In the United States, the technology-driven Nasdaq Composite fell a further 1.51% to 22,904.58 points and lost nearly 3% in two trading days.
Investors there became concerned about the impact of AI-driven disruptions on software and data firms after Anthropic created the chatbot Claude for legal users.
Advanced Micro Devices fell 17.31% to US$200.19 (NZ$334.43); Nvidia was down 3.41% to $US174.19; Meta Platforms (Facebook parent) declined 3.28% to US$668.99; Alphabet (Google) eased 2.16% to US$333.34; and Amazon shed 2.36% to US$232.99.
The S&P 500 was down 0.51% to 6,882.72 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.53% to 49,501.3 as investors rotated away from tech to more traditional stocks.
Local stocks
At home, cinema management software firm Vista Group rebounded 9c or 5.23% to $1.81; utilities solutions provider Gentrack gained 9c to $7; data analytics company Blackpearl Group was up 1.5c to $1.17; and fleet management provider Eroad increased 3c or 2.91% to $1.06.
However, online travel provider Serko declined 12c or 4.36% to $2.63, and Locate Technologies, providing tools for last-mile deliveries, was down 0.006c or 7.5% to 7.4c.
Shane Solly, a portfolio manager at Harbour Asset Management, said there has been a capitulation in the technology sector and that it is now more about hardware than software.
“Some people are asking ‘Can I use and rely on AI agents in the workplace to get rid of paying lots of money or maybe there is still a place for software providers.
”There are similarities with the GLP weight-loss drugs, and healthcare stocks were sold off. Eighteen months to two years later, healthcare businesses have recovered.
“A lot of the selling in tech stocks in the US have come from exchange-traded funds, and if AI companies release more workplace models, we will continue to see more volatility,” Solly said.
Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare came off its high after falling 12c to $39.90.
Infratil was down 11c to $10.83; Summerset declined 26c or 2.27% to $11.20; and Turners Automotive decreased 15c or 1.8% to $8.17 after broker Forsyth Barr downgraded its rating, saying “it’s time for a pitstop”.
Skellerup, the first to report its latest earnings next week, increased 9c or 1.76% to $5.20.
Forsyth Barr expects a solid first-half result from Skellerup with a 9% increase in net profit, and strong first-quarter earnings, up 10%, continuing into the second quarter. The broker is forecasting full-year net profit of $59.7m, at the top end of the company’s guidance.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ gained 20c or 5.88% to $3.60. ACC disclosed to the market earlier this week that it had bought 2.72m shares for $8.99m, increasing its stake to 7.3%.
Reporting season
Mainfreight recovered 89c to $64; Freightways gained 26c or 1.81% to $14.64; Ryman Healthcare was up 5c or 1.85% to $2.75; Napier Port increased 17c or 4.7% to $3.79; T&G Global added 8c or 3.2% to $2.58; and Tower was up 4c or 2.11% to $1.94.
Solly said Mainfreight and Freightways’ peers overseas have been performing strongly, and Skellerup’s upgrade will be helped by activity in the United States.
“The reporting season will ramp up in the next seven days, and we’ve got through the confession session unscathed. The quarterly updates have been quite constructive, and the reporting might just be good enough to get people back into the New Zealand market,” he said.
Chorus was down 19c or 1.95% to $9.55; Fletcher Building decreased 9c or 2.39% to $3.68; Heartland gave up 4.5c or 3.52% to $1.23; Vulcan Steel shed 16c or 2.04% to $7.69; and Winton Land was down 4.5c or 2.26% to $1.95.
Santana Minerals declined 8.5c or 6.77% to $1.17 after telling the market that the decision on its resource consent application for the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project in Central Otago will be made by October 29.
The panel convenor confirmed a 140 working-day statutory timeframe for the determination under the Fast-Track Approvals Act.
Fonterra Co-operative, up 2c to $6.01, said its long-serving managing director for global markets, René Dedoncker, has resigned. Dedoncker joined Fonterra in 2005 and, among his roles, led the Mainland Group business unit.
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