Market commentaries

AUCKLAND: New Zealand shares rose as investors were cheered when US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the US central bank could be patient on raising interest rates further.

The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 40.42 points, or 0.5%, to 8959.58. Within the index, 31 stocks rose, seven were unchanged and 12 fell. Turnover was $61.1 million.

Mr Powell told the Economic Club of Washington DC the Fed can ‘‘watch patiently and carefully.’’ His comments, coupled with other similar comments from Fed officials recently, have meant the market has pared back its expectations regarding Fed rate hikes for this year, increasing the attraction of equity markets.

Investors, however, are still jittery about the USChina trade tensions. US and Chinese officials are now working on arrangements for higherlevel trade talks after midlevel officials met this week.

Leads from US markets were reasonably strong ‘‘and we have flowed on from there,’’ Grant Davies, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene, in Christchurch, said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% in overnight trading.

With few domestic drivers, investor sentiment is largely being driven by events offshore. Volumes remained very tepid and ‘‘we are still in that holding pattern coming up to the earnings season in February’’, he said.

Synlait Milk added 0.8% to $9.27 after it said registration of its Dunsandel plant in the South Island had been renewed by Chinese authorities for another four years.

A2 Milk added eased 0.1% to $11.35.

The most heavily traded stock was Kiwi Property Group, which added 0.4% to $1.385 while Spark New Zealand was the second, adding 0.1% to $4.165, although volumes were well below the average of the past 90 days. Z Energy was also fairly heavily traded, about 621,155 shares changing hands, below the daily average of 1 million in the past three months. It gained 2.2% at $5.61.

Sky Network Television, up 4.8% at $1.98, was the biggest mover on the day, followed by SkyCity, which added 2.6% to $3.62.

In the other direction, the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund fell the most, losing 2.1% to $4.70 on some bargainhunting after it gained in recent sessions. Air New Zealand shed 1.1% to $3.16 while Auckland International Airport was down 0.8% at $7.22.

Fletcher Building fell 0.6% to $4.94. According to Stats NZ, New Zealand councils consented almost 32,800 new dwellings in the year through November, 5.3% more than a year earlier.

Before the February earnings season, Mr Davies said investors are now watching for any Christmas updates from retailers, in particular after Kathmandu’s disappointing Christmas result. Kathmandu, which has fallen 17.6% this year, ended down 0.4% at $2.25.

The Australian sharemarket was not able to sustain its fourday rally yesterday despite strong retail sales figures, with banks and miners weighing on the bourse.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 20.7 points, or 0.36%, to close at 5774.6. That is still a gain of 2.8% for the week and 6.8% since the index’s Christmas Eve low.

The broader All Ordinaries was down 19.1 points, or 0.33%, to close at 5834.8.

‘‘There’s not a great deal of commitment in the market,’’ Michael McCarthy, chief market analyst with CMC Markets, said. The ASX had hit a key resistance point of 5800, he said.

While the market had now made up all of its losses during its bleak month of December, Mr McCarthy said it wass still too soon to tell whether there had been a genuine turnaround.

‘‘It does seem like the panic we were seeing weeks ago is continuing to recede,’’ he said.

Utilities, telecom stocks and property trusts were higher while the financial sector and the miners were lower. — BusinessDesk/AAP

A