NZ sharemarket lifts on brighter economic news
A chirpy New Zealand sharemarket made further strong gains on more positive economic data – this time business confidence at home.
Thursday, June 29th 2023, 6:15PM
by BusinessDesk
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For the second day running, the S&P/NZX 50 had a strong afternoon of trading and closed at 11,808.12, up 74.66 points or 0.64% after reaching a morning low of 11,681.37. The index has risen 1.45% over the last three trading days.
There were 76 gainers and 43 decliners on the main board, with 33.38 million shares worth $110.48m changing hands.
In the latest ANZ survey, business confidence jumped 13 points to minus 18 in June, the highest since November 2021, and expected own activity was up 8 points to plus 3 – the first time in 14 months it has been in the black.
ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said “June saw activity indicators lift in a reasonably broad-based fashion. While the levels of many are still subdued, firms appear to be cautiously optimistic that the worst may be over. Headline inflation and pricing indicators continue to slowly ease.
“Inflation expectations have the steepest downward trend but are still extremely elevated. The fall in the net proportion of firms expecting higher costs was particularly marked this month,” she said.
Greg Smith, head of retail with Devon Funds Management, said: “We are not yet popping the champagne cork but most of the data flow lately both here and overseas has been encouraging.
“Businesses and consumers are more optimistic given that inflation is easing and issues such as supply chains have freed up. But there are still challenges with a tight labour market and wage growth."
Australia’s inflation has slowed to a 13-month low, with the May consumer price index rising 5.6%, down from 6.8% in April and below market forecasts of 6.1%.
United States markets, however, were mixed after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told a European Central Bank forum that the Fed will likely raise interest rates further. He doesn’t see inflation reaching the Fed’s target of 2% “this year or next year.”
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 had small falls, the Nasdaq Composite climbed further, up 0.27% to 13,591.75 points.
Back in NZ
At home, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare gained 41c or 1.71% to $24.40; a2 Milk increased 8c to $5.29; Summerset Group added 27c or 2.86% to $9.72; ANZ Bank collected 62c or 2.44% to $26; and Warehouse Group improved 5c or 2.99% to $1.72.
The energy sector had a strong day, increasing 1.39% on the NZX index. Meridian was up 13c or 2.41% to $5.53; Contact gained 12c to $7.98; Mercury added 13c or 2.04% to $6.50; and Manawa gained 9c or 1.88% to $4.89. Utilities investor Infratil was up 11.5c to $9.985.
Genesis Energy was down 3c to $2.71 after filling its $240m green capital bonds institutional offer at an interest rate of 6.5% a year to the first reset date of July 10, 2028.
Napier Port gained 6c or 2.47% to $2.49; Comvita was up 11c or 3.9% to $2.93; Seeka increased 9c or 3.52% to $2.65; and Gentrack rose 13c or 3.19% to $4.20.
Carbon Fund rebounded 12c or 9.6% to $1.37; Move Logistics rose 3c or 3.75% to 83c; Vulcan Steel gained 27c or 3.2% to $8.70; NZME was up 2c or 2.17% to 94c; Foley Wines increased 3c or 2.54% to $1.21; and Smartpay Holdings added 4.5c or 2.59% to $1.785.
Vital Healthcare Property Trust was down 0.005c to $2.33 after telling the market it expects a property revaluation loss of $160m for the six months ending June, representing a 4.6% decrease since the end of December. But it was cushioned by its Australian property.
Sixty percent of Vital Healthcare’s portfolio is in Australia which had a 2.8% fall in valuation compared with the NZ property’s reduction of 7.4%.
Mainfreight declined 50c to $70.99; Freightways decreased 9c to $8.31; Skellerup Holdings was down 98c or 2% to $4.42; Vista Group shed 4c or 2.38% to $1.64; Scott Technology decreased 10c or 3.17% to $3.05; and Colonial Motor Company was down 22c or 2.49% to $8.60.
Carpet maker Bremworth, up 1c to 40c, has now received partial insurance payments of $35.5m for the Cyclone Gabrielle damage to its Napier yarn spinning plant. Further assessments on the plant are taking place. Bremworth is sourcing independent yarn spinning and dyeing facilities to supply its Whanganui plant.
Marlborough Wine Estates, down 0.001c to 17.8c, has completed its 2023 harvest with volumes up 1.7% on last year’s vintage and the winemaker is projecting a net profit of $200,000 to $300,000 compared with $320,000 in the 2022 financial year.
| « NZ sharemarket follows international leads | NZ sharemarket ends the week on a bright note » |
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