Main said NZ's market was "treading water" while it waited for the US Federal Reserve to announce if it was going to hike US interest rates by the market-assumed 75 basis points – or if it would veer away from what was expected.
Restaurant Brands led the market lower, falling 9.4 per cent to $9.61 by the end of the day after the fast-food operator warned first-half profit was weaker than a year earlier, with the firm struggling to pass on rising costs. The fast food company revealed its net profit was between $14m and $16m in the six months ended June 30.
Retailer Hallenstein Glasson fell 1.3 per cent to $5.21 and Briscoe Group was down 2.5 per cent at $5.40. The Warehouse Group also fell 1 per cent to $3.18.
AFT Pharmaceuticals fell 4.8 per cent to $3.74 after saying a drug being developed to treat facial angiofibromas (FA) had failed to reach the threshold for US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration. Main said without that milestone, AFT would have to go back to the drawing board which had disappointed the market.
Cooks Coffee shares dropped in light trading as it flagged a secondary listing overseas in the UK due to an increase in its international business. Cooks Coffee has been listed in NZ since 2008 and operates and franchises Esquires Coffee stores in the UK and Ireland; while in Portugal, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia it has master franchise agreements. The shares dropped fell 4.8 per cent to 40 cents in very light trading.
The NZX told the market today that it's seeking feedback to see whether its listing rules are still working as intended, and also flagged changes to help stoke new listings, which have been scarce in recent years. The shares dropped 1.6 per cent to $1.21.
Westpac NZ said it's aiming to lend $100m in interest-free loans to homeowners for sustainability projects and is trialling a similar programme of loans at discounted rates to farmers. The bank has reduced its own emissions by 60 per cent in the last 10 years and has already loaned more than $30m under the "warm up" scheme.
Under the scheme, homeowners can borrow up to $40,000, up from $10,000 previously, for five years to make their homes warmer, drier, and more energy-efficient. Electric vehicle charging equipment and solar batteries can also be funded through it. The dual-listed shares of its parent were up 0.2 per cent to $23.60 while ANZ Bank was down 0.8 per cent to $25.20.
Petroleum company Ampol confirmed the sale of its Gull business in NZ to Sydney-based private equity firm Allegro has been completed. Under the terms of the sale, Allegro has acquired 100 per cent of Gull for net cash proceeds of approximately $522m – subject to adjustment. Ampol intends to use the proceeds of the sale of Gull for general corporate purposes, including debt reduction after the acquisition of Z Energy.
Ampol was only allowed to acquire Z Energy after it agreed to sell its petrol retail chain assets in New Zealand, operating as Gull. Ampol shares were unchanged at $36.49 at the end of the day.
The NZ dollar was trading at 62.38 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, down from 62.72 cents on Tuesday. The trade-weighted index was at 71.13, from 71.26 yesterday.
- BusinessDesk
