The benchmark ended the month on the up.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index rose 1.9% in October, marking its sixth monthly gain in a row amid the flickering signs of an economic recovery, with Sky Network Television, Oceania Healthcare and Sanford leading the benchmark in the month.
Freightways led the NZX50 higher on Friday, testing new highs after saying yesterday that New Zealand’s economy isn’t a headwind for the business anymore, while Port of Tauranga and SkyCity Entertainment Group were also on the green side of the ledger after holding their annual meetings.
Vulcan Steel posted the biggest decline on the day, saying volumes are stabilising and it expects the recovery to accelerate next calendar, although noting New Zealand’s construction and infrastructure sectors will be slower to perk back up.
And Parrotdog Brewing’s debut trading event for its investor shares on the Catalist junior exchange closed with a provisional price of $1.15, up from last year’s secondary share sale but south of the directors’ views of fair value.
The NZX50 rose 89.03 points, or 0.7%, to 13,548.32 on Friday, with 32 stocks gaining, 13 declining and five unchanged. Turnover was $144.5 million, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $17.8 million as it increased 1.8% to $37.10.
That took the benchmark index’s monthly gain to 1.9%, its sixth in a row.
Matt Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management, said the local market has been on the rise since May or June when the economy was at its softest.
“Equity markets are forward looking, although not always correct in their forward looking-ness,” Goodson said. “Prices are a reflection of what’s happening in the future,”
The S&P/NZX Midcap Index is more indicative of the domestic economy, given the likes of NZX50 heavyweights F&P Healthcare, Infratil and Ebos Group are more exposed overseas, with the midcap index up 2.7% in the month, he said.
Pay-TV operator Sky Network Television posted the biggest gain on the NZX in October, rising 15% to end the month at $3.59. It dipped 0.3% on Friday. Meanwhile, Oceania Healthcare rose 2.6% to 79 cents on Friday, for a 14% gain in October, and Sanford was unchanged at $6.15, for an 11% monthly gain.
Precinct Properties NZ posted the biggest decline in October, falling 6.1% to $1.24, in a month when it raised $310 million at a discounted price. It rose 0.4% on Friday.
Freightways led the local market higher on Friday, climbing 2.9% to $14.72 and hitting another all-time high during the trading session. The courier operator is often seen as a bellwether for the economy, and its comments that the New Zealand economy is no longer a headwind to its business carried greater weight among analysts about the domestic recovery.
Among other gainers on the day, Investore Property rose 2.5% to $1.255, Property for Industry increased 2.4% to $2.54, Vital Healthcare Property Trust advanced 2.3% to $2.23 and NZX was up 2% at $1.54.
SkyCity Entertainment Group rose 0.7% to 73 cents after affirming its earnings guidance at today’s annual meeting in what it expects to be the trough for the casino operator.
Port of Tauranga increased 0.4% to $7.86 after the maritime hub forecast underlying profit to rise as much as 17%, with total cargo volumes up 5.9% in the first quarter.
Retailers were mixed after ANZ’s latest consumer confidence survey showing households are still reluctant to make big-ticket purchases, with Hallenstein Glasson Holdings down 1.2% at $9.85, and KMD Brands falling 1.7% to 28.5 cents. Briscoe Group rose 1.7% to $5.4 and Michael Hill International gained 2.6% to 40 cents.
Warehouse Group was unchanged at 80.5 cents after saying director Robbie Tindall will retire at this year’s annual meeting, leaving the founding family without direct representation on the board.
Vulcan Steel posted the biggest decline on the day, falling 5% to $8.12 after the steel products maker told shareholders at today’s annual meeting that volumes are showing signs of stabilisation, and the recovery is expected to accelerate in calendar 2026. The company said New Zealand’s construction and infrastructure sectors will face a more sluggish recovery than other areas of the economy.
Local tech companies were broadly weaker, with Vista Group International falling 2.9% to $2.65, Serko down 2.1% at $2.72 and Gentrack declining 0.8% to $9.15.
Outside the benchmark, Eroad fell 4.9% to $1.905 and Rakon declined 3.6% to 77.5 cents.
Still, ikeGPS climbed 7.2% to $1.26, having it a record high $1.28 on an adjusted basis during the day. The power pole analysis firm was touted as a stock going under the radar by Ellerston Capital portfolio manager Jack Briggs in the Australian Financial Review yesterday.
And Parrotdog Brewing’s debut trading event for its investor shares has closed, with the provisional price and volume of $1.15 and 23,300 shares. That’s up from the $1 price the shares traded at in a secondary share sale last year, though down on the $2.25 fair value price judged by the board. The boutique brewer’s ordinary shares are in the pre-open phase of their debut on the Catalist board, with the trading event opening on Monday.
Markets were mixed across Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.3% in late trading and Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping 1.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.9% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.3%.
The kiwi dollar traded at 57.32 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 57.45 cents at 7am and 57.72 cents yesterday. It’s poised for a 1.1% monthly decline.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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