NZ sharemarket drops for seventh time in eight days

The New Zealand sharemarket fell for the seventh time in eight trading days, but Heartland Bank livened things up with expansion plans in Australia.

Monday, April 8th 2024, 6:29PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose momentarily at lunchtime but closed down 38.64 points or 0.32% to 11,973.59. Over those eight days, the falls were mainly small, with the index down by 0.77%.

There were 80 gainers and 63 decliners on the main board, with 26.94 million shares worth $97.98m changing hands.

David McConnochie, investment adviser with Forsyth Barr, said the local market was in “wait and see mode” for the Reserve Bank monetary policy statement on Wednesday.

“The market is looking for any signal when interest rate cuts begin,” he said. “The European Central Bank also meets on Thursday night (NZ time) and may beat the United States to rate cuts in June.”

McConnochie said the latest US consumer price index, released this week, is expected to show inflation down to 3.7% from 3.8%, and this is getting closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2-3%.

The NZ Reserve Bank is expected to leave the official cash rate unchanged at 5.5%, and some economists expect the first rate cut by the end of the third quarter in August.

Heartland

Last traded at $1.22, Heartland Group went into a trading halt for the final arrangements to raise $210m through a $105m share placement and $105m rights offer – shareholders will receive one new $1 share for every 6.85 shares held.

The money will be used to complete the Challenger Bank purchase, which has received backing from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and NZ Reserve Bank.

Heartland will become the first NZ bank to buy an Australian deposit-taking institution. Heartland’s $2 billion Australian reverse mortgages and livestock finance businesses will be transferred to Challenger, which will be rebranded Heartland Bank Australia.

Chief executive Jeff Greenslade will step down at the end of the year after 15 years, and Michelle Winzer, chief executive banking RACQ Bank in Queensland, will lead Heartland Bank Australia, with Geoff Summerhayes as the board chair.

McConnochie said it was the first major capital raise this year, and the Heartland Australian Bank will get cheaper funding.

Local market

Auckland International Airport declined 15c or 1.82% to $8.11; Ebos Group shed 25c to $34.40; Skellerup Holdings fell 12c or 2.6% to $4.50; Tourism Holdings decreased 7c or 2.23% to $3.07; and The Warehouse was down 4c or 2.68% to $1.45.

In the energy sector, Mercury was up 10c to $6.;75; Contact Energy was down 14c to $8.42; and Meridian declined 6c to $5.85.

Port of Tauranga was down 8c to $5.32; Briscoe Group decreased 7c to $4.58; Scales Corp declined 6c or 1.76% to $3.34; Move Logistics shed 2c or 3.32% to $2.18; and PaySauce was down 1c or 4.17% to 23c.

Interest rate-sensitive property stocks Goodman Trust was down 4c or 1.76% to $2.23, and Kiwi shed 1.5c or 1.;75% to 84c.

Winton Land was up 5c or 2.27% to $2.25; PGG Wrightson increased 7c or 3.32% to $2.18; Michael Hill gained 2c or 2.67% to 77c; and Colonial Motor Co rose 30c or 3.55% to $8.75.

Green Cross Health was up 2c or 1.96% to $1.04; ikeGPS added 3c or 7.59% to 42.5c; Rakon rose 4c or 3.48% to $1.19; and Metro Performance Glass gained 0.0056c or 4.76% to 11c.

SkyCity, up 2c to $2.04, told the market its chief operating officer for Australia, David Christian, is leaving at the end of the week, and Avril Baynes, general manager of hospitality at the Adelaide casino, will fill the role on an interim basis.

Software firm Trade Window was up 0.002c to 16.6c after launching its share purchase plan to raise up to $200,000, adding to its earlier placement worth $2m.

Being AI increased 1c or 18.18% to 6.5c after announcing it is buying the online learning platform of Villa Education Trust for $200.000.

Asset Plus, up 0.005c or 2.13% to 24c, earlier told the market the value for the Auckland Munroe Lane property will likely decrease 2.1% or $2.5m to $115.8m for the six months ending March. The value of the Graham St property has increased by $2.2m, and the latest valuations represent 3c a share reduction in net tangible assets to 38.8c.

Tags: Market Close