Market close: Sharemarket jumps nearly 1 per cent on business confidence rise

Auckland International Airport shares increased 13c to $8.40, topping the individual trading list with a turnover of 3.85 million shares worth $32.38m. Photo / Alex Burton

The New Zealand sharemarket jumped nearly one per cent as business confidence reached its highest level for nearly two years, albeit still comparatively low.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index had a late surge, in volumes and pricing, on end-of-month index changes and finished on 12,056.15, up 109.41 points or 0.92 per cent. It was the index’s best close for 10 weeks and has risen 5 per cent so far this year.

There were 84 gainers and 51 decliners over the whole market with 40.31 million shares worth $168.37 million changing hands.

Meridian and Mercury Energy had increased weightings and gained 14.5 cents or 2.64 per cent to $5.645 on trade worth $11.46m, and 10c to $6.59 on trade worth $5.69m respectively.

Precinct Properties, another beneficiary, was up 2c to $1.345 on trade reaching $1.63m.

Auckland International Airport, increasing 13c to $8.40, topped the individual trading list with a turnover of 3.85m shares worth $32.38m.

The latest ANZ survey, titled “Running an Orange Light”, showed business confidence lifted another five points in July to minus 13, the highest since September 2021. Expected own activity, a better indicator for the state of the economy, the bank says, eased two points to plus one.

ANZ said the economy is slowing but it’s certainly not coming to a sudden stop. Lifts were seen in export intentions and residential construction intentions, as well as business confidence. Employment intentions, investment intentions, capacity utilisation and profit expectations were little-changed.

Fiscal stimulus, population and solid household income growth, and now a bottoming housing market were meaningful offsets to the lagged impacts of tighter monetary policy, weakening export demand, and cost-of-living pressures.

A net 62 per cent of respondents in the retail sector expected to increase their prices in the next three months. The bank said that’s high, but the lowest result since March 2021.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said the index changes, here and offshore, and the business confidence survey added a positive note to the market.

“The story of the month has been the earnings results [in the US] coming in okay, and with interest rate increases peaking investors have been returning to the sharemarket and investing in a broader range of stocks. Maybe a recession will be softer than people expected,” Solly said.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 27c to $24.57; Ebos Group gained 29c to $38.55; Freightways increased 8c to $8.56; a2 Milk added 9c to $5.52; Fletcher Building improved 8c to $5.58; and Infratil collected 8c to $9.95.

Retailers Briscoe Group increased 13c or 2.9 per cent to $4.61, and Hallenstein Glasson was up 15c or 2.4 per cent to $6.40.

SkyCity Entertainment collected 5c or 2.26 per cent to $2.26; Ampol rose $3.70 or 11.56 per cent to $35.70; Gentrack increased 16c or 3.7 per cent to $4.48; Genesis Energy was up 5c or 1.88 per cent to $2.71; and Restaurant Brands gained 26c or 4.17 per cent to $6.49.

Other property stocks were also up with Stride up 2c to $1.53, and Property for Industry gaining 4c to $2.48.

Tourism Holdings gained 8c or 2.31 per cent to $3.54; Sky TV increased 5c or 2.04 per cent to $2.50; Steel & Tube was up 3c or 2.38 per cent to $1.29; and Comvita added 5c to $3.19.

Winton Land, gaining 6c or 2.58 per cent to $2.39, has filed an amended statement of claim in the Auckland High Court seeking $138.5m in damages against Kāinga Ora, alleging anti-competitive conduct under the Commerce Act. The claim involved Winton’s Sunfield urban development.

Mainfreight managing director Don Braid spent $677,700 buying 10,000 of his company’s shares on-market at $67.77 a share. Mainfreight’s share price was down 14c to $67.85.

Solly said it was always good seeing an executive step up and put in a meaningful investment and commitment to the company.

Napier Port declined 5c or 2.04 per cent to $2.40; Smartpay Holdings decreased 6c or 3.17 per cent to $1.83; and Accordant Group shed 9c or 6.57 per cent to $1.28.

PaySauce was down 1.5c or 6.25 per cent to 22.5c; 2 Cheap Cars fell a further 12.5c or 22.73 per cent to 42.5c; and Blackpearl Group declined 3c or 5.56 per cent to 51c.

TASK Group, down 3c or 4.92 per cent to 58c, told the market it used operating cash of $5.8m in the June quarter compared with generating $7.4m in the previous quarter. The group has $20.5m in cash compared with $28.3m at the end of March.

Enprise Group, which has a 33 per cent holding in telecom billing company Datagate Innovation, was unchanged at 64c. Datagate reported annual recurring revenue of $3.3m for the June quarter and the operating earnings (ebitda) loss was $9000, its best bottom-line result so far.