ANZ surge leads gains on both sides of the Tasman
Skellerup set a high benchmark for NZ’s earnings season.
ANZ Group Holdings led the S&P/NZX 50 index higher after the smallest of Australia’s big four banks hit all-time highs on both sides of the Tasman after impressing investors with the pace of chief executive Nuno Matos’s turnaround strategy.
Skellerup Holdings gained after beating expectations with its record first-half profit, as the rubber goods maker navigated US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime with greater ease than it had feared.
The mood across Asia was broadly positive, with Australia, South Korea and Japanese markets all hitting records, with Samsung Electronics’ next generation of memory chips buoying semiconductor and chipmakers across the region and offsetting a soft lead from Wall Street where stronger-than-expected jobs growth prompted bond traders to dial back their bets on the pace of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
And locally, interest rate sensitive firms such as retirement village operators Summerset Group Holdings and Ryman Healthcare were on the red side of the ledger.
Late gains
The NZX50 rose 24.2 points, or 0.3%, to 13,531.48, with 23 stocks gaining, 21 declining, and six unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $128.3 million, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $17.8 million as it increased 0.1% to $39.40.
ANZ led the local benchmark higher, jumping 9% to $47.59, and was leading the S&P/ASX 200 index in late trading after the lender said December cash profit jumped 6% from a year earlier, with a sharp drop in its cost-to-income ratio as chief executive Nuno Matos’s restructuring programme achieved gains faster than expected.
“ANZ had a cracker,” said Greg Smith, investment specialist at Generate Investment Management. “Nuno’s plan is running ahead of schedule and it’s hit a record high.”
Westpac Banking Corp gained 3.5% to $48.89 on the NZX, and the major banks all gained across the Tasman as the ASX200 advanced 0.3% in late trading, hitting a record during the session.
Skellerup rose 1.8% to $5.67 after rubber goods maker lifted first-half profit 20% to a record $28.9 million, and hiked its interim dividend by 1 cent to 10 cents per share.
“The Red Bands manufacturer kicked off earnings season in a positive fashion,” Generate's Smith said. “If other results are as strong as this one, investors will be pretty happy.”
Among other companies to gain, KMD Brands increased 3.9% to 26.5 cents, Channel Infrastructure advanced 3.6% to $2.90 and Tourism Holdings increased 1.7% to $2.39.
The local market spent much of the session in negative territory, with a late run pushing it into positive territory.
Record times
Markets across Asia were broadly stronger, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index up 0.2% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index gaining 0.6%, while South Korea’s Kospi hit a new record after Samsung rallied on optimism about its HBM4 memory chips.
Data centre investor Infratil increased 0.2% to $11.30.
That upbeat mood offset the soggy lead from Wall Street after strong jobs growth in January prompted bond traders to pare their expectations on how quickly the Federal Reserve will make its next rate cut. The kiwi dollar traded at 60.56 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 60.63 cents yesterday, while two-year swap rates increased 2 basis points to 3.1%.
The government’s latest bond tender attracted $1.03 billion of bids for the $250 million offered, with the five-year notes selling at an average yield of 3.98%.
Interest rate sensitive companies were among those to decline on the NZX, with Summerset posting the steepest fall as it dropped 2.6% to $10.89, while Ryman Healthcare slipped 1.5% to $2.71. Lines company Vector decreased 2.6% to $4.86, while commercial landlord Precinct Properties NZ dipped 1.7% to $1.16.
Tech companies were also broadly weaker, with Vista Group International falling 2.1% to $1.86, Gentrack declining 1.4% to $7.20 and Serko sliding 1.3% to $2.37.
Outside the benchmark index, Eroad dropped 6.7% to 97 cents after saying chief executive Mike Heine will leave the transport hardware and software developer in June.
TruScreen was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 5.3 million shares changing hands as the cervical cancer screening firm jumped 10%, or 0.2 of a cent, to 2.2 cents, while Pacific Edge fell 4.4% to 22 cents on a volume of 4.8 million.
