The New Zealand dollar shed half a US cent and the S&P/NZX 50 index declined as investors weigh up the impact of the US strike on nuclear sites, with President Donald Trump keeping open the prospect of a regime change in the Middle Eastern nation.
Declines were widespread on the NZX50, with Briscoe Group leading the benchmark lower in its first day on the index, giving up some of its recent gains ahead of its addition.
ANZ Group Holdings declined after getting a ‘sell’ rating by UBS, while across the Tasman, Commonwealth Bank of Australia hit a new record.
Meanwhile, Smartpay gained after its board agreed to a $296.4 million takeover offer from US payments firm Shift4 Payments.
Four days down
The NZX50 fell for a fourth session, down 36.41 points, or 0.3%, to 12,532.65, with 29 stocks declining, 15 gaining, and six unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $135.8 million.
Markets across Asia were broadly weaker, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.5% in late trading, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the kiwi dollar fell to 59.21 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 59.63 cents at 7am and 60.05 cents last week.
“Markets are taking it in their stride which is good,” said Mark Lister, investment director at Craigs Investment Partners. “These things have been reasonably well-contained in the past and generally don’t have long-lasting effects on the market.”
In saying that, Lister said higher oil prices and supply disruptions could push up prices for consumers.
Rag trade
Briscoe led the benchmark index lower, falling 4% to $5.95 in its first day on the NZX50, unwinding some of the retailer’s gains in the run-up to its inclusion in the index. Warehouse Group, which left the index, rose 1.3% to 79 cents.
KMD Brands was unchanged at 27.5 cents after Forsyth Barr downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’, and cut its target price to 34 cents from 53 cents, following the retailer’s soft trading update.
ANZ declined 3.6% to $30.45 after the dual-listed bank was downgraded to a ‘sell’ by UBS analysts. Westpac Banking Corp declined 2.1% to $35.63, while Heartland Group Holdings dropped 3.6% to 81 cents. Across the Tasman, CBA hit a fresh record of A$184.41.
Fletcher Building declined 1.6% to $3.08 ahead of tomorrow’s investor day, where the building products firm will offer new insights into its strategic review. New Zealand investors caught up on its Friday announcement settling with the New Zealand Transport Agency and Northern Express Group over the Puhoi to Warkworth road north of Auckland.
New eyes
Ryman Healthcare declined 1.8% to $2.20 after announcing chief financial officer Rob Woodgate will be replaced at the end of July by Matthew Prior, whose most recent role was as CFO and head of Australia and New Zealand for Emerald Clinical.
Sky Network Television posted the biggest gain on the NZX50, up 5.1% at $2.89, while SkyCity Entertainment Group gained 3.3% to 94 cents.
Spark New Zealand rose 0.9% to $2.325 on a volume of 2.3 million shares after the telecommunications company accepted CK Hutchison's 3.2 Australian cents per share offer for its 10% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications Australia. Spark will use the $47 million to repay debt.
Outside the benchmark index, Smartpay climbed 11% to $1.12 after the payments company’s board agreed to a takeover by US fintech Shift4 Payments offering $1.20 a share, or $296.4 million, via a scheme of arrangement. The local payments firm has been in talks with multiple suitors this year, with the US firm beating out Australia’s Tyro Payments.
Microequities Asset Management has thrown its weight behind the deal, and will vote its 13% stake in favour of the scheme.
Trade Window Holdings slipped 0.6% to 17.4 cents after raising $600,000 at 18 cents a share in a placement to new investors, with the funds earmarked to help develop a next generation artificial intelligence freight operating system, support the sales push in Australia and bolster the balance sheet.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Sunira Moses on Unsplash.
