Local property companies were broadly weaker as investors shuffled their portfolios to participate in Precinct's raise.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index joined a global rout, sinking 0.9% as US President Donald Trump's threat to slap 100% tariffs on Chinese imports sent shockwaves through markets, with tech stocks such as Gentrack feeling it most keenly.
Meanwhile, local property companies were broadly weaker as investors shuffled their portfolios to participate in a $310 million capital raising by Precinct Properties NZ as the commercial landlord raises new money to help fund its pipeline of work including student accommodation on Auckland’s Queen Street.
ANZ Group Holdings was stronger on both sides of the Tasman after the smallest of Australia's big four banks – but New Zealand’s biggest – cancelled an A$800 million share buyback as new chief executive Nuno Matos stamps his mark on the lender.
And Air New Zealand was on the green side of the ledger after Statistics New Zealand figures showed Australians have been providing a boost to tourism numbers in recent months, with the kiwi trading at three-year lows against the Aussie dollar.
The NZX50 dropped 115.34 points to 13,351.92, its lowest close in nine days, with 32 stocks declining, 15 gaining and two unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $105.7 million, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounting for $17.5 million of that as the medical device maker fell 1.1% to $35.85.
New Zealand’s market was one of the better performers across Asia as investors’ nerves were rattled on Friday by US President Donald Trump threatening additional 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and restricting sales of software products to the Asian nation in response to Beijing placing export controls on rare earth minerals.
Wall Street was led lower by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite on Friday, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 3.5% in late trading on Monday with tech companies the hardest hit. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index declined 1.1%.
“The market really didn’t like what happed on Friday when a lot of investors would have been thinking this unassailable run of good fortune on the US exchange was going to cruise on forever and ever,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “Trump put the kybosh on that.”
Gentrack led the local bourse lower, falling 4.5% to $9.08, while Infratil extended its run of declines for a sixth session – its longest since the start of the year – as it slipped 1.1% to $12.14.
Commercial landlords were broadly weaker as institutional investors cleared some of their portfolios to participate in Precinct Properties’ $310 million capital raising, of which $285 million was through a placement at $1.23 a share, with the remainder via a share purchase plan. That’s a discount to the $1.33 price the shares closed at last week before trading was halted for the placement, but still a premium to the $1.21 net tangible asset value.
Goodman Property Trust fell 3.5% to $2.21, Argosy Property declined 3% to $1.28, Kiwi Property Group slipped 2.7% to $1.095 and Stride Property Group decreased 2.6% to $1.48.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on a volume of 3.5 million shares, falling 1.2% to $2.41, while SkyCity Entertainment Group fell 2.6% to 74 cents with 2.3 million shares changing hands.
Channel Infrastructure posted the biggest gain on the day, up 3.1% at $2.70, while Oceania Healthcare rose 2% to 75 cents.
ANZ Group Holdings rose 1.7% to $40.47 – hitting a record high $40.92 on an adjusted basis on the NZX – after chief executive Nuno Matos outlined his new strategy to strip out costs at the smallest of Australia’s big four lenders, and canned an A$800 million share buyback. The dual-listed shares hit a 10-year high on the ASX.
Westpac Banking Corp declined 0.6% to $44.26 on the NZX, while Heartland Group Holdings fell 1.8% to $1.08.
Air New Zealand gained 0.8% to 60 cents after Stats NZ figures showed Australians were taking advantage of the weak kiwi and boosting domestic tourism in recent months. The kiwi rose to 88 Australian cents at 5pm in Auckland from 87.64 cents last week.
Other travel and tourism related stocks didn’t fare so well, with rental campervan operator Tourism Holdings down 0.8% at $2.60 and Auckland International Airport decreasing 0.6% to $8.03. Serko was unchanged at $2.80.
The kiwi dollar came off a six-month low against the greenback, trading at 57.35 US cents at 5pm from 57.56 cents last week with Stats NZ figures showing a small increase in annual net migration, while the BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index showed services activity shrank at a slightly slower pace in September.
ANZ’s Truckometer measure showed gains in both light and heavy traffic volumes last month
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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