New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index snapped a two-day gain as it followed a souring among investors around the world as US President Donald Trump renewed attacks on Iran as negotiations for a lasting peace dragged on. Oil prices rose amid the heightened tensions in the Middle East, knocking logistics firm Mainfreight and Auckland International Airport, while Air New Zealand was also weaker. Infratil was one of the bigger drags on the local bourse after Oracle’s increased capital spending and the Wall Street Journal reported that
OpenAI was weighing up a price war with Anthropic, keeping the volatile artificial intelligence theme on the back foot. And Statistics New Zealand will start publishing more monthly reports on the domestic economy, including inflation from next year. Nervous times The NZX50 fell 51.49 points, or 0.4%, to 13,202.16, with 23 stocks falling, 24 gaining and three unchanged. The S&P/NZX 20 index futures contract for June dropped 0.6% to 7,450 with 304 lots traded for a value of $2.3 million. The NZX20 declined 0.5% to
7,472.8. Turnover across the main board was $146.3m, of which Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounted for $21.4m as the medical device maker rose 0.2% to $38.78 as a softer local currency cushioned the blow for exporters by increasing the value of their overseas earnings. The kiwi dollar traded at 57.98 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 58.14 cents yesterday as investor sentiment soured on the latest wave of strikes between the US and Iran as peace talks stalled. The Polymarket prediction market was pricing
in a 16% chance of a deal this month and a 29% chance by the end of July. Stock markets across Asia were generally weaker, following a soft lead from Wall Street as the Middle East tensions kept investors on edge. “The case is far from clear on the Iran peace deal,” said Greg Smith, investment specialist at Generate Investment Management. Brent crude oil futures rose 1.1% to US$94.11 a barrel, weighing on transport and logistics firms. Mainfreight fell 1.8% to $64.25 and Auckland airport
declined 1.8% to $8.11, while Air New Zealand slipped 1.2% to 42 cents. Tech tremors Index heavyweight Infratil was one of the bigger drags on the NZX50, falling 1.9% to $14.76. The infrastructure investor’s data centre exposure has become a local proxy for the increasingly volatile global AI trade, which took a knock after Oracle’s capital spending plans were bigger than analysts predicted, and as the Wall Street Journal reported OpenAI was considering aggressive price cuts to compete with Anthropic. Local tech companies were weaker
as Serko dropped 2.9% to $1.53, Gentrack declined 0.8% to $3.82 and Vista Group International decreased 0.4% to $2.27. SkyCity Entertainment Group posted the steepest decline on the day, falling 3.1% to 46.5 cents. Tourism Holdings slipped 0.4% to $2.60 after suitors the Trouchet family and BGH Capital extended their pooling arrangement until September. The consortium lobbed in an indicative bid of $3.10 a share, a price high enough to get the rental campervan operator’s board to engage. Skellerup Holdings was at the top of
the leaderboard, up 3.3% at $6.32, while Hallenstein Glasson Holdings rose 2% to $10.15 and Investore Property advanced 1.9% to $1.05. Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 4.9 million shares changing hands as the telco rose 1.3% to $1.895. Ryman Healthcare slipped 1.3% to $2.27 after confirming the final terms of its six-year bond offering to retail investors, accepting $50m of oversubscriptions to raise $150m. The notes will pay a coupon of 5.72%, 180 basis
points above its equivalent swap rate of 3.92%, which has come down from as high as 4.3% in late March. Outside the benchmark index, Trade Window Holdings slipped 2.8% to 17.5 cents after AJ Smith resigned from the board, effective immediately, and planned to sell his shareholding. Smith resigned as chief executive in April due to illness. And General Capital was unchanged at 27.5 cents after shedding rights to its upcoming dividend of 0.85 cents per share. Reporting by Paul McBeth.
NZX50, Mainfreight, Air New Zealand, Auckland Airport, Infratil, Oracle, OpenAI, Anthropic, Brent crude, US-Iran tensions, peace talks, kiwi dollar, NZX20 futures