Jeremy Sullivan, investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the Australian market was buoyed by the Reserve Bank announcement and this sentiment flowed into New Zealand.
“The Reserve Bank wants to see more economic data, and there was a broad-based lift in share prices,” he said.
Australian inflation was at 5.6 per cent in May, down from 6.8 per cent the month before, and retail spending is slowing, as more households feel the pressure of the repeated rate rises,
In New Zealand, the second quarter survey of business opinion showed a slight improvement in sentiment with 59 per cent of businesses still pessimistic but up on 63 per cent in the first quarter and the record 75 per cent in the December quarter.
ANZ said that overall, the survey paints the picture of an economy that has been overheated but is in the process of turning the corner. This is broadly consistent with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s take on things, but the slow pace of decline in some of the cost and pricing measures is a slight concern.
Manuka honey producer Comvita was again busy on the corporate activity front. Comvita increased 16c or 5.26 per cent to $3.20 after telling the market it has bought HoneyWorld Singapore for $10.36m. Comvita’s share price has risen nearly 10 per cent in two trading days.
It earlier announced a new supply agreement, through a memorandum of understanding, with Chinese supermarket chain Ole.
Comvita said the HoneyWorld purchase would deliver a 22 per cent improvement in its earnings per share, with HoneyWorld revenue forecast at $15.85m for the 2024 financial year.
HoneyWorld is the largest manuka honey retailer in Singapore and Comvita will finish up with a 50 per cent market share.
Mainfreight rebounded $1.90 or 2.71 per cent to $71.90; Fletcher Building was up 11c or 2.03 per cent to $5.54, Mercury Energy gained 9c to $6.54; a2 Milk also added 9c to $5.36; and Infratil increased 24c or 2.35 per cent to $10.44 after one broker updated its target price to $11.90.
Chorus recovered 10.5c to $8.43; Delegat Group rebounded 35c or 4.05 per cent to $9; and Restaurant Brands was up 19c or 3.09 per cent to $6.34.
Retirement village operators Summerset Group was up 12c to $9.72, Oceania Healthcare was down 2c or 2.63 per cent to 74c; and Arvida Group also slipped 2c to $1.23. Ryman Healthcare continued its steady recovery, gaining 8c to $6.75 and increasing 33 per cent so far this year after hitting a low of $4.93.
Serko also continued its strong comeback, rising 10c or 2.67 per cent to $3.85 after reaching $2.05 on April 21.
Other gainers were AFT Pharmaceuticals up 8c or 2.;23 per cent to $3.66; Vulcan Steel increasing 25c or 2.79 per cent to $9.20; Winton Land adding 5c or 2.63 per cent to $1.95; Eroad collecting 4c or 3.17 per cent to $1.30; and Green Cross Health up 3c or 2.2 per cent to $1.38.
In the banking sector, ANZ gained 34c to $25.97; Westpac was up 30c to $23.38; and Heartland Group picked up 2c to $1.72.
In the property sector, Investore increased 4c or 2.84 per cent to $1.45; Precinct also gained 4c or 3.1 per cent to $1.33; and Property for Industry was up 2c to $2.38.
Meridian Energy was down 11c or 1.96 per cent to $5.50; Spark declined 8.5c to $5.055; Manawa Energy gave up 13c or 2.58 per cent to $4.90; Rakon decreased 3c or 3.23 per cent to 90c; Carbon Fund shed 8c or 5.8 per cent to $1.30; and TradeWindow was down 1.5c or 5 per cent to 28.5c.
Marsden Maritime Holdings, declining 1c to $4.95, warned the market about a softening in full-year results because of lower log volumes and container numbers caused by the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Marsden expects underlying earnings before tax of $8m-$8.3m compared with $9.1m in the previous financial year.
PGG Wrightson was down 2c to $4.13 after deciding to appoint U Kean Seng as acting chair, while Lee Joo Hai remains a director. Lee has been charged under disclosure requirements in Singaporean securities regulation related to listed Hyflux of which he is a director.
