 5c or 2.13% to $2.40; Radius Residential Care increasing 1.5c or 7.14% to 22.5; and My Food Bag improving 1.5c or 6.98% to 23c.

The meal kit provider My Food Bag is launching an online shop in time for Christmas, offering care packages, ready-made meals and gift boxes available for nationwide delivery.

Retirement village operator Arvida Group has now delisted after being taken over by New York-based investment firm Stonepeak.

Tags: Market Close