Market commentaries
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell, led by Z Energy following an earnings downgrade, while Ryman Healthcare and NZX also dropped.
The S&P/NZX50 Index dropped 32.79 points, or 0.4%, to 8964.1. Within the index, 29 stocks fell, 11 rose and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $123.3 million.
‘‘The index has had a bit of a soft week, and there’s not any one stock that’s doing enough to explain today’s weakness,’’ Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Grant Davies said.
The weakest stock on the index was Z Energy, down 2.7% to $7.30. The country’s biggest fuel retailer cut fullyear earnings guidance by $30 million due to an extended shutdown at the Marsden Point oil refinery and high crude prices in the June quarter.
The company is now forecasting operating earnings of $420 million to $455 million for the year through March 2019, down from previous guidance of $450 million to $485 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and changes in financial instruments.
The stock is down 2.2% this year as the government looks more closely at pricing strategy in the fuel sector, with the Commerce Commission set to gain market studies powers by the end of 2018 and the industry top of the list for such an investigation.
Ryman Healthcare dropped 2% to $12.05, NZX fell 1.8% to $1.10, and Gentrack Group declined 1.3% to $6.88.
Chorus was the best performer, rising 1.7% to $4.32. Port of Tauranga gained 1.4% to $5.07 and Kathmandu Holdings advanced 1.3% to $3.11.
A Australian shares rose yesterday after global miner BHP reported record iron ore output for 201718, which sent its shares up over 3% in a boost to peers and overall sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 41.5 points, or 0.67%, at 6245.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 40.7 points, or 0.65%, to 6,329.1 points.
Wall Street’s positive overnight lead also helped gains.
BHP, the world’s biggest miner, said its iron ore output rose 3% during the three months through June, topping forecasts, and set its fiscal 2019 production target slightly higher.
BHP’s shares rose 3.3% to a near ninemonth high on the news, and pulled up the mining index 1.4%.
Even an expected $650 million charge to 201718 results to cover the failure of the Samarco Dam in Brazil did not dampen investor sentiment.
‘‘Everyone knew there was a charge coming; that was probably towards the lower end of the worstcase scenario. I think the hit they have taken is at the lesser end of the scale,’’ said Christopher Conway, head of research and trading at Australian Stock Report.
Positive BHP sentiment cascaded to its peers, with Rio Tinto and South32 Ltd up 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively.
On the other hand, energy stocks extended their declines as oil prices dropped after an industry group reported that US crude inventories rose last week, defying analyst expectations for a significant reduction — BusinessDesk.