The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index had increased 0.94 per cent to 7638.7 points at 6pm NZ time; the Hong Kong Hang Seng had risen 2.13 per cent to 16,570.45; and the Japanese Nikkei 225 was up 0.52 per cent to 37,260.99.
On the eve of reporting from the big US tech stocks, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.05 per cent to 15,282.01 points and S&P 500, heading for its biggest monthly drop since December 2022, was down 0.88 per cent to 4967.23 at the weekend (NZ time).
Chipmaker Nvidia declined 10 per cent to US$762, and Netflix was down 9.09 per cent to US$555.04.
At home, ASB Bank is now expecting the first Official Cash Rate cut in February, rather than in November as previously thought. The bank said financial markets have been getting stung both here and elsewhere by the stubborn tail-end of (New Zealand and global) inflation pressures.
Although 4 per cent headline inflation, following the release of the March quarter consumers price index, was in line with expectations, it was the mix of inflation that surprised and was significant.
Ryman Healthcare was down 2c to an 11-year low of $4.32 following the sudden departure of chief executive Richard Umbers. Dean Hamilton will become the executive chairman while a new chief executive is appointed. Ryman reaffirmed its full-year underlying profit guidance of $265m-$285m.
Sullivan said it’s never comforting “when you see a chief executive leave so quickly and there must have been some unsettled conversations at the board level about Ryman’s performance.”
He suggested that a further capital raise may be in the offing as Ryman is building faster than it is generating cash at present. Ryman raised $902m on the market in February last year.
Fletcher Building was up 11c or 2.85 per cent to $3.97; Chorus rebounded 19c or 2.62 per cent to $7.43; Auckland International Airport gained 12c to $7.97; Spark added 6.5c to $4.715; and Freightways increased 14c to $8.74.
Heartland Group added 3c or 2.91 per cent to $1.06; Michael Hill rose 3c or 4.48 per cent to 70c; Channel Infrastructure gained 3c or 1.99 per cent to $1.54; Restaurant Brands collected 11c or 3.24 per cent to $3.50; and SkyCity improved 4c or 2.2 per cent to $1.86.
Genesis Energy, up 1c to $2.35 reported that electricity sales were up 6.4 per cent or 80GWh to 1336GWh in the third quarter and new customers increased 1537, bringing the total to 494,752.
Vector, down 2c to $3.70, told the market that connections (electricity and gas) increased 7.9 per cent for the nine months ending March and 2 per cent for the year. Electricity distributed volume for the nine months was up 3.2 per cent and gas was down 4 per cent.
Air New Zealand was unchanged at 57c after downgrading its full-year gross earnings to $190m-$230m, from $200m-$240m, because of “softening in revenue conditions” over the fourth quarter, both domestically and in the North American market.
Port of Tauranga was down 9c or 1.83 per cent to $4.83; Scott Technology declined 8c or 2.82 per cent to $2.76; Synlait fell a further 3c or 5.56 per cent to 51c; Gentrack declined 19c or 2.32 per cent to $8; and Oceania Healthcare eased 3c or 3.17 per cent to 61c.
Auto retailer 2 Cheap Cars, unchanged at 82c, announced David Sena is taking over as chief executive following the resignation of Paul Millward. Sena and his family trust has a 76 per cent shareholding in the company.
Radius Residential Care gained 0.006c or 5.26 per cent to 12c after reporting that 12-month operating earnings (ebitda) rose 48 per cent to $21m compared with the previous year. Radius, which has no short-term debt, is paying a final dividend of 0.7c a share.
