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Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand:
The NZX 50 was down just shy of 1 per cent yesterday, despite a strong
open.
The Consumer Staples sector performed well, with NZ's largest company Fonterra up 4.4 per cent and Comvita up 2.5 per cent. Meanwhile, Ebos saw some selling off - falling 3.8 per cent, although only 167 thousand shares were traded.
Agri products manufacturer Skellerup surged 8.3 per cent after its record result last week, in which the company lifted its profit by 61 per cent on the prior half. Air New Zealand and Auckland International Airport were also up by 2.3 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Heartland Bank was flat after reporting a net profit of $44.1 million for the half, an increase of $4.2 million or 10.6 per cent compared to the year before. A $5.2 million fair value gain was recognised in Heartland's stake in Harmoney, which recently listed on both the NZX and the ASX.
Freightways' (down 2.1 per cent) released its first-half result. They featured ebitda of $99.8 million (up 40 per cent,) underlying profits of $41.2 million (up 41 per cent) and headline sales of $410.3 million (up 28.7 per cent). The company gave no earnings guidance.
The New Zealand dollar has rallied to 34-month highs (US$0.7338) on the back of news that S&P has raised the nation's sovereign currency ratings. Foreign ratings were up to AA+/A-1+ (from AA/A-1+) and domestic ratings were up to AAA/A-1+ (from AA+/A-1+). The move comes on the back of New Zealand's relatively successful containment of Covid-19 and the relatively quicker economic recovery this has underpinned. While this may have been good for New Zealand tourists, were they permitted to go overseas, a strong kiwi dollar means exporters will be paid fewer NZD for their product.