Dual-listed NZ firms join ASX rout as miners, tech stocks slide

Dual-listed New Zealand firms joined the rout on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index as Amazon’s US$200 billion spending plans for artificial intelligence infrastructure kept the pressure on tech stocks, which have been sold off in the latter half of the week.

Data centre investor Infratil was one of the harder hit New Zealand firms on Australia’s bourse, with the NZX closed for the Waitangi Day public holiday, while local software firms Gentrack, Eroad and Black Pearl Group were all on the red side of the ledger.

Mining stocks remained under pressure as gold and silver prices were whipped around, although Rio Tinto was among the few Australian majors to gain on the day, while Santana Minerals, Minerals Exploration and Manuka Resources declined.

And Heartland Group Holdings was one of the rare firms to gain in Australian trading, with the big four banks declining on the day.

Summer holiday

New Zealand markets were closed for the Waitangi Day public holiday on Friday, having eked out a 0.2% gain in the shortened week, faring better than its Australian counterpart which was on track for its worst week since November with the S&P/ASX 200 index down 2% in late trading on Friday.

Wall Street set a soft lead for Asian markets as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sank 1.6% as Google-parent Alphabet’s doubling of capital spending on AI infrastructure kept investors nervous about the eventual pay-off of the investment.

Amazon’s quarterly earnings after the bell added to the negative sentiment, with the ecommerce giant flagging a US$200 billion investment in AI infrastructure this year.

The souring sentiment knocked crypto currencies, with Bitcoin dropping near US$60,000, recovering to US$64,097 at 5pm in Auckland.

Australia’s stock market was one of the worst performers across Asia, as volatile metals prices knocked the resources-dense bourse, which recently saw miner BHP reclaim the throne as the country’s biggest listed company from Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Rio Tinto was one of just eight ASX200 firms on the green side of the ledger in late trading after ending its merger talks with Glencore after failing to reach a deal that would deliver value for shareholders.

Kiwis in Australia

New Zealand’s dual-listed companies joined the rout, with data centre investor Infratil one of the harder hit stocks, falling 5% to A$8.835 at 5pm in Auckland. Among local software firms also listed on the ASX, Gentrack fell 2.4% to A$5.895, Eroad declined 2.7% to 89.5 Australian cents and Black Pearl Group dropped 3.9% to 98 Australian cents. Vista Group International and Serko were untraded.

Australian hotel aggregator Web Travel was the worst performer on the ASX200 in late trading, down 27% after saying its Spanish subsidiary is being audited by tax authorities. Tourism Holdings was down 1.2% at A$2.055, while Auckland International Airport fell 1% to A$7.125 and Air New Zealand dipped 0.5% to 49.25 Australian cents.

Local blue chips were weaker, as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dropped 3.9% to A$32.54, Spark New Zealand declined 1.2% to A$1.9025, Fletcher Building sank 3.2% to A$3.05 and Ebos Group fell 3.4% to A$21.39.

Dual-listed junior miners were weaker, with Santana Minerals falling 4.4% to 98 Australian cents and Minerals Exploration sinking 9.5% to 19 Australian cents.

Manuka Resources sank 19% to 12.5 Australian cents after saying its Trans-Tasman Resources unit’s application to mine ironsands off the Taranaki Bight has been turned down in a draft decision by the consenting panel, and that it has until Feb 19 to comment.

Heartland Group Holdings was one of the few bright spots on the ASX today up 1.4% at A$1.09 in late trading. The big four Australian banks were all weaker, with dual-listed ANZ Group Holdings and Westpac Bank Corp both down 1.5% at A$37.008 and A$39.31 respectively.

The kiwi dollar traded at 85.92 Australian cents at 5pm in Auckland from 85.89 cents yesterday after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock told parliament’s economics committee the central bank is closely watching how constrained the economy is after having to hike the cash rate to tame faster-than-expected inflation.

The kiwi fell to 59.63 US cents from 59.84 cents yesterday.

Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.