NZ sharemarket gains 1% thanks to F&P Healthcare
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare hit a 27-month high as it led the New Zealand sharemarket to a 1% gain on the back of a strong rally on Wall Street.
Monday, April 29th 2024, 6:43PM
by BusinessDesk
In a familiar pattern, the S&P/NZX 50 Index bounced at lunchtime and traded strongly in the afternoon to close at 11,916.24, up 111.15 points or 0.94%.
There were 84 gainers and 56 decliners on the main board, with 31.62 million shares worth $123.2m changing hands.
Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare increased 59c or 2.15% to $27.99 on trade worth $34.35m, spurred on by a strong quarterly result from competitor ResMed, established in Australia but now based in San Diego. Fisher and Paykel sat at $28 on Jan 24, 2022.
ResMed was up 3.44%to A$32.58, following Friday’s rise of 9.6%, on the Australian exchange, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index having gained 0.677% to 7,634.6 points at 6pm NZ time.
The medical device company reported third quarter (to the end of March) revenue of US$1.197 billion (NZ$2b), up 7%, and net profit of US$300.5m ($504m), a gain of 29%. Gross margins increased 260 basis points to 57.9%.
Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said Fisher and Paykel was also benefitting from a weaker NZ dollar (trading at US59.80c) since it exports 95% of its product.
He said the local market had a buoyant day after the strong rallies offshore. “The earnings season in the United States has been quite robust, with Alphabet (owner of Google) rising 10% and adding US$300 billion in market capitalisation in just one day – that’s twice the size of the New Zealand market.”
Alphabet increased 9.97% to US$173.69 – its biggest single-day rise since 2015 – after declaring its first dividend with regular quarterly payments to follow.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.03% to 15,927.9 points at the weekend (NZ time); the S&P 500 gained 1.02% to 5099.96; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 38,239.66.
Sullivan said investors will be carefully analysing the Reserve Bank’s half-yearly financial stability report and the latest business confidence survey and labour market data this week.
ANZ Research said the first quarter labour market is unlikely to materially change the monetary policy outlook in New Zealand. The data is likely to show a further increase in spare capacity and a moderation in wage growth, with unemployment rising from 4% to 4.2%.
ASB Bank predicted the unemployment rate would rise to 4.3%, with an additional 15,000 people making themselves available to work.
“We continue to expect that much of the lift in unemployment over the next couple of years, to around 5.5%, is going to be driven by strong population growth,” ASB said.
Across the board
Ebos Group and Infratil added their weight to the market gain, increasing 76c or 2.22% to $35.06 and 33c or 3.06% to $11.11 (a new high), respectively. Spark was up 67c to $4.71.
Auckland International Airport, up 10c to $7.85, is considering an offer of fixed-rate bonds maturing in November 2030.
The property sector had a strong day. Goodman Trust gained 4c or 1.79% to $2.28; Kiwi increased 2.5c or 3.09 % to 83.5c; Investore was up 2c or 1.8% to $1.13; Precinct Properties added 2c or 1.72% to $1.18, Property for Industry picked up 4c or 1.82% to $2.24; and Vital Healthcare Trust improved 3c to $2.16.
In the energy sector, Contact gained 14c to $8.65, and Mercury was down 13c or 2.03% to $6.27.
Chorus was up 10c to $7.30; Ryman Healthcare rebounded 11c or 2.65% to $4.26; Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund gained 8c or 2.22% to $3.69; Allied Farmers increased 3c or 4.17% to 75c; Enprise rose 2.5c or 5.95% to 44.5c; and Chatham Rock Phosphate improved 0.008c or 4.97% to 16.9c.
Port of Tauranga gave back 15c or 2.95% to $4.94 following its 4.1% rise on Friday.
Mainfreight declined $1.19 or 1.71% to $68.50; Delegat Group was down 15c or 2.16% to $6.80; NZME decreased 2c or 2.33% to 84c; and Restaurant Brands fell 13c or 3.68% to $3.40.
Serko decreased 10c or 3.06% to $3.17; Rakon declined 5c or 4.55% to $1.05; and NZ Rural Land eased 2c or 2.22% to 87c.
| « NZ sharemarket rocked by US inflation data | Serko leads the NZ sharemarket up » |
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