Retailers were mixed after commerce minister Scott Simpson announced plans to ban surcharges on instore payments form May next year, following on from the Commerce Commission’s tightening up on interchange fees merchants pay to accept Visa and Mastercard payments.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index rose for a third day as investors welcomed US President Donald Trump’s tariff deal with the European Union, allaying fears of a trade war breaking out.
Meanwhile, Statistics New Zealand figures showed the labour market remained soft in June, which some economists saw as potentially supporting another interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank.
And Spark New Zealand is working through its boardroom succession, with three new directors joining the telecommunications group in the coming months, although chair Justine Smyth has yet to unveil her own successor.
Two-way traffic
The NZX50 rose 57.28 points, or 0.5%, to 12,910.74, with 23 stocks gaining, 20 declining, and seven unchanged. Turnover across the main board was a relatively quiet $74.1 million.
Stock markets across Asia were mixed as investors digested the weekend deal where the European Union accepted a 15% tariff on goods sold the US as President Donald Trump’s new trade order is set to come into effect at the end of the week.
The kiwi dollar traded at 60.11 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 60.14 cents at 8am and 60.20 cents last week.
The benchmark’s heavyweight company’s drove the day’s gains, with Infratil advancing 2.2% to $11.70, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare increasing 0.7% to $36.57 and Auckland International Airport rising 1.4% to $7.78.
Oceania Healthcare led the benchmark index higher, up 2.9% at 71 cents.
Retailers were mixed after commerce minister Scott Simpson announced plans to outlaw surcharges on instore purchases from next May as a means to ease rising costs borne by consumers.
Hallenstein Glasson Holdings fell 1.5% to $8.50 and Briscoe Group declined 0.8% to $6.05, while KMD Brands was unchanged at 26 cents. Outside the NZX50, Warehouse Group rose 1.2% to 83 cents and Michael Hill International gained 4.7% to 45 cents.
“Retailers continue to face costs to accept debit and credit card payments and these costs will likely be added to product prices in future,” Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said in a statement.
Smartpay Holdings, the payments firm under a takeover offer at $1.20 a share, was unhanged at $1.13.
Meanwhile, Bank of New Zealand pitched its soon-to-be-released Payap app as an open banking-powered alternative for merchants.
Building bridges
Building materials firms were also mixed after the government announced plans to make it easier to import products to bring down the cost of housebuilding. Fletcher Building, which produces the dominant Gib plasterboard, fell 0.3% to $2.97, while Vulcan Steel rose 2.3% to $7.22. Metro Performance Glass was unchanged at 5 cents.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 1.9 million as it rose 0.4% to $2.49. The telco announced three new directors joining its board in the coming months as part of its governance refresh, although chair Justine Smyth has yet to name her successor.
Tourism Holdings posted the biggest decline on the NZX50, falling 2.8% to $2.07, while stock market operator NZX declined 2% to $1.50.
Outside the benchmark index, Me Today fell 1.2%, or 0.1 of a cent, to 8.4 cents after its ring-fenced King Honey subsidiary had receivers and liquidators appointed after failing to complete a sale of the honey business.
Second-hand car firm 2 Cheap Cars slipped 1.6% to 63 cents after saying annual profit will probably fall after first-quarter sales volumes and margins fell short of expectations.
Stats NZ figures showed filled jobs increased 0.1% in the month of June, although construction workers were down 6% in the June quarter.
Mark Smith, senior economist at ASB Bank, said the monthly figures move about and he expects it will be revised lower.
“We expect hiring to remain anaemic over much of 2025, with firms likely to remain gun-shy on expansion plans given the uncertain environment,” Smith said in a note. “We expect a 25 basis point official cash rate cut in August cut, with the possibility that the OCR moves below 3% before year end as the RBNZ shifts from the policy brake to the accelerator to support the economy and labour market.”
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Jonas Leupe on Unsplash.