News

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, +0.6%) lifted on Tuesday despite annual inflation coming in at 7.2% for the September quarter, when the market expected a figure closer to 6.5%. Markets are now beginning to price in the possibility of a 75-basis-points rate hike from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in November, with a 50-basis-points hike or more almost certain. 

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index -0.8%) fell in the lead up to the release of the country’s inflation data, due today at 10:45 am NZDT.  Tower (+5.7%) surged after announcing its annual underlying profit was about NZ$40m in the year ended Sept 30, beating forecasts by ~30%, and improving on last year’s underlying profit of NZ$30.8m. 

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, +0.5%) rose on Friday, following the US markets’ Thursday rally. Fonterra (+1.7%, Shareholders’ Fund Units) trimmed its milk collection forecast by -1.0% to 1,480 million kilograms of milk solids due to “variable weather conditions…contributing to lower collections through September and early October”. A2 Milk (-2.5%) and Synlait Milk (-0.6%) moved in the opposite direction on Friday. 

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, -0.5%) fell in the lead up to US CPI data. Napier Port (-1.4%) fell after reporting it had approved an on-market share buyback programme over 12 months, beginning next week, for up to 5% or 125,000 of its ordinary shares. Additionally, the port operator reported its second highest annual total cargo movement volume, although this represents a decline of -7.9% for the year ending September. 

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, -0.8%) fell on Wednesday but not without a few bright spots occurring in the market. NZX (+2.6%) reaped gains on a market update that Westpac (+2.9%) director Rob Hamilton will become its new chair beginning April 2023 and Datacom’s current CFO will join the board. 

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, +0.4%) rose marginally on Tuesday. Pushpay (-1.7%) fell after the company omitted to provide details concerning the takeover bids it was fielding. On Monday, Pushpay climbed +3.5% before being placed in a trading halt. Sky Network Television (+5.2%) surged, correcting for the -5.0% selloff the stock experienced yesterday after announcing it had sold its RugbyPass streaming platform and secured the rights to the World Rugby through to 2029. 

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, -1.7%) finally had a chance to react to the strong US jobs data released on Friday. Healthcare (-2.2%), Utilities (-2.1%), and Real Estate (2.1%) were the largest drags on the market on Monday. Materials (+1.0%) was the only sector in the green.

The New Zealand market (NZX 50 Index, -0.2%) feel marginally on Friday. However, its rally on Tuesday and Wednesday meant that the market closed higher for the week (+0.3%), ending 3 straight weeks of losses. The Australian market (ASX 200 Index, -0.8%) fell on Friday but still manged to seal their best week (+4.5%) in 2 years thanks to the Energy sector (+1.0%) and the seemingly dovish pivot from the Reserve Bank of Australia. 

US markets (S&P 500 Index -1.0%) fell for a second consecutive day on Thursday, raising bets that the bearish case for US stocks remain intact. However, they are still on track to end the week higher after experiencing its biggest two-day rally since 2020 earlier in the week. Utilities (-3.3%) and Real Estate (-3.2%) led all sectors into the red on Thursday, except Energy (+1.8%).