Market commentaries

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares were mixed, Mercury New Zealand and Fletcher Building gaining while Synlait and a2 Milk fell.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 1.52 points, or 0.02%, to 8974.23. Within the index, 24 stocks rose, 19 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $119.6 million.

‘‘We’re faring pretty well all things being considered, US leads were down on issues about trade wars and implications and Australia is trading in the green but we’re just marginally lower today,’’ Peter McIntyre, investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said.

Mercury was the best performer, up 3.3% to $3.45, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group rose 1.9% to $29.13 and Chorus gained 1.6% to $4.24.

Precinct Properties gained 1.5% to $1.335 and Argosy Property advanced 1.4% to $1.075.

Fletcher Building rose 1.2% to $6.88. On Thursday, the company is expected to announce its fiveyear strategy to the market, following a strategic review.

Synlait was the worst performer, down 2% to $10.70. Freightways dropped 1.9% to $7.81 and A2 Milk fell 1.8% to $11.69.

Port of Tauranga fell 1.5% to $5.10 and Air New Zealand dropped 1.5% to $3.26.

Pushpay Holdings was down 1.1% to $4.37 when the shares were halted yesterday afternoon ahead of an announcement. A month ago, the company announced it narrowed its net loss to $23.3 million in 2018 as it doubled revenue to $70.2 million, in line with forecasts.

After the market closed, Pushpay announced the halt had been put in place while it ran a bookbuild. Cofounder and executive director Eliot Crowther was resigning and selling all his shares in the company, equating to about 9% of its listed capital. Pushpay expected trading to reopen tomorrow, after the bookbuild was completed.

Outside the benchmark index, Chow Group was unchanged at 60c. Millionaire businessmen John and Michael Chow, who have made their fortune from brothels, hotels and property deals, said they were moving forward with plans to take Chow Group private. They were offering 60c a share to purchase the shares they did not already own.

The Chows are the trustees of John Chow Investment Trust and Michael Chow Investment Trust, which collectively hold and control 90.09% of Chow Group’s shares, and have previously said they would enforce mopup provisions under the Takeovers Code.

A The Australian sharemarket has recovered from early weakness to eke out a tiny gain despite fears of a USChina trade war and lower commodity prices weighing upon mining and energy stocks.

The S&P/ASX200 closed up 10.1 points, or 0.17%, at 6104.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 7.5 points, or 0.12%, to 6212.8 points, supported by strength among the big four banks.

CMC chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said it was a surprisingly good day for the Australian market given that investors in China and Hong Kong were on holiday and that the Japanese market was weaker.

‘‘The big issue for markets globally and locally is the potential for a trade war,’’ Mr McCarthy said.

‘‘The gains that we see on the broad market [in Australia] come despite a lot of pressure on the material and energy sectors — both of those in the red given lower commodity prices.

Mr McCarthy said the ‘‘otherwise unloved’’ sectors of property trusts, healthcare, financials and utilities had led gains, suggesting ‘‘there could be be some element of bargainhunting to the trading today’’.

Mr McCarthy said a lower Australian dollar also made Australian shares appear attractive.

Energy companies lost ground after oil prices fell more than $US2 a barrel due to the USChina trade tensions and expectations that Opec and Russia will agree to increase supply.

Woodside Petroleum backtracked 0.8% to $34.00, and Santos retreated 0.7% to $5.94.

Lower commodity prices affected the Australian dollar, which at one point fell to a oneyear low. The Aussie slid to US74.26c — its lowest level since June 2017 — in morning trade and was at US74.48c at 1630 AEST, down from US74.57c on Friday.

The All Ordinaries index was up 7.5 points, or 0.12%, at 6212.8. The SPI200 futures contract was up 18 points, or 0.3%, at 6118. National turnover was 3.2 billion securities traded worth $5.6 billion. — AAP/ BusinessDesk