The latest US financial reporting season has so far been solid and investors are holding out for further positive corporate earnings and outlooks. Big tech names Alphabet (owner of Google), Microsoft, Apple and Amazon are reporting this week.
Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the local market followed the offshore leads, but it didn't feel that strong across the board, with quite a number of decliners.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare made a strong rebound, rising 71c or 3.86 per cent to $19.12. Mainfreight increased $3.79 or 5.57 per cent to $71.80 following its Investor Day on Friday. It has risen nearly 9 per cent over the last two trading days.
Goodson said Mainfreight has a powerful growth engine and is travelling extremely well. "There have been a couple of broker upgrades and people were reminded of their growth at the Investor Day."
Both Mainfreight chairman Bruce Plested and managing director Don Braid topped up their shareholdings. Plested bought 50,000 shares at $69.49 each through Rorohara Trust, taking the holding to 14.91 million and presently worth $1.063b.
Braid bought 10,000 shares at $69.99 each through Domic Investment and holds 2.902 million worth $202.21m.
The retail sector was stronger after Michael Hill International, up 4c or 3.28 per cent to $1.26, told shareholders at its annual meeting that group sales were up 27.5 per cent for the first 16 weeks of the 2023 financial year compared with the same period last year.
Michael Hill said last year was impacted by store closures and the latest sales performance was 15.8 per cent ahead of the 2020 period. Gross margins also remained strong.
KMD Brands gained 2c or 1.94 per cent to $1.05; and Briscoe Group was up 5c to $4.95.
In the energy sector, Meridian was up 5c to $4.56; Mercury also increased 5c to $5.33; Genesis gained 7c or 2.58 per cent to $2.78; and Manawa was down 7c to $5.01.
Chorus rose 18c or 2.34 per cent to $7.88; Spark increased 9.5c or 1.9 per cent to $5.10; Infratil was up 11.5c to $8.16; SkyCity Entertainment collected 6c or 2.26 per cent to $2.71; and Serko added 11c or 3.74 per cent to $3.05.
Auckland International Airport, up 5c to $7.37, has opened a $150m five-and-a-half-year bond offer with the ability to accept $75m in over-subscriptions.
Turners Automotive gained 1c to $3.48 after reporting its half-year gross profit is expected to be modestly ahead of last year's at $23.2m. Turners has seen an increase in cars sold year on year and strong growth in market share, despite the wider New Zealand used car market being down 7.5 per cent.
Other gainers were Synlait Milk rising 7c or 2.27 per cent to $3.16; Scales Corp up 23c or 5.2 per cent to $4.65; Marsden Maritime Holdings increasing 9c to $6.07; Tourism Holdings up 5c to $3.25; and NZ Oil & Gas adding 3c or 7.14 per cent to 45c.
Accordant Group rose 6c or 3.45 per cent to $1.80; CDL Investments added 4c or 5 per cent to 84c; and Solution Dynamics increased 6c or 2.74 per cent to $2.25.
Leading retirement village operators were again weaker, with Summerset Group down 19c or 1.98 per cent to $9.40, and Ryman Healthcare falling 22c or 2.6 per cent to $8.23.
Freightways declined 19c or 1.98 per cent to $9.40; Heartland Group was down 7c or 4 per cent to $1.68; Comvita shed 11c or 3.38 per cent to $3.14; Pacific Edge fell a further 1.5c or 3.41 per cent to 42.5c; and Embark (previously Evolve) Education was down 2c or 3.33 per cent to 58c.
In the property sector, Vital Healthcare Trust was down 3.5c to $2.28 after telling the market it has received a 5-Star rating from independent standards organisation Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark.
Goodman Trust increased 4c or 2.08 per cent to $1.96, and Precinct Properties was also up 4c or 3.45 per cent to $1.20.
