US inflation fears put dampener on NZ sharemarket
The New Zealand sharemarket gave up some of the strong gains from last week as investor uncertainty crept back over United States inflation.
Monday, March 11th 2024, 6:25PM
by BusinessDesk
After a down day on Wall Street at the weekend (NZ time), the S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 50.05 points or 0.42% to 11,873.67, though there was a late rise in the matching session.
The index increased 1.5% last week and is up 0.9% so far this year.
There were 80 decliners and 51 gainers on the main board, with 21.7 million shares worth $73.1m changing hands in light trading.
Mark Lister, investment director with Craigs Investment Partners, said it wasn’t surprising the market “gave back a little bit" after a very good week.
“Markets are nervous about the latest US inflation report after the January consumer price index (CPI) was stronger than expected. If we see another strong rise, then this might just take the wind out of the sharemarkets’ sails and delay interest rate cuts,” he said.
The US February CPI will be released on Wednesday morning (NZ time), and in January, the index increased 3.1% on an annual basis. The forecast is that the index will stay steady at 3.1%. The Federal Reserve meets next week to consider its next monetary policy move.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was taking a tumble, having fallen 1.81% to 7,704.8 points after breaking through the 7,800 level for the first time.
The Japan Nikkei 225 Index, one of the star performers this year with a rise of 15%, was down 2.92% to 38,528.91 points.
At home, the golden run of a2 Milk stalled with a fall of 26c or 3.98% to $6.27. There was profit-taking in other recent gainers.
Mercury Energy was down 19.5c or 2.75% to $6.905; Meridian declined 7.5c to $5.885; Skellerup Holdings shed 15c or 3.37% to $4.3; and the leading banks ANZ and Westpac decreased 63c or 1.97% to $31.32 and 66c or 2.23% to $28.94, respectively.
Meridian Energy told the market it is offering a $200m six-year green bond with the ability to accept over-subscriptions up to $100m.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare declined 33c to $24.55; PGG Wrightson fell 16c or 7.08% to a four-year low of $2.10; Allied Farmers declined 5c or 6.25% to 75c; Tourism Holdings was down 6c or 1.75% to $3.36; and Winton Land shed 10c or 4.26% to $2.25.
Finance companies Geneva Finance decreased 1.5c or 4.76% to 30c, and General Capital was down 0.009c or 12.16% to 6.5c.
Channel Infrastructure was down 3c or 2% to $1.47; Rakon declined 4c or 3.1% to $1.25; Green Cross Health decreased 2c or 1.82% to $1.08; and Steel & Tube shed 2c or 1.75% to $1.12.
Freightways increased 22c or 2.58% to $8.76; Comvita rebounded a further 16c or 6.9% to $2.48; Ebos Group added 65c or 1.76% to $37.55; Ryman Healthcare was up 13c or 2.91% to $4.60; and Restaurant Brands collected 8c or 2.54% to $3.23.
Lister said Freightways has performed well for a company linked to the ebb and flow of the economy, which is presently sluggish.
In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson was up 12c or 2.07% to $5.92; Briscoe Group gained 5c to $4.60; and The Warehouse increased 4c or 3.08% to $1.34.
Vulcan Steel gained 13c to $8.40; Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund increased 8c or 2.28% to $3.59; T&G Global was up 3c or 1.71% to $1.78; CDL Investments collected 4c or 5.41% to 78c; and Vital added 2c or 8.33% to 26c.
Software firm ikeGPS, unchanged at 45c, announced its second agreement in a week – this time with the second largest electric utility group in North America, using the new PoleForeman analysis platform.
The five-year agreement amounts to a total subscription fee of $2m or $400,000 in annual recurring revenue.
Shell company Ascension Capital, currently suspended from trading, has sent information to shareholders on the reverse takeover involving Hong Kong-based artificial intelligence company Being AI.
Following shareholder agreement, trading will resume on the NZX in the renamed Being AI stock.
| « NZ sharemarket ends week up 1.5% | NZ sharemarket slides 0.37% » |
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