Market close: New Zealand market falls despite strong earnings

The market wasn't in the mood to reward today. Photo / NZME

The New Zealand local market ended the day in the red, despite strong earnings from heavy-weight stocks like global logistics company Mainfreight.

The S&P/NZX 50 index decreased 51.54 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 11,091.930 points.

Across the main board, 40 shares rose and 91 fell. Turnover was light at $68 million.

It was a busy day on the earnings front with global logistics company Mainfreight reporting that it would pay $85.6m, up 54.5 per cent, as an interim dividend to shareholders after boosting net profits by two-thirds to $217m for the six months to September.

Despite that, Mainfreight fell 1.88 per cent to $71.97.

Hobson Wealth partner Brad Gordon said investors had looked at the company’s outlook which warned of freight rates beginning to fall.

”The market just wasn’t in the mood to reward today,” he said.

Other earnings included Goodman Property Trust recording a 7.4 per cent increase in cash earnings to $49.4m. It fell by nearly 1 per cent to $2.03.

Elsewhere in the market, travel management software Serko led the top 50 lower, down by 4.5 per cent to $2.51.

Eroad was down 2.7 per cent to $1.40. Infratil also declined by 2.9 per cent to $8.30.

Trade Window Holdings led the whole board lower down by 9.7 per cent to 65c.

On the flip side, Contact Energy led the top 50 higher up by 1.3 per cent to $7.35. That was after its former owner Origin Energy, one of Australia’s largest power and gas suppliers, received an $18 billion takeover offer from a consortium led by Canadian asset management firm Brookfield.

NZ-listed fuel company Ampol followed suit up by up by 1.7 per cent to $30.51.

Embark Education led the entire board higher after it announced a special dividend, its first since 2018, up by 8.6 per cent to 63c.

Auckland Airport was up by 1.4 per cent to $7.60. A2 Milk Company also continued its rally for the fourth day in a row, up 0.9 per cent to $6.34.

Overnight, the United States consumer price index report for October will be released with economists expecting a decline in both monthly and yearly core inflation to 0.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively.

Gordon said the data would determine how aggressive the Federal Reserve goes with its monetary policy hikes next month.

The NZ dollar traded at 58.89 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, down from 58.91 cents yesterday, with the trade-weighted index at 70.24 down from 70.88 yesterday.

A note from currency trader OFX this morning, when the NZD was trading at 58.85 US cents at 10:30 at Wellington, said uncertainty surrounding the US midterm election results and a meltdown in cryptocurrencies prompted a move toward haven assets overnight, as investors look to square positions ahead of the CPI data update.

”Midterm election results have begun filtering through, and it appears to be a much tighter race than polls predicted. Republicans have not performed as well as anticipated, opening the door to a government in gridlock with neither side forming a majority in the House or Senate,” they said.

Late this afternoon the Republicans were only slightly ahead in the Senate race with 49 seats to the Democrats’ 48 - 51 is needed for a majority. However, in the House race, it will be looking like the Republicans were going to be able to form a majority with 209 seats to the Democrats’ 189 seats - 218 is needed for control in the house.

- BusinessDesk