Market commentaries
AUCKLAND: New Zealand shares dropped yesterday, led lower by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Z Energy while a2 Milk rose amidst new Chinese ecommerce legislation.
The S&P/NZX50 Index fell 55.91 points, or 0.6%, to 9257.29. Within the index, 21 stocks rose, 19 fell and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $97.2 million.
‘‘It’s pretty light volume in a market that’s trading at an alltime high, effectively, so it’s not surprising to see a bit of profittaking come out on the back of an amazing August for most people,’’ said Rickey Ward, NZ equity manager at JBWere.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led the index lower, dropping 3.9% to $15.75. It warned the cost of contesting the latest patent allegations from rival ResMed would cut annual earnings by as much as $10 million in a farranging dispute across multiple jurisdictions.
F&P said it would contest complaints in the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and US District Court for the Southern District of California, and cut forecast profit to $205 million$210 million in the year ending March 31 from a previous forecast of $215 million due to the cost of defending the litigation. The companies have been locked in litigation since 2016 spanning the US, UK, Europe, NZ and Australia.
‘‘When you start to have bigger players issuing litigation, it means you’re annoying them — it’s a comingofage for Healthcare,’’ Mr Ward said. ‘‘They clearly are on the radar for incumbents, and this is a way of life for them — big companies do this all the time.
Z Energy dropped 2.2% to $7.05, Ryman Healthcare fell 1.9% to $13.82 and Trade Me Group declined 1.9% to $5.27.
Sky Network Television was the best performer, up 2.3% to $2.20. Synlait Milk, which supplies a2, rose 1.6% to $13.
A2 Milk Co rose 1.4% to $12.80. It said it welcomed new ecommerce law in China.
‘‘Today’s announcement didn’t provide any clarity about how you value the changes in the law around ecommerce. It’s a difficult company to get insight into but the momentum is very good,’’ Mr Ward said.
Restaurant Brands New Zealand gained 0.1% to $7.71. It is exiting its Starbucks coffee business after two decades of operation.
Australian shares slipped in subdued trading yesterday as US-China trade tensions kept investors wary and the Aussie dollar came under renewed pressure from local retail data.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index ended the day down 8.6 points, or 0.14% at 6310.9 points, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 11.3 points, or 0.18% to 6416.5 points.
Financial stocks were lower, with ANZ leading falls, down 1% to $29.21 and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank dropping 2.8% to $11.27 after trading ex dividend.
Suncorp raised mortgage rates on Friday after Westpac led the way earlier in the week but Suncorp shares slipped 0.3% to $15.44.
Northern Star Resources lifted 16.7% to a record high of $8.12 after its shares resumed trading after the gold miner raised the cash to buy the $347 million Pogo underground gold mine in Alaska.