Rising index defies closure of Tasman bubble

Shutting the transtasman travel bubble for at least two months put the dampener on leisure stocks, but the New Zealand sharemarket again remained resilient to the latest Covid developments. The S&P/NZX 50 Index was up 15.47 points or 0.12 per cent to 12,736.32, after reaching an intraday low of 12,690.05. The index picked up almost half a per cent for the week while neighbour Australia battled to control the fresh Covid outbreaks.

There were 62 gainers and 68 decliners across the whole market, with 56.28 million shares worth $162.14m changing hands.

Greg Smith, head of research with Fat Prophets, said bubble closing was a blow to the tourism industry and it looked as though the lockdowns in Australia could be extended.

“It could be months instead of weeks. It’s a reminder that dealing with the Delta variant has changed the landscape. The markets have been pretty resilient . . . mind you, the New Zealand Reserve Bank will likely raise its official cash rate next month and we’ve already seen some banks increase their lending rates. It will be interesting to see what happens to the consumer stocks if people start to pinch on their spending.”

Auckland International Airport fell 15c or 2.05 per cent to $7.15; Air New Zealand was down 2c to $1.505; SkyCity Entertainment lost 5c to $3.23; and Tourism Holdings declined 4c to $2.38.

Air New Zealand told the market that the suspension is expected to have a short-term operational and financial impact on its business until the bubble reopens.

Covid beneficiary Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose $1 or 3.16 per cent to $32.65; Spark gained 6c to $4.83; Sanford climbed 11c or 2.3 per cent to $4.89; and

Turners Automotive was up 5c to $4.28.

Among the energy companies, Contact rose 11c to $8.37; Meridian was down 6.5c to $5.28; and Mercury fell 2c to $6.82.

Publisher and broadcaster NZME swept through the $1 mark after rising 5c or 5.21 per cent to a two-year high of $1.01. Scott Technology was up 5c or 1.89 per cent to $2.70; ikeGPS rose 3c or 2.68 per cent to $1.15; and software company PaySauce gained 1c or 3.17 per cent to 32.5c.

There is still uncertainty about a2 Milk’s recovery and it fell 17c or 2.33 per cent to $7.14. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group told the market it had increased its stake in a2 Milk from 5.689 per cent to 6.745 per cent.

Retirement village operator Summerset Group Holdings shed 16c to $13.28; and

Ryman Healthcare was down 7c to $13.02.

Pushpay Holdings lost 3c to $1.76;

Briscoe Group decreased 5c to $5.70; and

Cavalier declined 2c or 3.85 per cent to 50c.