The NZ market largely ignored a US rise. Photo / Getty Images
The New Zealand sharemarket made a small gain following the holiday weekend but it largely ignored another record day on Wall Street.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell in the morning to 13,333.57 but recovered in the afternoon to close at 13,402.66, up 11.06 points or 0.08%. The index has now increased nearly 3% for the year to date.
There were 79 gainers and 67 decliners on strong volumes of 45.58 million share transactions worth $179.13m.
Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said there was a little bit of catch-up by the market after being closed for Labour Day, but share price-wise the market was directionless.
US buoyant
In the United States, the S&P 500 Index went above 6800 points for the first time after gaining 1.23% to 6875.16, its 34th record close this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71% to 47,544.59 points, and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.86% to 23,637.46 on the back of the big tech stocks.
Investors this week are eagerly awaiting an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve; latest quarterly earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Apple, Amazon; and a potential trade deal from a long-awaited meeting between the US and Chinese presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Aussie slips
All the action was across the Tasman where the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 0.39% to 9020.7 points at 6pm NZ time.
Global pharmaceutical company CSL was down 15% to A$179.62 (NZ$203.87), a six-year low, after downgrading its revenue and profit growth forecasts amid falling US vaccination rates. CSL shares are down more than 36% in the past 12 months, having traded above $300 in October last year.
Heavyweight WiseTech Global had declined 15.4% to A$71.90 ($81.61) after its Sydney head office was raided by Australian Federal Police and Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
The investigation centres on alleged insider trading by founder Richard White and three employees, although no charges have been laid and the company insisted it is co-operating fully.
Gentrack on track
Back home, Gentrack increased 39c or 4.37% to $9.32; a2 Milk gained 13c to $10.50; Turners Automotive added 14c or 1.93% to $7.40; SkyCity Entertainment Group was up 1.5c or 2.1% to 73c; and Livestock Improvement Corp rose 9c or 9.18% to $1.07.
Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare looked like going under $35 after reaching an intraday low of $35.12 but made a strong turnaround to close at $35.95, up 5c on trade worth $27.29m.
The dual-listed banking groups had a strong day, with ANZ increasing $1.24 or 3% to $42.55, and Westpac adding $1.19 or 2.72% to $45.
Fletcher Building decreased 7c or 2.17% to $3.15; Mainfreight declined 81c to a six-month low of $59.29; Summerset Group eased 16c to $11.74; and Foley Wines down 4c or 6.35% to 59c.
Being AI fell 2.3c or 16.34% to 11.8c after reaching 20c on October 22; and NZ King Salmon Investments was down 0.08c or 3.9% to 19.7c.
Minerals lose shine
The listed mineral explorers were impacted by the sudden fall in the gold price, which was trading at US$3988 an ounce after reaching a high of $4362 a week ago.
Santana Minerals fell 8c or 8.65% to 84.5c; Uvre declined 2.5c or 9.09% to 25c; Manuka Resources was down 1.4c or 18.18% to 6.3; and New Talisman Gold Mines decreased 0.003c or 5.36% to 5.3c.
Ebos Group, down 40c to $28, has opened a 30,000sq m pharmacy wholesale distribution centre in West Sydney featuring a 1.75MW rooftop solar array. It is the sixth new distribution centre as part of the company’s four-year, $360m renewal programme.
Power pole monitoring firm Ike GPS was up 5c or 5.15% to $1.02 after reporting a 5% increase in revenue to $12.8m for the first six months of the present financial year.
Recognised platform subscription revenue rose 35% to $8.8m, and ike GPS confirmed its full-year guidance of 35% or greater growth in platform subscription revenue. Operating earnings (ebitda) would break even in the second half.
Chatham Rock Phosphate, down 0.002c or 2.63% to 7.4c, and Rua Bioscience, down 0.01c or 2.86% to 3.4c, are both raising capital – the former $620,000 through a private placement at 0.05c a share, and the latter $2m through the issue of new equity at 0.03c a share.
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