Hallenstein Glasson rose 4% to a record high of $9.10 today. Photo / NZME
The New Zealand sharemarket, driven down by Ebos and a2 Milk, had its first fall in five days and is looking for definitive leads from offshore.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index initially defied weakness on Wall Street but then gradually slid in the afternoon and closed at 13,074.81, down 58.34 points or 0.44% after reaching an intraday high of 13,158.78.
There were 69 gainers and 70 decliners on volumes of 39.1 million share transactions worth $127.6 million.
Global turmoil
The United States markets followed the Labour Day holiday with reasonable falls.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.55% to 45,295.81 points; the S&P 500 decreased 0.69% to 6,415.54; and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.82% to 21,279.63.
There was one shining light after Alphabet, owner of Google, rose 6.73% to US$226.25 ($386) in after-hours trading. A US federal judge ruled that Google didn’t have to sell its Chrome browser or Android operating system after a major antitrust case.
Google, however, will have to share valuable search data with competitors to foster online search competition.
Other Asian-Pacific markets were also down at 6pm NZT. Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 1.41% to 8775.00 points despite growth in national gross domestic product (GDP).
New Zealand-bred accounting software firm Xero was down 6.1% to A$149.92 ($166.79).
The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index had declined 0.77% to 25,300.32 points; Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.93% to 41,912.51; and the Shanghai Composite had fallen 1.35% to 3,805.97 on the day of the military parade in the Chinese capital, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
New laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles and giant underwater drones were on show in the parade, attended by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. China’s President Xi Jinping said in a speech before the parade that his country was unstoppable and would never be intimidated by bullies.
Economic growth rebounded in Australia in the June quarter to 0.6% and 1.8% for the year, above the forecast of 1.6% and the 1.3% in the previous 12-month period.
Greg Smith, investment specialist with KiwiSaver provider Generate, said the Australian economy continues to leave New Zealand’s in the shade.
He said global markets have opened the month with a distinct sense of caution as investors await the next round of central bank signals and key economic data.
Attention has shifted from the northern summer’s rally (in the US) to the durability of the global economic recovery. US jobs data, out on Friday, is viewed as a key indicator as to whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates after its policy review meeting on September 16 and 17.
Local stocks
At home, Ebos Group fell 60c or 1.82% to $32.40, and a2 Milk declined 29c or 2.77% to $10.19 on trades worth $6.36m and $3.2m respectively.
Smith said a2 Milk has had a strong run lately, up almost 20% in the past month and 60% in the year to date, while Ebos is down nearly 20% in the past month on the back of weak earnings guidance.
Auckland International Airport shed 11.5c to $7.515; Spark eased 5c or 1.91% to $2.565 on trade worth $6.8m; and the dual-listed banking groups ANZ and Westpac were down 75c or 2.01% to $36.50 and $1.33 or 3.11% to $41.45, respectively.
Hallenstein Glasson continued to climb, rising 35c or 4% to a record high of $9.10 after the sudden resignation of its chief executive.
Ryman Healthcare improved 7c or 2.82% to $2.55; Napier Port gained 10c or 3.25% to $3.18; Winton Land rose 10c or 4.55% to $2.30; Scales Corp increased 17c or 3.33% to $5.27, and Sky TV was up 7c or 2.24% to $3.20.
Other gainers were Delegat Group, increasing 7c to $4.38; 2 Cheap Cars adding 2c or 4% to 52c; CDL Investments improving 2.5c or 3.18% to 81c; and Solution Dynamics up 5c or 7.14% to 75c.
Energy company Vector, up 1c to $4.62, has appointed Chris Blenkiron as the new group chief executive to replace Simon Mackenzie, who leaves at the end of the year. Blenkiron has been the chief executive at Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter near Invercargill – the smelter is the largest energy user in New Zealand.
Tait Communications disclosed it has so far secured 68.6% of the shares in communications services provider Vital, which was down 1c or 2.38% to 41c. Tait has said that if it doesn’t receive 90% or greater acceptance of its takeover offer by September 12, at 45c a share, the deal is off.