Market commentaries
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell, snapping a sixday run of gains, as a stronger kiwi weighed on exporters such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and A2 Milk. Skellerup bucked the trend, gaining after it reported increased earnings.
The S&P/NZX 50 index fell 48.46 points, or 0.5%, to 9284.92. Within the index, 24 declined, 23 rose and three were unchanged. Turnover was $132.9 million.
Exporters were largely weaker, as a stronger kiwi weighed on their earnings. January trade data from China was also much stronger than expected.
A2 Milk fell 2.7% to $13.20 while F&P Healthcare was down 1.4% at $13.70. Retailer Kathmandu dropped 2.9% to $2.33.
‘‘We’ve just turned a little with the strength of the kiwi dollar following the Reserve Bank announcement,’’ Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said.
He said the benchmark index had gained 5.5% so far this year, and investors were probably realising some of those gains as the corporate earnings season got busier.
Skellerup reported a 15% gain in firsthalf profit and signalled another record annual result. Its shares rose 1.5% to $2.08.
NZX rose 1% to $1.02 before today’s annual earnings result. About 1.3 million shares changed hands, more than 10 times its threemonth average.
Sky Network Television posted the biggest decline on the day, down 3.6% at $1.87. Rival Television New Zealand’s chief executive Kevin Kenrick and chairwoman Therese Walsh told MPs yesterday the broadcaster would take a keen interest in the sale of Nine Entertainment’s Stuff assets, and would want to be involved in wider industry discussions.
Spark New Zealand shares fell 0.4% to $4.08, SkyCity Entertainment Group rose 1% to $3.87 and Kiwi Property Group increased 0.4% to $1.435.
Of other stocks trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Trade Me Group increased 0.2% to $6.37, Fletcher Building fell 0.6% to $5.23, Goodman Property Trust rose 0.3% to $1.65, Meridian Energy fell 0.3% to $3.75 and Mercury NZ fell 0.4% to $3.77.
Stride Property posted the biggest gain on the day, up 2.6% at $1.99.
Outside the benchmark index, PGG Wrightson jumped 16% to 55c after the Commerce Commission approved the sale of the rural service firm’s seeds division to DLF Seeds for $434 million in cash and assumed debt. — BusinessDesk
The Australian sharemarket closed flat yesterday after
Abeing tugged in opposite directions by mixed earnings reports from 16 of the nation’s top 200 companies.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 4.2 points, or 0.07%, at 6059.4 points, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 0.6 points, or 0.01%, at 6139.6.
Telstra, Suncorp Group, AMP and UnibailRodamcoWestfield were all lower after disappointing investors with earnings reports.
Telstra, Australia’s most widely held stock by individual investors, closed down 2.18%, to $3.14, on a seesaw day after it cut its interim payout to shareholders.
AMP shares dropped 7.79% as the company cut its dividend 10.5c to 4c, following a 97% drop in profits.
On the flip side, miner and minerals company South32, commercial property group Goodman Group, Cleanaway Waste Management, Woodside Petroleum, Breville and Magellan Financial Group all shot upward after releasing positive results.
Breville shares skyrocketed 18.01%, hitting an alltime high at $14.09, Magellan shares were up 9.9%, to $32.09, and South32 shares moved up 3.54%, to $3.80. — AAP