Bitcoin bounced from sharp selloff.
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New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index was one of the stronger performers across Asia as investors start turning their mind to the typically strong run into the end of the year, with the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy review front of mind for those expecting another rate cut from the world’s biggest central bank.
Channel Infrastructure led the benchmark index higher, with the import terminal joining a rally among energy companies as oil prices were buoyed by the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries deciding to keep production steady.
The NZX’s Smart Bitcoin exchange traded fund snapped a two-day decline as the major crypto currency bounced from its sharp selloff in recent days.
And the kiwi dollar nudged lower through the local trading session after Statistics New Zealand figures showed a decline in the nation’s terms of trade in the September quarter, as export prices fell through the period while import prices rose.
The NZX50 increased 54.28 points, or 0.4%, to 13,502.77, with 22 stocks gaining, 21 declining and seven unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $125.9 million, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $14 million as it rose 1.5% to $38.
The local bourse was one of the stronger performers across Asia, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.2% in late trading as mining and energy stocks were buoyed by the increase in gold and oil prices, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng increased 0.1%.
Channel Infrastructure led the NZX50 higher, rising 3.4% to $2.76. OPEC+ members decided to keep production steady in a meeting over the weekend, helping support oil prices, with Brent crude futures up 0.1% at US$63.22 a barrel.
Companies held for their reliable dividends were among those pacing gains, with Vital Healthcare Property Trust gaining 2.9% to $1.985, Spark New Zealand increasing 1.8% to $2.32 on a volume of 2.6 million – the biggest for the day – and Property for Industry advancing 1.7% to $2.47.
Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said December is typically a strong month for the exchange with institutional investors often trying to catch up with the index or beat it.
“I suspect it will be a strong month in December, especially if the Fed pushes the button on the interest rate cut,” McIntyre said. “The data presented probably indicates more of a chance of that happening than not.”
Meanwhile, Gentrack posted the biggest decline on the top 50, falling 3.8% to $10.15, while Argosy Property dipped 2.8%, or 3.5 cents, to $1.235 after shedding rights to a 1.6625 cents per share dividend.
Briscoe Group slipped 2.6% to $5.17 after the retailer announced the departure of long-serving chief people officer Aston Moss, effective from the end of the week.
Outside the benchmark index, the Smart Bitcoin ETGF rose 0.6% to $3.338, snapping two days of declines as the crypto currency bounced back from its sharp fall in recent days. Bitcoin was recently up 1.7% at US$86,942.
Scott Technology fell 3% to $2.91 after the automation systems firm told shareholders at today’s annual meeting that it’s working towards several strategic opportunities that it expects to announce in the first half of the financial year.
New Talisman Gold Mines shares remained in a trading halt after the mining company said it’s still in negotiations to secure $550,000 of short-term funding. The shares last traded at 4 cents.
The kiwi dollar traded at 57.27 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 57.36 cents yesterday, with Stats NZ figures showing a 2.1% decline in the nation’s terms of trade, which show the amount of imports that can be funded by a set amount of exports.
The data showed New Zealand’s export prices fell 1.6% in the September quarter while import prices increased 0.5%. Conversely, export volumes increased 3.4% and import volumes slipped 1.2%.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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