Market commentaries
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares edged higher as investors wait for the upcoming round of annual meetings for a clearer steer on company outlooks.
The S&P/NZX 50 index increased 8.45 points, or 0.1%, to 9345.96. Within the index, 22 stocks gained, 20 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $157.5 million.
Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said a number of companies held off providing earnings outlooks at their annual earnings, preferring instead to wait for the AGM.
‘‘After a few months of trading under the bridge you should have a clear idea on providing some earnings guidance,’’ he said.
Air New Zealand fell 1.6% to $3.07 before today’s annual meeting in Christchurch. The national carrier told customers over the weekend it plans to pare some international routes, blaming engine issues with some of its Dreamliner fleet among the challenges it has faced. Other annual meetings tomorrow include Turners Automotive Group, which gained 1.8% to $2.90, and NZ Windfarms, which was unchanged at 12.3c.
Mercury NZ gained 1.5% to $3.365 ahead of its Friday AGM. Future Mobility Solutions was unchanged at 11.6c before its meeting on the same day.
Orion Health Group also holds its annual meeting on Friday, where shareholders will vote on whether to back a restructuring of the group into three distinct firms. The shares rose 5% to $1.06.
Mr Williamson said the software developer has been ‘‘pretty badly managed’’ since it listed in 2014. Shareholders will probably lose value on the stock once the transaction is completed.
A2 Milk Co fell 0.3% to $11.80. The stock was added to the FTSE index last week, but the sale of shares by CEO Jayne Hrdlicka to cover a tax bill caused some dismay among investors. Mr Williamson said the share sale showed poor judgement.
‘‘It’s not what investors wanted to see from the head of the company,’’ he said.
Port of Tauranga led the benchmark index higher, rising 2.8% to $5.20, followed by Restaurant Brands New Zealand, up 1.9% to $7.70.
Sky Network Television fell 2.2% to $2.20, the biggest decline on the day, while Chorus slipped 1.8% to $4.76.
NZME fell 1.5% to 67c after the Court of Appeal upheld earlier rulings rejecting a planned merger with rival Stuff.
New Zealand Oil & Gas increased 0.9% to 58c after it started drilling an exploration well near New Plymouth. Contact Energy gained 1% to $5.88 after announcing former Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment chief David Smol will join its board next month.
Among blue chip stocks, Meridian Energy increased 1.2% to $3.37, Spark New Zealand advanced 0.5% to $4.02, Auckland International Airport gained 0.4% to $7.45, Mainfreight fell 0.4% to $29.82 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare declined 0.8% to $7.25. Fletcher Building was unchanged at $6.35.
The Australian sharemarket closed flat, as the financial sector weighed on the market and offset strong gains from commodityrelated stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down one point, or 0.02%, at 6185.9 points yesterday, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 0.4 points, or 0.1%, lower at 6299.1 points. With a US Federal Reserve rate rise all but certain this week, the Australian dollar slipped to US72.46c from 72.65c on Monday.
This also affected the financial sector, CommSec market analyst James Tao said, as wholesale rates banks lend to each other will be more expensive if the US raises interest rates.
‘‘That can obviously have an effect on bank margins and that’s probably what’s weighing a bit on the majors,’’ he said.
Three of the big four banks closed more than 1% lower.
National Australia Bank was best of the quartet, down 0.4%, to $27.60, while ANZ suffered the biggest loss of the majors, down 1.3% to $28.22.
Consumerrelated stocks were also in the doldrums, and Wesfarmers, Treasury Wine, Flight Centre, and Webjet were among those in the red.