There was some hefty trading for Auckland International Airport.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index was one of the worst performers across Asia as it pulled back from a freshly minted record to end the day in the red, with tech companies Vista Group International and Serko again on either side of the benchmark.
Mexico’s Finaccess is into the victory lap of its takeover bid for Restaurant Brands NZ, securing the 90% of acceptances it needed to enforce a compulsory sale of the holdout shareholders.
Meanwhile, Auckland International Airport came in for some heavy trading after the latest MSCI index reweighting.
And Australia’s banks were mixed after Bank of New Zealand-parent National Australia Bank fell short of analysts’ expectations as it faces growing competition in the hotly contested business lending market.
The NZX50 fell 44.17 points, or 0.3%, to 13,576.81, having hit an all-time high 13,677.78 during the day. Within the index, 36 stocks declined, 12 gained and two were unchanged.
Turnover across the broader market was $232.8 million, of which Auckland International Airport accounted for $106 million as it increased 0.3% to $8.14. One trade of almost 11.9 million shares at $8 a share accounted for the bulk of its volume of 13.2 million shares.
“New Zealand’s market hit an all-time high intraday and come back a little bit this afternoon,” said Jeremy Sullivan, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. “You do see profit-taking when all-time highs come in.”
Sullivan said Auckland Airport drove most of the volume through the local exchange on the day, with just a handful of shareholders owning stakes big enough to sell that much, while noting it’s less than 1% of the airport’s total shares on issue.
“It’s not too big for a company that size.”
The local market was a laggard in the Asian trading session, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index up 1.4%, following the rebound in investor sentiment on Wall Street overnight.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.7%, shrugging off soft debuts for rival Chinese robotaxi operators Pony.ai and WeRide, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% led by gains among gold mining stocks, with dual-listed Santana Minerals up 5.6% at 94 cents on the NZX.
Australian banks were mixed after National Australia Bank’s annual cash earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations, with NAB down 3.5% in late trading on the ASX, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1%.
Dual-listed ANZ Group Holdings declined 0.5% on the NZX to $42.31, while Westpac Banking Corp was down 2% at $45.31.
NAB’s local subsidiary, Bank of New Zealand, reported a dip in annual profit, with a rise in its cost-to-income ratio offsetting a fattening of its net interest margin.
Heartland Group Holdings decreased 0.9% to $1.105.
Hamilton Hindin Greene’s Sullivan said it was a relatively steady picture from BNZ’s earnings, indicating New Zealand’s economic recovery is slowly gaining momentum, which should be supported if the Reserve Bank goes ahead with another rate cut as expected.
The New Zealand dollar traded at 56.62 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 56.60 cents at 7am and 56.53 cents yesterday.
The electricity generator-retailers were weaker after the Commerce Commission approved a series of supply arrangements to keep a gas- and coal-fired Rankine unit running at Genesis Energy’s Huntly power station.
Genesis fell 1.6% to $2.49, while Contact Energy declined 0.6% to $9.44, Mercury NZ slipped 1.8% to $6.46 and Meridian Energy was down 1.2% at $5.80.
Separately, the government broadened the scope and terms for a $200 million co-investment fund to boost gas supply as the OMV New Zealand managed Maui gasfield gets closer to the end of its life. ASX-listed Echelon Resources – the old New Zealand Oil & Gas – was unchanged at A35 cents in late trading.
Local tech stocks were again mixed after a strong lead from Wall Street’s Nasdaq Composite.
Serko led the local benchmark lower as it fell 4.5% to $2.36, while Vista Group International posted the biggest gain on the NZX50, up 4.6% at $2.74. Gentrack declined 2.6% to $8.67, while outside the top 50 index, Eroad dropped 2.2% to $1.785 and PaySauce jumped 11% to a four-year high 34 cents in its second day of double-digit gains.
In a similar vein, companies exposed to the US tariff regime were mixed as the US Supreme Court hears arguments as to the lawfulness of the White House’s policy. Rubber goods maker Skellerup fell 3.3% to $5.35, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 1% to $38.14 and Mainfreight advanced 0.8% to $59.60.
Vital Healthcare Property Trust declined 1.8% to $2.22 after lifting adjusted funds from operations 11% in the September quarter from a year earlier, benefiting from rental income growth and a smaller tax bill.
Outside the benchmark index, Restaurant Brands NZ was unchanged at $5.04, after cornerstone shareholder Finaccess crossed the 90% threshold letting it trigger compulsory acquisition rights in its $5.05 per share takeover bid.
Allied Farmers increased 0.6% to 79.5 cents after shareholders approved the sale of its stake in NZ Farmers Livestock, which it plans to reinvest in other opportunities that provide a more sustainable earnings profile, so as to take advantage of its mammoth tax losses.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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