Market commentaries
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares rose as investors shrugged off a slightly gloomier outlook for Synlait Milk and joined a global rally as the latest bout in the USChina trade war was not as harsh as feared.
The S&P/NZX index increased 29.29 points, or 0.3%, to 9345.06. Within the index 23 stocks gained, 18 fell and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $148.2 million.
Stocks across Asia followed Wall Street higher after US President Donald Trump’s 10% tariff on $US200 billion ($NZ302 billion) of Chinese goods and the subsequent retaliation were more moderate than investors had anticipated. The Shanghai Composite index was up 1% in afternoon trading, while Japan’s Topix gained 1.5% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index increased 0.5%.
The main local news was Synalit’s neardoubling of annual profit to $74.6 million as the milk processor lifted sales of its highvalue dairy products. However, the share price fell 6.6% to $11.94 due to chief executive Leon Clement playing down the outlook, saying infant formula sales will probably grow at a slower pace.
Rickey Ward, NZ equity manager at JBWere, said the result was pretty good and in line with expectations, but the outlook fell short of what people were hoping for.
A2 Milk Co gained 1.1% to $12.27.
Heartland Bank rose 1.8% to $1.70 after the lender’s shareholders approved a restructuring to split the Australian reverse mortgage business from the bank, removing it from Reserve Bank prudential rules.
Exporter Comvita led the market higher, up 2.7% to $6.57. Duallisted banks Westpac Banking Corp and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group gained 1.9% and 1.1% to $30.99 and $31.50 respectively.
Chorus gained 1% to $5, a record for the network company that was carved out of Telecom in 2011. Spark New Zealand increased 0.5% to $4.08.
Arvida Group gained 1.5% to $1.36. The retirement village operator yesterday told investors the cooling property market had not spilled over into its resales, which were still selling at widening margins.
Tourism Holdings fell 2.9% to $5.09. Freightways fell 1.3% to $7.75. New Zealand Refining slipped 0.4% after reporting its secondbiggest throughput in JulyAugust, at a smaller margin than a year earlier.
Kathmandu Holdings decreased 1.2% to $3.19. The retailer yesterday reported a 33% increase in annual profit and outlined plans for a dualbrand strategy in North America and Europe.
Pushpay Holdings fell 1% to $4.18. Morgan Stanley yesterday emerged as a substantial shareholder with 5.4%.
Sky Network Television fell 0.5% to $2.11.
A Australian shares closed higher, buoyed by the heavyweight mining sector following improved copper and iron ore prices overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 28.5 points, or 0.46%, at 6190.0 points yesterday, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 27.5 points, or 0.44%, higher at 6297.0 points.
The Australian dollar rallied as investors wagered China would take steps to support domestic growth in its trade dispute with the United States. It was buying US72.49c at 4.30pm AEST, from 72.13c on Tuesday. The materials sector closed 2.1% higher following the anticlimactic aftermath of the trade decision.
Copper prices recorded an unexpected rise of 2.43% overnight, with investors seemingly prepared for Mr Trump’s new tariffs on China, while iron ore jumped too, as the wider market shrugged off the global trade furore.
BHP, up 2.9% to $32.40, and Rio Tinto, up 3.1% to $75.40, led the way for the sector.
Ms Lee said the strengthening Australian dollar was inviting for international buyers to invest in local shares.
This helped the financial sector rise 0.7%. Westpac recorded the strongest gain, up 1.1% to $28.20, while Commonwealth Bank had the weakest gain, up 0.24% to $72.09.
This had the opposite effect, however, on companies relying on exports, such as health care giant CSL, which closed 1.4% lower at $202.49.
The telecommunications sector closed 1.5% lower and TPG was down 5.4% to $8.25. — BusinessDesk/AAP