The Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate review is looming large.
Tourism Holdings led a broad rally on the S&P/NZX 50 index as the rental campervan operator reaffirmed earnings and played down the impact of the Iran war on forward bookings.
Electricity heavyweight Meridian Energy provided the biggest tailwind to index with the generator-retailers rallying after Contact Energy’s latest monthly update kept earnings expectations intact.
Stock markets across Asia were broadly stronger ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy review in a week heavy with central bankers outlining their early views on the inflationary impact of the Middle East conflict’s oil shock.
Still, local software companies Vista Group International and Gentrack missed the regional tech rally as they languished near the bottom of the leaderboard.
The NZX50 jumped 133.37 points, or 1%, to 13,315.6, with 36 stocks gaining, nine declining and five unchanged. Turnover across the main board was $155.2 million, of which Ebos Group accounted for $15.7 million as the healthcare products maker increased 0.2% to $22.30.
The local bourse joined a rally across Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumping 2.8% while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.4% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 1%.
Global markets cooled down ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy review, which is expected to keep the federal funds rate in a range of 3.5%-to-3.75%, and other central bank reviews in Canada, Europe the UK and Japan.
The Reserve Bank of Australia hiked its target cash rate 25 basis points to 4.1% on Tuesday, noting the energy shock caused by the Middle East conflict while moving to clamp down on inflationary pressures that had already been building.
Brent crude oil futures fell 1.8% to US$101.61 a barrel at 5pm in Auckland, after Israeli strikes killed two top Iranian and US President Donald Trump rebuked his allies for not sending naval vessels to help secure the Strait of Hormuz oil shipping channel.
“The main driver is how long this war is going to continue in the Middle East and whether Trump gets his way and opens up the Strait of Hormuz,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.
New Zealand officials today said the nation has petrol, jet fuel and diesel stocks on and offshore to cover about 49 days, while finance minister Nicola Willis noted ships scheduled to arrive in the coming days are carrying more than a week’s worth of fuel.
Import terminal operator Channel Infrastructure rose 1% to $2.94.
Tourism Holdings led the benchmark higher, jumping 6.6% to $2.27 after the rental campervan operator reaffirmed guidance for underlying profit of $43 million-to-$47 million in the June year, saying cancellations and bookings haven’t really been affected by the Middle East conflict.
Air New Zealand gained 1.2% to 44 cents, getting a strong lead from Northern Hemisphere carriers after Delta Air Lines and American Airlines raised their revenue guidance on strong forward bookings, while ASX-listed Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia also rallied.
Auckland International Airport increased 0.5%, or 4 cents, to $8.42, even as it shed rights to an upcoming dividend payment of 6.5 cents per share.
Among other companies going ex-dividend, NZX rose 0.7%, or 1 cent, to $1.38 ahead of its 3.3 cent dividend and Vector was unchanged at $4.67 having shed rights to a 12.5 cent dividend.
The power companies were broadly stronger after Contact’s operating update reaffirmed earnings expectations for the gentailer. Contact increased 1% to $9.35, while Meridian gained 2.9% to $5.63, Genesis Energy advanced 2.3% to $2.22 and Mercury NZ nudged up 0.2% to $6.46.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 3.7 million as the telco gained 0.9% to $2.27.
Retailers were broadly stronger even after the Westpac McDermott Miller consumer confidence survey showed households were knocked by the Middle East conflict. Hallenstein Glasson Holdings rose 2% to $9.70, KMD Brands gained 2.5% to 20.5 cents and Briscoe Group advanced 0.2% to $4.73.
Local tech stocks missed a regional rally as Vista posted the steepest decline on the NZX50, falling 4.9% to $1.76, while Gentrack fell 1.2% to $7.50 and Serko declined 0.3% to $1.86 after the dual-listed travel software firm’s target price was cut 17% to A$2.85 by Citi analysts.
Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units rose 1% to $8.24 after the GDT price index nudged up 0.1% at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, even with a 4% decline in whole milk powder prices. Synlait Milk was unchanged at 47.5 cents.
The kiwi dollar held its overnight gains, trading at 58.60 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.43 cents yesterday.
Statistics New Zealand figures showed the current account deficit unexpectedly widened to 3.7% of gross domestic product in the December quarter.
Reporting by Paul McBeth.
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