New Zealand equities increase slightly in anticipation of results season

New Zealand equities rose slightly, but trade was mixed as investors prepared for the local earnings season and hoped the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States would progress.

The S & P / NZX 50 Index gained 1.64 percentage points, or 0.02%, at 9110.55. Within the index, 29 values ​​rose, six remained unchanged and 15 fell. The turnover was 120.8 million dollars.

US markets edged up, helped by good results from semiconductor manufacturers and airlines. However, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross downplayed the prospect of rapid progress in US-China trade negotiations next week, saying the parties were "miles away" from the US. 39, a resolution, although much preparatory work has been done.

The S & P500 index rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq 0.7%. In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 index was up 0.8% and in Japan the TOPIX was up 1%.

Greg Smith, head of research at Fat Prophets, said the local market had started well this year. Although the outlook remains mixed, given the ongoing trade problem between China and the United States and the partial closure of the US government, investors have nonetheless added a mix of defensive stocks – such as equity companies. electricity – and some growth stocks, such as Pushpay Holdings. , to their wallets.

Until now, US recipes are generally good, which reinforces suspicions. The October sale was exaggerated, he said.

"What we are seeing both at home and abroad is that things may not be as bad as expected," he said. "The bar has been placed quite low."

Spark New Zealand was still among the most traded stocks. It was down 0.2% to $ 4.12, with nearly 7.9 million shares traded.

Pays, with 2.6 million shares traded, NZ Property Fund, Chorus, Pushpay and Z Energy were also among the titles with more than one million sales.

Smith said that 2019 would be a great year for Spark's move to content and streaming sports, and the trend toward increased convergence of telecommunications and media.

"Spark has been at the forefront in this area and will seek to further disrupt Sky TV," he said.

Sky Network TV, which introduces hybrid Internet services to complement its satellite television business, increased 1.1% to $ 1.91.

Refrain increased 0.4% to $ 4.845. Pushpay increased by 1.7% to $ 3.69 and Energy Z increased by 0.2% to $ 6.09.

AMP fell 6.4% to $ 2.48, after warning that investor earnings for 2018 could fall to AUD 30m ($ 31.4m), compared to AUD 848m in 2017, due to losses suffered by the activities that it sells to Resolution Life and the additional capital that it must carry against these assets until the transaction is completed.

According to Smith, AMP and the Australian banks will generally face stricter regulation and higher costs from the country's royal commission on banking conducted by Kenneth Hayne. He is expected to release his final report next month.

Smith said that much of the "Hayne pain" had already been incorporated into the area. But he added that the housing markets of both countries had already exceeded their peak and that in New Zealand, banks would also face the challenge of holding more capital to meet the new requirements proposed by the Reserve Bank. .

"Stopping the wheels of credit rotation" does not seem so smart, given the current state of the business cycle, he said.

Oceania Health decreased 2.8% to $ 1.06. Operating income for seniors in the first half of November decreased 14% from the previous year due to higher salary costs. Underlying operating profit at the company level increased by 7.5%.

Smith said the retirement sector will have to work a little harder because it is unlikely that they can take advantage of other headwinds of the rising real estate market they have enjoyed for several years. Investors will focus more on underlying earnings.

Ryman Healthcare fell from 1% to 11 dollars and Summerset Group was unchanged at $ 6.44. Kiwi Property increased by 1.5% to $ 1.40 and Properties of the city increased 0.3% to 1.485 dollar.

Among the small cap companies, PaySauce remained unchanged at 1.8 cents, up 29% yesterday. On Wednesday, the company said its recurring revenue for the December quarter had more than doubled from the same quarter in 2017. PaySauce was listed on the NZX on December 21 via a backdoor listing through Energy's hull. Mad.

ikeGPS fell 6.2% to 61 cents. The utility measurement specialist fell by nearly 18% after announcing yesterday that it could not reach its operational level in March due to a delay in the conclusion of the contract. an important contract for its Ike Analyze service.