New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index snapped its six-day slide with heavyweights including Ebos Group, Mercury NZ and Infratil buoying the benchmark, as stock markets across Asia struggled for direction in the aftermath of the Iran-Israel ceasefire.
Across the Tasman, Xero declined when it resumed trading after raising A$1.85 billion to fund part of its US$2.5 billion takeover of Melio, weighing on Australia’s tech companies although Vista Group International and Serko nudged higher on the NZX.
Fletcher Building extended its decline after another analyst cut its target price.
And Michael Hill International registered a chunky trade in its heaviest trading day since November 2022.
The turnaround
The NZX50 rose 19.09 points, or 0.2%, 12,480.05, snaping a six-day decline, in a mixed day across Asia with investors pausing for breath as the Iran-Israel ceasefire appears to have held.
There were 22 gainers on New Zealand’s benchmark index, 16 decliners and 12 stocks were unchanged. Turnover was $113.9 million across the main board.
Heavyweight companies were among those buoying the local bourse, with Ebos Group up 2.6% at $38.15 and Mercury NZ gaining 1.8% to $6.09.
Infratil advanced 1.5% to $10.40, with artificial intelligence back in favour as Nvidia hit a new record overnight, and Meta Platforms had a win in a San Francisco court over its use of people’s books to train large-language models. Separately, AI firm Anthropic had a win in a similar case this week.
And the Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column reported Infratil’s data centre business, CDC, has hired Barrenjoey to work on a large debt deal to fund its growth ambitions.
Greg Smith, head of retail at Devon Funds Management, said in a note that Nvidia was in demand after upbeat comments from chief executive Jensen Huang about the future of robotics and AI.
“The demand for data centre graphics processing units is still the big story, with revenues this year expected to hit nearly US$200 billion from US$130 billion last year,” Smith said. “However, CEO Jensen Huang said robotic applications will require the company’s data centre AI chips to train the software.”
Outside the benchmark index, tech components maker Rakon was unchanged at 56 cents.
White gold
The Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund led the benchmark index higher, climbing 4.2% to $6.75. New Zealand’s agricultural sector has been a standout in the economy, with the recent Fieldays showcase underlining growing investment in the primary sector.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on a volume of 4.6 million, gaining 0.4% to $2.36.
Briscoe Group fell for a fifth day, sliding 2.9% to $5.34 as the retailer continues to unwind the initial gains it received on its addition to the NZX50.
Other retailers were mixed with KMD Brands gaining 1.9% to 27.5 cents and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings slipping 0.3% to $8.14. Warehouse Group was unchanged at 78 cents.
Meanwhile, Michael Hill International increased 1.2% to 43.5 cents on a volume of 2.1 million shares. Of that, 2 million shares changed hands in a single trade at 43 cents. That was the company’s biggest trading day since November 2022.
Fletcher Building extended its decline for a fifth day, slipping 1.4% to $2.87. The building materials firm’s investor day this week didn’t revive confidence in its ability to turn things around, with Macquarie analysts the latest to trim their target price, reducing it by 2.7% to $1.80.
Zero to one
Across the Tasman, Xero was down 5.1% in late trading after raising A$1.85 billion at a steeper discount to help fund its US$2.5 billion takeover of rival accounting software firm Melio.
That weighed on tech companies in Australia, but didn’t spillover to the NZX, with Vista up 2.1% at $3.40 and Serko – which held its annual meeting today – gaining 1.3% to $3.05. Gentrack was unchanged at $12.15.
Air New Zealand rose 0.9% to 57.5 cents, with Virgin Australia hitting its first bout of turbulence as it dipped 1.2% in late trading on the ASX. The Australian airline gained on the first two days of its return to the ASX.
And the Financial Markets Authority followed up its first financial conduct report with the cancellation of Hamilton-based Filcare Services’ financial advice provider licence for various breaches of its obligations, and following the termination of the adviser’s distribution agreement with Fidelity Life and AIA New Zealand.
“In particular, we observed that clients did not receive adequate nature and scope disclosures and were therefore unable to make an informed decision about whether to seek, obtain, or act on the advice,” FMA head of permitter and response Helena Lewis said in a statement.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.
