Mainfreight dropped near a three-month low after the global logistics firm warned shareholders of the difficult trading conditions with US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime injecting uncertainty into the global environment.
That led the S&P/NZX 50 index lower, snapping a four-day run of gains, with markets mixed across Asia as investors await earnings from Microsoft and Meta Platforms on Wall Street and the upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision.
Meanwhile, finance minister Nicola Willis confirmed plans for Kiwibank to raise $500 million from institutional investors, but won’t press ahead with an initial public offering or listing on the NZX without putting it to voters at an election first.
And Air New Zealand welcomed a new chief executive, with chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar tapped to take over from Greg Foran when he leaves in October.
Backing up
Stock markets across Asia were mixed, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.7% in late trading after soft inflation data heightened expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut its target cash rate, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.4%.
Upcoming earnings from Meta and Microsoft on Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision are being keenly awaited, while the lack of a tangible outcome from the latest trade talks between the US and China have left investors nervous ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime coming into effect from Aug 1.
The NZX50 reversed earlier gains as Mainfreight’s soft trading update weighed on the benchmark, with the index falling 80.44 points, or 0.6%, to 12,855.97. Within the index, 28 stocks fell, 15 gained, and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $122.1 million across the main board.
Mainfreight sank 9.6% to $60, its lowest level since May 2, after acknowledging a slow and difficult start to the year, where pre-tax earnings fell 24% in the first 17 weeks, even as revenue grew 1.5% to $1.75 billion.
“Mainfreight’s revenue grew – it’s the bits in between that count,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “It might be a precursor to what we’re going to see in reporting season with the costs side of businesses and how they’re keeping on top of that.”
Green light, red light
The latest ANZ business outlook showed firms’ confidence in the economic outlook picked up in July, with a small improvement in experienced activity.
The kiwi dollar traded at 59.59 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 59.67 cents yesterday, while Freightways, often seen as a barometer of the local economy, declined 3.2% to $11.19.
Fletcher Building posted the biggest gain on the day, up 2% at $3.05.
Ryman Healthcare rose 1.2% to $2.49 after telling shareholders at today’s annual meeting that it’s still working towards a secondary listing on the ASX, and expects that to be live by the end of September. The board was challenged by unhappy shareholders over the company’s performance in recent years.
Summerset Group Holdings fell 2.6% to $11.28 and Oceania Healthcare was unchanged at 69 cents. Radius Residential Care was unchanged at 40 cents after Jarden started covering the stock, setting a price target of 48 cents with an ‘overweight’ rating.
Air New Zealand was unchanged at 58 cents after the national carrier announced chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar has been promoted to the top job, replacing Greg Foran when the chief executive departs in October.
No IPO without voter say so
The yield on Kiwbank’s listed 2030 bonds fell 2 basis points to 4.99% after finance minister Nicola Willis confirmed plans to raise $500 million from institutional investors to help fund the state-owned lender’s aspirations to grow its loan book while it completes major IT infrastructure upgrades.
Heartland Group Holdings slipped 1.2% to 81 cents. Dual-listed Australian banks rallied on the inflation data across the Tasman, with ANZ Group Holdings up 0.6% to $32.90 and Westpac Banking Corp rising 1.1% to $36.50.
Willis said there’s no intention to list the bank, and that won’t happen without an electoral mandate. NZX was unchanged at $1.50.
Meanwhile, junior bourse operator Catalist said it’s been pushing a number of opportunities and expects several new listings to emerge on the platform in the coming months for both retail and wholesale investors.
Mount Cook Alpine Salmon’s latest trading event for existing shareholders and wholesale investors opens on Thursday and closes on Aug 5. The Catalist-listed traded at 36 cents at the previous event in April.
SkyCity Entertainment Group rose 1% to $1 after Craigs Investment Partners analyst Kieran Carling trimmed his target price on the casino operator by 5 cents to $1.12 and kept his ‘neutral’ rating, with a stretched balance sheet heightening the risk of a capital raising or protracted dividend suspension.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock with a volume of 2.9 million shares as it fell 0.4% to $%2.445. The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column today reported the telco’s board met on Tuesday and is expected to grant exclusivity to one of four bidders for between 50% and 75% of its data centre business.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.
