Mark Lister, investment director with Craigs Investment Partners, said “there has been a bit of softness late in the piece after a strong rally in January.
“Investors are a little nervous ahead of the interest rate announcements from the United States Federal Reserve, Bank of England and European Central Bank,” he said.
The Federal Reserve’s latest move will be known Thursday morning (NZ time) and the central bank is expected to slow the pace of rate rises. “It will come down to the commentary around the announcement - whether the Fed continues to talk tough or it accepts that inflation has cooled,” Lister said.
“Google, Amazon and Apple are also reporting on Thursday and it will be interesting to see how they are going and what their outlook looks like. There’s a lot happening internationally and our market is at the mercy of offside leads.”
Lister said at home the market was concerned about the flow-on effects of the flooding. “There will no doubt be increased costs and some inflationary pressures, but it’s too early to get a firm handle on the quantum and impact on economic activity.”
Insurance company Tower was down 2c or 2.92 per cent to 66.5c, having fallen nearly 6.5 per cent in two trading days. Its recent high was 74.5c achieved on December 16 and low was 60c set on September 7 last year.
Since the flooding struck, Tower has been very proactive, texting customers, checking on their welfare and suggesting ways to manage their insurance claims.
Retailers Hallenstein Glasson increased 14c or 2.56 per cent to $5.60, and Briscoe Group was up 3c to $4.73. But Michael Hill International was down 4c or 3.33 per cent to $1.16.
In the energy sector, Contact declined 12c to $7.76; Mercury was up 4.5c to $5.995; Genesis gained 3.5c to $2.86; and Manawa increased 10c or 1.86 per cent to $5.49.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare edged ahead 6c to $25.26; Winton Land increased 6c or 3.33 per cent to $1.85; Scales Corp added 15c or 3.67 per cent to $4.24; and Bremworth rose 6c or 13.04 per cent to 52c.
Task (formerly Plexure Group) rose 4c or 11.43 per cent to 39c after providing a positive update and reaffirming its full-year guidance of $59m-$62m in revenue and $8.5m-$9.5m operating earnings (ebitda).
The software company added support to McDonald’s largest-ever global marketing campaign during the Fifa World Cup. Task finished the third quarter with $500,000 from operating activities and had cash of $21.5m at the end of December.
Ebos Group retreated $1.39 or 3.13 per cent to $43; Fletcher Building was down 16c or 3.06 per cent to $5.07; Napier Port tumbled 11c or 3.61 per cent to $2.94; Skellerup declined 27c or 4.82 per cent to $5.33; Eroad decreased 4c or 4.04 per cent to 95c; and Precinct Properties shed 3.5c or 2.71 per cent to $1.255.
Other decliners were Serko, down 6c or 2.31 per cent to $2.54; Sanford shedding 13c or 3.04 per cent to $4.15; Rakon decreasing 3c or 2.86 per cent to $1.02; Move Logistics down 2c or 1.83 per cent to $1.07; and Vista Group losing 4c or 2.68 per cent to $1.45.
Hospitality group Savor, down 4c or 8.33 per cent to 44c, is raising $3.25m through a fully underwritten rights issue, with five new shares offered for every 44 shares held on February 10. The rights issue opens on February 13.
NZ Automotive Investments, unchanged at 31c, told the market that 2 Cheap Cars increased the used car market share to 7 per cent in the third quarter, despite the overall market dropping by 9.5 per cent. Total vehicle sales for the year ending December were 6296, up 6 per cent on 2021.
