In the US initial jobless claims rose to 249,000, the highest since last August, and continuing claims jumped to 1.877 million, the highest since November 2021. The ISM manufacturing index was worse than expected at 46.8%, and a signal for economic contraction.
The US 10-Year Treasury Note yield fell below 4% for the first time since February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.21% to 40,347.97 points; the S&P 500 declined 1.37% to 5446.68; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.3% to 17,194.14.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index had declined 5.5% to 36,029.9 points after the central bank lifted its official cash rate to protect its currency.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 2.23% to 7933.7 points at 6pm NZ time.
The Warehouse Group fell 21c or 14.89% to $1.20 after pulling out of discussions with Australian private equity firm Adamantem Capital over buying all its shares at a price range of $1.50 to $1.70.
Warehouse chair Dame Joan Withers said the current scheme of arrangement didn’t have the critical shareholder backing it needed to proceed. The board has not yet formed a view on value and was open to continuing discussions if a further proposal generated shareholder support sufficient to make its execution viable.
Solly said, “When you get corporate proposals, there’s always some degree of uncertainty, and maybe more work needs to be done, who knows.”
Kiwi Property declined 1.5c to 89c after cancelling the contract for the conditional sale of the Vero Centre in downtown Auckland as a Hong Kong-based conglomerate failed to meet the terms of the purchase agreement. The purchaser failed to make a deposit and had not sought Overseas Investment Office approval.
SkyCity Entertainment was down 1c to $1.60 after announcing it will close the Auckland casino gambling area for five days from September 9 as part of the agreement with the Department of Internal Affairs. The full-year earnings impact will be about $5m.
Mainfreight was down 81c to $74.79; a2 Milk fell 17c or 2.17% to $7.65; Serko shed 10c or 2.7% to $3.60; Scales Corp declined 9c or 2.54% to $3.45; Sky TV decreased 8c or 3.04% to $2.55; and NZME was down 2c or 1.92% to $1.02.
Dual-listed banking groups ANZ declined 79c or 2.43% to $31.71, and Westpac fell $1.87 or 5.69% to $31.
Other decliners were My Food Bag down 0.004c or 2.52% to 15.5c; Greenfern Industries falling 1.9c or 35.19% to 3.5c; Rakon decreasing 2c or 2.22% to 88c; Santana Minerals easing 8c or 5.48% to $1.38; and Accordant Group down 3c or 4.41% to 65c.
Ebos Group gained 58c to $36.60; AFT Pharmaceuticals increased 13c or 4.33% to $3.13 after holding its annual meeting; Steel & Tube improved 2c or 1.94% to $1.05; 2 Cheap Cars collected 3c or 3.45% to 90c; Eroad rose 5c or 3.91% to $1.22; and Blackpearl Group added 2c or 2.63% to 78c.
In the property sector, Argosy gained 2c or 1.89% to $1.08, and Stride rose 6c or 4.8% to $1.31.
AoFrio (formerly Wellington Drive Technologies) gained 0.004c or 6.15% to 6.9c after reporting a 27.4% increase in revenue to $38.4m for the half-year, and operating earnings of $1.1m, representing a $1.8m turnaround.
The company is maintaining its full-year guidance of $70m-$80m revenue, a 13% increase on the previous year, and ebitda of $2.5m.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ, unchanged at $1.76, earlier told the market the removal of tax depreciation on commercial buildings will result in a one-off, non-cash adjustment of $26m, while CDL Investments, up 1c to 78c, said the government move created an adjustment of $4m.
