Market commentaries
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell for a second day, led lower by Synlait Milk after the dairy company reported weaker earnings, disappointing investors.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 61.57 points, or 0.7%, to 9435.7. Within the index, 31 stocks fell, 15 gained, and four were unchanged. Turnover was $111.8 million.
Synlait fell as low as $9.30, ending the day at $9.75, down 14%. The milk processor reported a 9.7% decline in firsthalf profit as a new pricing arrangement with a2 Milk and restrictions on Chinese imports squeezed margins.
‘The dairy sector was the major news yesterday with Synlait and Fonterra Cooperative both reporting firsthalf earnings. A Global Dairy Trade auction overnight posted another increase in dairy prices.
Fonterra returned to profit, with its New Zealand ingredients business and Oceania consumer and food service units delivering most of the earnings. Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units fell 2.5% to $4.27, and Fonterra shares, which can only be held by its farmer suppliers, were down 2.5% at $4.27.
Contact Energy was the most traded stock on the NZX50, 2.8 million shares changing hands, com pared to its 90day average of 1.5 million. The stock fell 0.6% to $6.46 after shedding rights to a 16c dividend.
Meridian Energy fell 2.2% to $3.845; Spark New Zealand decreased 1.8% to $3.56; Auckland International Airport slipped 0.3% to $7.955; Property For Industry rose 1% to $1.94, and Fletcher Building edged up 0.2% to $4.75. Air New Zealand was unchanged at $2.305.
Outside the benchmark index, Michael Hill International fell 3.9% to 74c on a volume of 41.4 million — 11% of the shares on issue. The jewellery chain has climbed from 57c since reporting a stronger firsthalf result than investors were expecting.
Also outside the NZX50, Oceania Healthcare rose 1% to $1.02 on volume of 2.5 million, its biggest oneday volume since May 2017.
New Zealand Refining posted the biggest increase on the benchmark index, up 3.1% at $2.03. The country’s only refinery operator on Wednesday noted a recovery in regional margins, which had been negative for much of January and February.
On the soontobedisestablished NXT market, Snakk Media’s liquidators said they were reviewing whether the company’s listing could be sold, but weren’t optimistic about whether the business can be sold as a going concern.
Marlborough Wine Estates migrated to the main board on Wednesday and rose 4.1% to 24c yesterday That effectively spells the end of the junior board.
A Australian shares have closed in negative territory for a second day after a drop in the price of iron ore put pressure on mining shares.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 19.5 points, or 0.32%, to 6165.3 points at 1615 AEDT yesterday, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 24.8 points, or 0.4%, at 6251.8.
‘‘A bit of disappointment,’’ Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee. said
News that miner Vale SA had been given permission to restart production on a shuttered iron ore mine in Brazil caused future prices in the commodity to drop 5%, Ms Lee said.
In turn, shares of Australia’s miners tumbled, with the sector collectively down 1.36%.
Rio Tinto was down 2.81% to $92.09, BHP down 1.04% to $37.20, and Fortescue Metals Group down 6.74% to $6.36.
Tech stocks led gainers, up a collective 1.11%: Xero up 3.09% to $50, Altium Limited up 2.89% to $34.48, and Livetiles up 12.22% to 50.5c, a fivemonth high.
Commonwealth Bank was down 0.76% to $70.79, Westpac was down 0.3% to $26.34, while NAB gained 0.44% to $25.07 and ANZ was up 0.19% to $26.35.
Most of the action was among the smaller ASX players, shares in Eclipx Group Limited plunging 55.97% to 83c after a dismal earnings report that led McMillan Shakespeare to call off its proposed $1.6 billion merger with its automotive services peer.
Eclipx flagged a number of issues in a report to the ASX, including a 42% decline in profit for the first five months of the fiscal year, processing errors on past fiscal years, and problems with its Right2Drive and Grays businesses.
Platinum Asset Management shares dropped 11.09%, to $4.89, after billionaire founder and controller Kerr Neilson and his wife Judith sold off a 10% stake in the company for $300 million. — BusinessDesk/AAP