“That was in line with what was happening in other parts of the world. Australia and Japan were both down, and US stock futures were pointing to a negative night on Wall Street.
“The oil price also jumped up as there’s little progress on the Middle East peace negotiations,” Lister said.
Brent Crude oil was trading at US$105.40 (NZ$177.34) a barrel at 6pm NZ time.
It was reported that Iran sent a counteroffer to US negotiators, stressing the need to end the war on all fronts and to lift sanctions on Tehran. US President Donald Trump said Iran’s response was totally unacceptable.
ASB said the Middle East conflict has entered its 10th week, the quagmire continues, the Hormuz Strait is still closed, and the global economy remains (frustratingly) at the mercy of a room full of powerful men.
Stocks generally strengthened, but movements will remain volatile as markets focus on headlines rather than substantive peace developments.
Wall Street
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had their sixth straight positive week after climbing a further 0.84% to 7398.93 and 1.71% to 26,247.08 points respectively at the weekend NZ time – both new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was steady at 49,609.16.
A surprisingly strong US nonfarm payroll report – adding 115,000 jobs in April against an expected 55,000 – overshadowed geopolitical fears and kept investors heavily invested in the ongoing tech boom.
Unemployment in the US was steady at 4.3%, and annual wage growth increased 3.6%. But consumer sentiment fell to a new record low on inflation worries.
Over the weekend, NZ-born Rocket Lab soared 35% to a new high of US$106 after posting record first-quarter revenue and making a series of announcements – its largest ever multi-year launch contract, a US$190m hypersonic testing deal and the purchase of space robotics firm Motiv Space Systems.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had declined 0.52% to 8699.20 points (at 6pm NZ time), weighed down by biotechnology giant CSL, which fell 17% to an 11-year low of A$99.64 (NZ$121.29) on an earnings downgrade.
Lister said CSL was having a shocker of a day following the negative earnings update – two years ago, the stock was at $300, and now it’s under $100, that’s a fall of more than two-thirds.
Local stocks
At home, utilities investor Infratil resumed its strong run, gaining 69c or 4.59% to $15.73 on trade worth $24.43m; and Fletcher Building was up 9c or 3.19% to $2.91.
In the energy sector, Meridian was up 9c to $5.85, and Contact was down 10c to $9.80.
NZME increased 5c or 4.55% to $1.15, Sanford gained 13c to $7.98; Air NZ was up 1c or 2.35% to 43.5c; Synlait recouped 1.5c or 3.33% to 46.5c; and Blackpearl Group rebounded 1.5c or 2.08% to 73.5c.
Auckland International Airport eased 10c to $8.25; Summerset shed 22c or 2.78% to $7.70; Mainfreight decreased 75c to $57.90; Vulcan Steel declined 30c or 4.58% to $6.25; and Briscoe Group was down 8c or 1.71% to $4.60.
Port companies Tauranga was down 12c to $8.20; Napier decreased 9c or 2.43% to $3.62; and South Port NZ increased 31c or 4.03% to $8.T&G Global was down 5c or 2.08% to $2.35; Bremworth declined 2.5c or 3.45% to 70c; and AFT Pharmaceuticals was up 9c or 2.46% to $3.75.
Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge, seeking to regain US Medicare funding for its Cxbladder tests, went into a trading halt after announcing a $24m capital raise at 17c a share, comprising an $18m placement and a $6m rights offer. The stock last traded at 17.4c.
Pacific Edge reported full-year operating revenue of $11.5m, a 47.4% fall compared with the previous year, and a net loss of $35.7m. There was a 21.4% reduction in the US laboratory throughput to 18,784 tests, from 23,885 tests in the full-year 2025.
Recruitment firm Accordant Group, unchanged at 13.5c, has completed its rights offer, raising $5m out of the $6.7m sought. The offer was underpinned by an increased contribution from the Hull Family Trust, which now has a 64.9% stake.
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