Fisher & Paykel Healthcare climbed to a three-and-a-half month high, helping buoy the S&P/NZX 50 index in a mixed day across Asia as investor ebullience at the start of the week subsides.
Stock market operator NZX welcomed upcoming regulatory changes to make it easier for companies to list on the local exchange, but that didn’t flow through to the share price today.
In the shoulder earnings season, fishing group Sanford netted its biggest first-half profit in a decade, while across the Tasman, Xero climbed to a two-month high after boosting annual profit 30% and hitting its all-important Rule of 40 target.
And businessman Peter Hujlich outed himself as the person convicted of insider trading after the Court of Appeal recently ruled against him, although he plans to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Not quite subdued
The NZX50 climbed 101.56 points, or 0.8%, to 12,880.82, with 22 stocks gaining, 18 declining, and 10 unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $108.9 million.
The local market fared better than many across Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down 0.9% in late trading, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 0.4%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2% after strong employment figures across the Tasman led to analysts paring back their expectations for the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates, and spurring on a bounce among the major banking stocks.
Dual-listed ANZ Group Holdings increased 0.8% to $31.46 on the NZX, while Westpac Banking Corp was up 0.1% at $34.44. Heartland Group Holdings led the local benchmark higher, climbing 6.3% to 84 cents.
F&P Healthcare paced the NZX50’s gains as it rose 3.7% to $37.58, its highest close since the end of January.
Earn that green
Meanwhile, Sanford gained 3.4% to $5.12 after more than doubling first-half profit to $34 million, its best result in 10 years.
Across the Tasman, Xero was up 4.7% in late trading after lifting first-half profit 30%, less than expected, although it met its Rule of 40 target – the sum of annual revenue percentage growth on a constant currency basis and the free cash margin percentage.
Retirement village operators – which are often tied to the residential property market – were weaker despite Real Estate Institute of New Zealand house sales figures showing an ongoing recovery, with Ryman Healthcare falling 3.6% to $2.38 – the biggest decline on the NZX50 – and Summerset Group Holdings slipping 0.1% to $11.69.
The REINZ figures showed a continuation of the recovery, with the house price index up a seasonally adjusted 0.4%.
“Lower mortgage rates have helped to revive interest among potential buyers since late last year,” Westpac NZ senior economist Michael Gordon said in a note. “This has put only modest upward pressure on prices to date, but as the stock of unsold homes on the market is worked through, we expect to see house price growth pick up over the course of 2025.”
Fletcher Building rose 1.8% to $3.46.
Easier listing
Stock market operator NZX slipped 0.7% after the government gazetted regulatory changes to make prospective financial information in an offer document optional. The step is one of a number of proposed changes to encourage more listings.
Precinct Properties NZ was the most heavily traded stock with a volume of 2.2 million as it rose 0.4% to $1.175.
Statistics New Zealand figures showed a 0.8% increase in food prices in April among its selected prices index.
ANZ Bank New Zealand economist Miles Workman said that added to the existing upside risk to his inflation forecast.
The kiwi dollar traded at 58.93 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.98 cents at 7am and 59.40 cents yesterday.
And businessman Peter Hujlich identified himself as the person convicted of insider trading, where he acted as an intermediary between the beneficiary of a trust and their trustees passing on instructions to sell some of the trust's Pushpay shares. He said he intends to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal recently ruled against him.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
