N Korea missile test spooks investors
Kiwi shares drop while global markets lack direction during US July 4 holiday
New Zealand shares dropped with North Korean tensions spooking investors as the US Independence Day holiday left markets lacking direction. Spark New Zealand and A2 Milk Co fell while Xero and ERoad gained.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 24.97 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7595.67. Within the index, 21 stocks fell, 17 rose and 12 were unchanged. Turnover was $106.9 million.
Stocks across Asia were mixed as the US holiday left investors somewhat rudderless, and easy to unsettle by North Korea’s claim of the country’s first successful intercontinental ballistic missile test that brings the United States within its reach.
Investors will have more to ponder later in the week with a Group of 20 meeting in Germany, where US President Donald Trump is slated to meet with both his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
“The market has been tentative with the US market closed for Independence Day, we will get a better feel tomorrow when it opens back up,” said Peter McIntyre, of Craigs Investment Partners yesterday.
“There has been a bit of geopolitical tension overnight, North Korea has made investors a bit nervous.”
led the index lower, dropping 1.9 per cent to $3.84, which McIntyre said was giving up some gains made over the previous two sessions. fell 1.8 per cent to $3.87 and declined 1.5 per cent to $1.30 ahead of its annual meeting on Friday.
was the best performer, gaining 1.7 per cent to $25.62, while
Spark Xero
rose
ERoad A2 Milk Arvida Group Restaurant Brands New Zealand
1.3 per cent to $6.25 and gained 1 per cent to
Mainfreight
$23.60. Outside the benchmark index,
gained 9.2 per cent to $1.79. The company’s shares rose to their highest level since May after posting its fastest quarterly sales growth in the US, where the logistics and fleet management company’s high hopes for rapid expansion have been confounded by slow uptake of the new federal compliance regime for electronic logging devices.
ERoad’s chief financial officer said the sales figure represented its “single biggest growth in units for a quarter” since the company was founded in 2000. The news was positive, but the gains came on light volume, McIntyre said.
Tegel Group
also strengthened, up 0.8 per cent to $1.33, and has gained 18 per cent over the past week as a shrinking glut of chicken has brought some pricing power back into the chicken market, McIntyre said. traded at US72.83c from US72.70c on Tuesday with the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the US keeping markets across Asia relatively quiet. The kiwi gained to 4.9504 Chinese yuan from 4.9406 yuan, advanced to €64.14c from
63.93c and increased to 56.38p from 56.15p. The kiwi rose to ¥82.45 from ¥82.24 on Tuesday. The two-year swap rate fell 1 basis point to 2.30 per cent while the 10-year swaps fell 2 basis points to 3.34pc.