Market commentary

AUCKLAND: New Zealand shares outperformed their Australian counterparts yesterday as ANZ was first to report of the ‘‘four pillars’’ of the banking sector.

The S&P/NZX index advanced 103.93 points, or 1.2%, to 8752.31. Within the index, 35 stocks gained, nine fell and six were unchanged. Turnover was $167.4 million.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher and New Zealand was one of the stronger performers. ASB Bank parent Commonwealth Bank of Australia is in a different reporting period, but yesterday sold its Colonial First State Asset Management arm to Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ for $A4.1 billion.

Greg Smith, head of research at Fat Prophets, said Australia’s banking sector has been under pressure from the Royal Commission into financial services. Investors wanted to see how lenders would improve earnings as Australia’s property market slowed, he said.

Duallisted ANZ rose 1.8% to $28.04 on the NZX after reporting a 5% decline in group earnings. NZX fell 0.9% to $1.05.

Kathmandu Holdings led the market higher, up 4.3% to $2.68 on modest volumes. Disclosure notices showed First NZ Capital had increased its stake in the outdoor equipment chain to 11.4%.

Synlait Milk rose 3.8% to $8.67 on average volumes as it recovers from a sevenmonth low. The milk processor is among the growthfocused companies sold off aggressively amid heightened volatility this month. A2 Milk Co, which has a substantial shareholding in its supplier Synlait, rose 2.5% to $10.42.

Air New Zealand gained 2.9% to $2.80 on average volumes after reporting an increase in passenger numbers.

Auckland International Airport rose 1.6% to $6.99 on higher than normal volumes after reaffirming guidance for a modest increase in annual earnings.

Tourism Holdings gained 1% to $5 after the company said net profit would fall by as much as 15% as it invested in building a global business. The RV rental firm said it would maintain dividend payments, despite that falling outside policy.

Spark New Zealand was the most traded stock, with 5.3 million shares changing hands, about twice the average. The shares were unchanged at $3.95 ahead of its annual meeting tomorrow.

Kiwi Property increased 0.4% to $1.315 on a volume of 3.3 million shares, more than twice its average. Vector gained 0.9% to $3.40 on volumes of 2.2 million shares, compared with its 90day average of 287,000.

Among other companies with volumes of more than 1 million, Meridian Energy rose 0.8% to $3.135, and Z Energy increased 1.5% to $6.10 ahead of firsthalf earnings today. Precinct Properties New Zealand was unchanged at $1.41, Contact Energy advanced 1.3% to $5.59, Chorus was up 2.2% to $4.75 ahead of its annual meeting, and Mercury NZ rose 0.7% to $3.40.

Fletcher Building climbed 2% to $6.04 on higher than usual volumes after government figures showed building consents rose 5.4% in the year through September.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units decreased 0.2% to $4.87 after the milk processor’s latest monthly update showed collection in the season to date was 5% more than a year earlier.

Pyne Gould Corp fell 2% to 24c after minority shareholders voted to ditch its NZX listing and move to Guernsey.

A late surge from heavyweight banking, mining and energy stocks pulled the Australian share market higher yesterday on a choppy trading day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dipped and dived but closed 25.2 points, or 0.43%, higher at 5830.3 while the broader All Ordinaries was up 0.43%. — BusinessDesk/AAP