NZ sharemarket edges higher as F&P Healthcare weighs on gains - Market Close

The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended 14.49 points or 0.11% down at 13,391.59. Photo / John Weekes

The New Zealand sharemarket ended with a small gain, with a decline in market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare masking a better tone.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index ended 14.49 points or 0.11% down at 13,391.59, with 35.3 million shares, worth $130.2 million, trading.

There were 90 rises and 55 falls on the main board.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, the market’s biggest stock eased back by 11c to $35.86.

Offshore markets did not provide much of a lead.

By late in the New Zealand day, Australia’s S&P/AX 200 index was slightly weaker but not far off 52-week highs.

In the US, the main indices were mixed, the Dow finishing up 0.47%, the S&P 500 ending flat, and the Nasdaq easing 0.16%.

“It’s quiet Friday before the long [Labour] weekend,” Salt Funds managing director Matt Goodson said.

“There is very little market news. That said, there is a bid tone to the market.”

Goodson said the property stocks were starting to emerge from the shadow of Precinct Property’s big capital raise, which saw investors lighten their holdings in some property stocks to participate in the Precinct issue.

Precinct’s $285m placement at $1.23 a share was fully subscribed. The $25m share purchase plan closes on Tuesday.

S&P/NZX Real Estate Select Index gained 30 points or 1.66% to finish at 1839.78.

Air NZ ended flat at 60c despite receiving a couple of broker downgrades after the company announced this week that it expects report a pre-tax first half loss of $30-55m.

Forsyth Barr’s Air NZ rating went to “underperform” from “neutral” on the news.

The broker said the earnings downtrade highlighted the “acute” nature of its current challenges.

Another broker, Jarden, cut its rating on Air NZ to “underweight” from neutral.

“It’s been a remarkably tough period for them, in stark contrast to Qantas, which has gone from strength to strength over the same time, with Air NZ suffering from a mixture of the weak economy and its engine issues,” Goodson said.

Shares in Tourism Holdings (THL) gained a cent to $2.48 after today’s annual meeting.

In materials released for the meeting, the loss-making THL said that given the scale of its current transformation, it would not provide an earnings guidance.

“We remain confident that we have turned a corner and expect a return to net profit growth in 2026,” THL said.

Goodson said the US rentals business was “pretty tough” for THL.

“But they are seeing growth in their other markets and forward bookings for the rest of the financial year for New Zealand, Australia, and Canada are about 20% ahead of last year, which is encouraging,” Goodson said.

THL in August reported a $25.8m annual loss, compared with a $39.4m profit in the previous year.

Vista’s share price gained 10c or 3.65% at $2.84 after a positive earnings update but the stock was still a far cry from its $4 peak reached in March.

Looking ahead, a number of annual meetings and special meetings are due next week.

Rua Bioscience’s AGM is set down for Tuesday, while meetings for Ebos and SouthPort are due on Wednesday.

AGMs for Freightways, Mee Today and Move Logistics are due on Thursday, while Fonterra’s special meeting to vote on the sale of its consumer business is due on the same day.

On Friday, Sky City, Barramundi and Port of Tauranga hold their AGMs.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.

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