New Zealand and Australian stocks were broadly weaker as the antipodean markets were rocked by the trade war brewing from the US tariff regime, while Asian markets rallied after China signalled more stimulus was on the way.
The S&P/NZX 50 index fell 57.64 points, or 0.5%, to 12,412.07, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.9% in late trading, following Wall Street’s lead as investors reeled from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China and the retaliatory responses.
Turnover across the main board was $172.2 million, with 94 stocks falling and 45 gaining.
Stocks across Asia rallied after China set its 2025 gross domestic product growth target at around 5% at the National People’s Congress, with pledges to stimulate domestic spending and investment in large scale artificial intelligence models. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.7%, Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7% and Singapore's Straits Times Index increased 0.3%.
The a2 Milk Co, which counts China as its biggest market, rose 1.5% to $8.87.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which has manufacturing operations in Mexico, gained 3.5% to $34.68 as the impact of the Trump administration’s tariff regime flowed through global markets.
Trump ratcheted up the trade war, threatening reciprocal tariffs to any retaliation by Canada, while commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business that he believed the president will work out some middle ground with Mexico and Canada.
Global logistics group Mainfreight fell 2.3% to $68.
“The market’s not pricing in Armageddon,” said Greg Smith, head of retail at Devon Funds Management. “There’s some hope on the part of investors that the whole tariff trade war won’t be a worst-case scenario and there won’t be a global recession.”
US futures are pointing to a 0.6% gain for the S&P 500.
Shocking Orr
Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Adrian Orr unexpectedly resigned two years into his second five-year term, with deputy Christian Hawkesby taking on the acting role.
The kiwi dollar 56.48 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 56.21 cents at 7am and 56.03 cents yesterday. It traded at 90.39 Australian cents from 90.38 cents yesterday after government figures across the Tasman showed Australia’s economy grew 0.6% in the December quarter.
Meridian Energy led the NZX50 lower, falling 3.8% to $5.55, while Vital Healthcare Property Trust declined 3.2%, or 6 cents, to $1.81 after shedding rights to a 2.44 cent dividend.
Mercury NZ fell 1.9%, or 11 cents, to $5.81 after shedding rights to its 9.6 cent dividend. The power company also appointed former investment banker Rob Hamilton to its board, replacing James Miller, who will retire at the firm’s annual meeting in September.
Air New Zealand was unchanged at 62 cents after the national carrier said group capacity shrank 3.1% in January, with revenue passenger kilometres down 1.1% in the financial year to date.
Auckland International Airport fell 2.7% to $8.05 and Tourism Holdings declined 1.6% to $1.85.
Oceania Healthcare posted the biggest gain on the benchmark index as it advanced 4.7% to 67 cents after saying third-quarter sales of new and existing occupation rights improved, and that it’s set up a team dedicated to cutting annual costs by as much as $15 million.
Ryman Healthcare declined 1% to $3 after the retirement village operator noted Australian investment firm Cooper Investors raised its stake to 11% from 6.5% in the institutional placement component of its $1 billion capital raising. Some 4.5 million shares changed hands today.
Summerset Group Holdings fell 2% to $12.03.
NZX was unchanged at $1.54 after the stock market operator’s monthly operating metrics showed cash trading values surged 71% in February from a year earlier, while its Smart unit’s funds under management grew 20% to $13.62 billion and funds under administration at the Wealth Technologies business climbed 46% to $17.21 billion.
The stock market operator has been struggling to attract new listings to the bourse, and BusinessDesk reported that Hellers shareholder Adamantem Capital viewed the sausage maker as good candidate for a local initial public offering.
Precinct Properties New Zealand rose 1.7% to $1.19 after the commercial landlord sold its Intercontinental Auckland building in the Commercial Bay precinct to Singapore’s Hotel Properties for $180 million. The sale will reduce Precinct’s gearing ratio by three percentage points.
Kiwi Property Group was unchanged at 91.5 cents after declaring a third-quarter dividend of 1.35 cents per share.
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units gained 0.8% to $5.38 after 0.5% milk prices fell at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, with whole milk powder prices down 2.2% at US$4,061 a tonne.
Synlait Milk rose 1.1 % to 94 cents after state-owned farmer Landcorp Farming told BusinessDesk it will continue to supply the milk processor in the South Island.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Anastasios Antoniadis on Unsplash.