Pushpay, SkyCity lead market up
New Zealand shares gained as the dollar sank following the official cash rate update, with Pushpay Holdings recovering from recent selling and Skycity Entertainment Group continuing to gain.
The S&P/NZX50 index rose 68.1 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 8940.19. Within the index, 33 stocks rose, nine fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $95 million.
Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr yesterday kept the official cash rate at 1.75 per cent. That was widely expected, but Orr also said he expects to keep rates on hold into 2020, at least a year longer than previously thought, and reiterated the next move could be up or down.
“The RB statement was certainly one of the key focal points of the day and it has seen the currency weaken quite sharply against the US and Australian dollars,” said Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management. He added there was “a randomness in order flow” driving some of the market’s movement.
“Certainly names that do tend to move on a Kiwi/Aussie dollar have moved, like Fletcher Building and other names with offshore earnings — Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is up, Pushpay is up after a few very weak days, NZ Refining is a big beneficiary of a weaker kiwi dollar.”
Pushpay Holdings, which operates in the US, where its payment app targets the church giving sector, was the best performer, up 3.1 per cent to $3.64. Fletcher Building rose 2.4 per cent to $6.98, New Zealand Refining
rose 2.1 per cent to $2.48 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 1 per cent to $14.77. However, other stocks that can benefit from a weaker New Zealand dollar didn’t reap such benefits, with Sanford up 0.4 per cent to $7.71 and Scales Corp down 0.4 per cent to $4.57.
Skycity Entertainment Group
rose 2.2 per cent to $4.17, its second day of gains after Wednesday, when it increased full-year earnings more than forecast as its high-roller business recovered and its flagship Auckland casino improved. It expects “modest growth” in earnings in the current financial year.
Fonterra Shareholders Fund was in a trading halt at $5.11. Fonterra Co-operative Group’s 2018 earnings may differ from its previous guidance, the dairy company said yesterday. Its securities trading on the NZX and ASX have been halted while it crunches the numbers, with an update expected by the end of today.
Kathmandu Holdings was the worst performer, down 1.6 per cent to $2.09, while Gentrack Group declined 1.3 per cent to $6.73.
Vital Healthcare Property Trust dropped 1.2 per cent to $2.13. It saw adjusted earnings grow in 2018 as it continued to invest and expand throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Outside the benchmark index,
Hallenstein Glasson Holdings was unchanged at $5.53. —