SkyCity’s controversial capital raising looms; US tech stocks slide again

SkyCity Entertainment Group’s upcoming capital raising has hit some snags before it’s even been announced with its biggest shareholder Allan Gray agitating for asset sales over dilution.

The casino operator is due to report its annual result in a busy day with Auckland International Airport, Skellerup Holdings, Heartland Group Holdings and NZ Rural Land Co also in the diary.

Meanwhile, stocks on Wall Street spent another day on the red side of the ledger with the Magnificent 7 megastocks such as Amazon, Apple and Nvidia pacing declines among tech stocks as investors start seeking value in other sectors.

And Craigs Investment Partners is selling its half-share of Australia's Wilsons Advisory, with Canada’s Cannacord Genuity agreeing to buy the brokerage with A$16.7 billion under advice.

Start your engines

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index hit a new high for 2025 on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank delivered an unexpectedly dovish outlook for interest rates when cutting the official cash rate a quarter-point to 3%, signalling the benchmark could come down another 50 basis points in the next six months.

The kiwi dollar traded at 58.26 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 58.27 cents yesterday when it tumbled in the wake of the central bank decision.

“The NZ dollar fell sharply after the monetary policy statement, dipping towards the 200-day moving average at 58.30 US cents, and to the lowest level since April,” Bank of New Zealand senior interest rate strategist Stuart Ritson said in a note.

The domestic earnings season continues at pace today with Auckland Airport the main heavyweight expected to unveil an increase in earnings against a backdrop of subdued international travel.

Casino operator SkyCity is also due to report, but a mooted A$200 million capital raising has been attracting attention after the firm was forced to seek a trading halt earlier this week when the proposal leaked to Australian media. Since then, the company’s biggest shareholder Allan Gray has come out against the capital raising, saying it prefers asset sales over the prospect of being diluted.

Other companies scheduled to report today include Skellerup, NZ Rural Land Co and Heartland Group Holdings, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Turners Automotive Group and Blis Technologies are holding annual meetings.

Brass in pocket

ASX-listed Xero is also holding its annual meeting today, with proxy advisory firms recommending shareholders vote against chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy’s pay packet. The New Zealand Shareholders’ Association is voting in favour of the remuneration report.

Tech stocks weighed on Wall Street overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite down 1% in late trading and the Dow Jones Industrial Average just on the red side of the ledger. Magnificent 7 megacap stocks Amazon, Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft paced declines as the exuberant demand for tech companies wanes.

Big box US retailers continued to report their earnings, with Lowe’s advancing after lifting its annual outlook, while Target tumbled after reporting another quarter of soft sales and looked internally for its next chief executive.

Across the Atlantic, stock markets were mixed as the UK’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.1%, led by consumer-related stocks such as Tesco, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1%.

Australian futures are pointing to a 0.1% increase for the S&P/ASX 200 index when trading opens across the Tasman.

Craigs Investment Partners is exiting its half-share of Wilsons Advisory after Canada’s Canaccord Financial agreed to buy 100% of the Australian brokerage for an undisclosed price. Wilsons has A$16.7 billion in assets under advice and generated revenue of A$81 million in the June year.

The deal is expected to be completed before the end of the calendar year.

Local data today include merchandise trade for July and greenhouse gas emissions for the 2024 year.

Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.