Market commentary

WELLINGTON: The New Zealand sharemarket moved ahead 0.5% in a late surge of trading, but investors were anxious as they awaited the outcome of the United States election.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index finished an intriguing day 69.62 points, or 0.57%, ahead at 12,199.93. There were 87 gainers and 49 decliners over the whole market and share transactions totalled 62.2 million worth $163.90 million.

Overnight, Wall Street closed on a high, buoyed by investor hopes that a clear winner would be declared in the US presidential election and that a financial stimulus package would be quickly passed. But at the time of writing, this did not seem to be the case.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average zoomed ahead, rising nearly 555 points, or 2.06%, to 27,480.03; the S&P 500 Index was up 1.78% to 3369.16; and the technologydriven Nasdaq Composite increased 1.85% to 11,160.57. The markets, which dislike uncertainty, could quickly turn if the election result is delayed.

Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Jeremy Sullivan was ‘‘watching with great interest the outcome of the election’’.

‘‘We have not seen large movements in our stocks and the New Zealand market is more resilient to whoever gets in. Whether it’s Biden or Trump, you’ll still see an economic stimulus,’’ Mr Sullivan said.

Pushpay Holdings, whose digital donor management business is mainly engaged with US churches, took a tumble, falling 80c, or 8.7%, to $8.40 after a solid halfyear result.

For the six months ending September, its revenue grew 51% to $US86.55 million ($NZ130 million) from $US57.4 million in the same period last year. Its net profit soared 107% to $US13.4 million, and it is not paying an interim dividend.

Mr Sullivan said Pushpay had not added any customers since March — ‘‘its share price has increased 180% over the past year and you have to have lofty announcements to maintain that pace’’.

Pushpay, which has announced a oneforfour share split, said the lack of growth in customers was curious and below its expectation.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 47c to $36; Contact Energy gained 7c to $7.60; Infratil increased 15c, or 2.86%, to $5.40; and Ryman Healthcare climbed 25c to $14.25.

Ebos Group fell 10c to $25.65; a2 Milk was down 11c to $14.20; Skellerup Holdings declined 7c, or 2.31%, to $2.96; and manuka honey producer Comvita decreased 7c, or 2.15%, to $3.18.

Service station operator Z Energy reported a 39% drop in revenue to $1.49 billion and a net loss of $58 million, from a profit of $28 million, for the half year ending September. Its share price rose 5c, or 1.72%, to $2.95.

Retirement village operator Metlifecare has now delisted from the NZX and Australian ASX exchanges after the $1.27 billion takeover by Asia Pacific Village Group, backed by Swedish equity firm EQT. —