NZ shares mixed on ASX as markets across Asia rally

New Zealand’s dual-listed companies had a mixed day across the Tasman while their home market was closed, despite the upcoming meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping giving heart to investors across Asia with stock markets broadly stronger across Asia.

Fletcher Building, SkyCity Entertainment Group and Infratil were among the few Kiwis on the green side of the ASX ledger today, as the big four lenders – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp and ANZ Group Holdings – paced gains across the Tasman.

Boutique beermaker Parrotdog Brewing’s debut trading event opened on the Catalist junior bourse, with the indicative pricing pointing to a premium to last year’s secondary sale if not quite at the directors’ view of the company’s value.

And Prime Minister Christopher Luxon talked down the prospect of securing a trade deal with the US while on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, after the US president made headway with Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Money never sleeps

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index was closed for the Labour Day holiday on Monday, leaving local investors to look across the Tasman for familiar dual-listed favourites, with Infratil the third most traded ASX stock on the Sharesies platform.

Infratil was one of the few dual-listed New Zealand firms to gain on Australia’s market, up 1.4% in late trading, while Fletcher Building advanced 1.4% and SkyCity Entertainment Group was up 1.2%.

Among the dual-listed decliners, Sky Network Television dropped 4.6% in late trading on the ASX, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 1.5%, Spark New Zealand dipped 0.5%, Chorus slipped 0.3%, a2 Milk Co fell 0.8% and Auckland International Airport decreased 1.2%.

That was against broader gains on the S&P/ASX 200 index, which was up 0.3% at 5pm in Auckland, with the big four banks – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp and ANZ Group Holdings – pacing the benchmark higher.

The kiwi dollar slipped against its trans-Tasman counterpart, trading at 88.14 Australian cents at 5pm in Auckland from 88.41 cents last week.

Australia joined a broader rally across Asia as the Nikkei 225 broke through the 50,000 barrier for the first time and was up 2.2% in late trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite were both up 1%.

Investors took heart from a positive meeting between US and Chinese officials over the weekend, which laid out a framework for presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to hold their discussions in a much-awaited meeting on Thursday.

Strategic positioning

Tensions between the superpowers have been boiling over in recent weeks as the nations jostle over access to rare earth minerals necessary for the high-tech componentry driving artificial intelligence.

Trump kicked off his tour across Asia by cutting deals with Malaysia and Cambodia, with the South East Asian nations agreeing to reduce tariffs and regulations on US goods such as vehicles and farm products for certain exemptions to the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the White House. Meanwhile, Trump agreed frameworks for future deals with Thailand and Vietnam.

New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon told reporters on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur that he’s not expecting to reach a similar deal with the US, pointing out that those Asian nations faced much higher tariffs than New Zealand.

The kiwi dollar was little changed against the greenback, trading at 57.56 US cents at 5pm from 57.52 cents last week.

And while New Zealand’s main bourse was closed today, Parrotdog Brewing’s debut trading event opened on the Catalist junior exchange. The boutique beermaker’s investor class of shares have an indicative price of $1.34, with more offers than bids. That’s a premium to the $1 price they traded at in a secondary sale last year, but below the board’s $2.25 view of fair value. 

Reporting by Paul McBeth.