Sky TV slumps to two-month low as Netflix buys Warner Bros Discovery.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was marginally higher on Monday as commercial landlords Vital Healthcare Property Trust and Stride Property were among those buoying the benchmark ahead of central bank meetings this week, which are expected to show the divergent interest rate paths between the US and Australia.
Exporters such as Scales Corp, Sanford and a2 Milk Co were among those on the red side of the ledger as the kiwi dollar rallied against the greenback, with the US interest rates set to keep going lower while New Zealand’s Reserve Bank has signalled it’s at the bottom of the cycle.
Sky Network Television posted the sharpest decline on the day as it slid to a two-month low amid growing uncertainty over the future of its HBO content after Netflix trumped allcomers with a US$72 billion offer to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming and studio businesses.
And Vista Group International fell as investors remain cool on the cinema analytics software firm with a subdued global box office, despite Forsyth Barr analysts keeping their ‘outperform’ rating on the stock.
The NZX50 was marginally higher as it increased 2.33 points to 13,486.32, with 24 stocks gaining, 23 declining, and three unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $120.6 million, of which Auckland International Airport accounted for $13 million as it slipped 0.9% to $7.99.
Stock markets across Asia were broadly weaker, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.3% in late trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slipping 0.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 1.1%, with investors eyeing up monetary policy reviews from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday in the US.
The meetings are set to underline the diverging paths of the two economies, with the RBA expected to keep its target cash rate at 3.6% and the Fed seen cutting the federal funds rate a quarter-point to a range of 3.5%-to-3.75%. However, markets are pricing in hikes by the RBA in 2026, whereas the Fed is expected to keep cutting.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank is seen as having an outside chance of cutting the 2.25% official cash rate another quarter-point early next year, before markets are pricing in potential rate hikes through the tailend of 2026.
The kiwi dollar rose to 57.85 US cents from 57.64 cents last week, and traded at 87.07 Australian cents from 87.15 cents.
Interest rate sensitive property stocks led the NZX50 higher, with Vital Healthcare Property Trust snapping a three-day decline as it jumped 6.9% to $2.01. Forsyth Barr increased its stake in the medical property landlord to 14%.
Among other commercial landlords to gain, Stride Property rose 3.3% to $1.42, Kiwi Property Group advanced 1.4% to $1.065 and Property for Industry increased 1.2% to $2.48.
Across the Tasman, National Storage REIT’s board agreed to a A$4 billion takeover in a scheme with Brookfield Asset Management and Singapore’s GIC, at an 11% premium to its net tangible assets and 27% more than the A$2.26 price before the deal emerged in late November.
Tourism Holdings rose 0.4% to $2.60 after the rental campervan operator said it’s closing its manufacturing factory in Brisbane to consolidate production to its Action Manufacturing unit in Hamilton.
Fletcher Building was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 3.3 million as it gained 2.2% to $3.72, while index heavyweights Meridian Energy and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare were up 0.2% at $5.59 and 0.7% at $38.19 respectively.
Sky Network Television posted the biggest decline on the benchmark, sinking 8% to a two-month low $3.23 as investors mull over the impact of the US$72 billion Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming and studio businesses, including HBO which is a key component of the New Zealand firm’s entertainment offering.
Vista Group International fell 2.6% to $2.65 after Forsyth Barr analysts noted the softening sentiment towards the cinema analytics firm in recent months as box offices remain muted and investors await more details on large enterprise deal that’s been in the wings.
“Despite these perceived headwinds, Vista reiterated its 2025 site count guidance at a November conference and has not walked back FY25 revenue and margin guidance,” analyst James Lindsay said in a note. “We see this as a signal of solid underlying execution despite sector headwinds, and believe a material contract announcement is likely imminent.”
Forsyth Barr’s Lindsay kept his ‘outperform’ rating on the stock, and maintained his target price of $3.81.
The softer currency weighed on some exporters, as Scales Corp dropped 2.6% to $6.02, Sanford declined 1.7% to $7.15, Ebos Group slipped 1.5% to $27.69 and a2 Milk Co fell 0.9% to $10.42.
Retailers were broadly weaker despite ANZ Bank New Zealand figures showing card spending was up 0.7% among its customers in November. KMD Brands dropped 1.8% to 27.5 cents, Briscoe Group fell 1% to $5.05 and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings decreased 0.1% to $9.34.
And Craig Stobo has stepped aside from the chair of the Local Government Funding Agency, pending the outcome of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment review into his role as chair of the Financial Markets Authority.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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