“There’s not a lot happening. It was a bit of a cautious handover from Wall Street, just off ever so slightly, which is entirely understandable because it’s been such a cracking run for the US market. A breather is not unexpected or unusual,” Lister said.
KMD Brands, which owns Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz, released its 2025 full-year results, which were largely in line with market expectations.
The group reported total sales of $989m, up 1% from the year prior at $979.4m, but posted a statutory $93.4 million loss.
Lister said it was a soft result that was in line with guidance but there were positives if investors looked hard enough.
“They haven’t issued any guidance for 2026, but August sales saw a healthy increase on the same period a year ago, up 10.5%.
“Those numbers are positive, one would think, so a few good signs coming through that will hopefully point to a brighter period ahead.”
KMD Brands’ share price rose 6.52% to $0.24 after 655,997 shares changed hands on turnover worth $163,538.84.
Elsewhere, the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund’s share price lifted 6.04% or 45c to $7.90 ahead of the co-op’s result.
Lister put the performance down to the expectations of a solid result due on Thursday, noting that its share price has increased by roughly 50% in the last year alone.
Infratil’s share price rose late in the day, after an announcement that CDC Data Centres had secured approximately 100MW of new contracted capacity.
Infratil’s share price increased 1.14% or 14c to $12.39 after 695,203 shares changed hands on turnover worth $8.5m.
The market’s largest inhabitant, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, also rose late in the session, increasing 1.07% or 40c to $37.80 on turnover worth $34.99m.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis also ended speculation with the confirmation Swedish economist Dr Anna Breman had been appointed the new Governor of the Reserve Bank.
“Christian Hawkesby has done a great job holding the fort, and he’ll be there for a little bit longer to ensure that there’s a seamless handover.
“The new Governor is very credible and has the right skillset, so I think the market will be happy with that appointment. Although, I don’t think it really changes the short-term outlook for the Reserve Bank,” Lister said.
Wall Street’s bull run showed signs of fatigue today as major indices retreated from records on drops by Amazon, Nvidia and other tech giants.
The pullback followed comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warning that cutting interest rates “too aggressively” could stoke inflation, while the central bank boss also emphasised the need to try to prevent the labour market from softening “unnecessarily”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.2% at 46,292.78.
The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.6% to 6656.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.0% to 22,573.47.
– Additional reporting AFP
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
