Market commentaries

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell in light trading. Comvita and Sky Network Television led the index lower.

The S&P/NZX50 Index dropped 10.76 points, or 0.1%, to 8849.16. Within the index, 23 stocks fell, 18 rose and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $108.5 million.

‘‘We’re in a holding pattern prior to earnings season which kicks off in about a week’s time with AMP Capital and Sky City next Wednesday,’’ Grant Davies, investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said.

‘‘What we’ll be looking out for in earnings season is forward guidance.’’

Comvita led the index lower, down 2.3% to $5.62, while Sky Network Television fell 2.2% to $2.65 and Mainfreight dropped 1.8% to $27.05.

Fletcher Building fell 1.6% to $6.86 and Spark New Zealand declined 1.3% to $3.75.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp was the best performer, up 1.3% to $14.77. A2 Milk Co rose 1.1% to $10.44 and Metlifecare gained 1% to $6.08.

Outside the benchmark index, Millennium and Copthorne Hotels New Zealand gained 0.9% to $3.35. It reported a 24% lift in firsthalf profit as it benefited from growth at NZXlisted residential property developer CDL Investments and a steady tourism market, although it warned it is seeing increased competition. — BusinessDesk

A The Australian sharemarket has closed lower, dragged down by the materials sector following Rio Tinto’s firsthalf earnings miss and further concerns over the trade war between the US and China.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index ended down 34.8 points, or 0.55%, at 6240.9 points on Thursday, while the All Ordinaries was down 34.4 points, or 0.54%, to 6327.7 points.

Commodity prices fell after US President Donald Trump proposed increasing tariffs on $US200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% in an escalation of recent trade tensions.

CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy said this, combined with Rio Tinto’s halfyear net profit coming in below expectations, caused the materials sector to finish yesterday down almost across the board.

‘‘Most analysts see [trade war] as having an impact on global growth, and of course important industrial commodities like copper and oil are very sensitive to changes in that demand,’’ Mr McCarthy said.

Rio Tinto hit a more than threemonth low, closing down $4.00, or 4.9%, at $77.65, while BHP was down 3.3% to $33.92.

BHP was also hit by workers at its giant Escondida copper mine in Chile voting to go on strike.

The Australian dollar fell on a combination of China worries, weaker Asian markets and pressure from the strengthening US dollar.

This is despite Australia’s trade surplus rising to $1.87 billion for June, according to ABS data released yesterday — a dramatic increase from the $725 million recorded in May.

The Federal Reserve in the US ended a twoday policy meeting and reported the strength of its economy and kept interest rates unchanged.

The Aussie was buying US73.80c at 5pm (AEST) yesterday, down from US74.07c on Wednesday. — AAP