“The US-Iran negotiation is a mess, and that’s how the markets are feeling.”
Iran suspended talks with the US and threatened to close both the Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb Straits. Brent Crude oil jumped nearly 5% to US$94.10 a barrel.
The major US indices still climbed to new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% to 51,078.88 points; the S&P 500 gained 0.26% to 7599.96; and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.42% to 27,086.81.
In May, the S&P 500 gained 5.1%, the Dow Jones was up 2.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 8.4%, led by the large-cap tech and semiconductor stocks
Local stocks
At home, Heartland Group increased 13c or 11.4% to $1.27 after telling the market it is proposing to merge with the New Plymouth-based TSB Bank – a move that will create a stronger regional standing and focus.
Dual-listed Heartland will buy all the TSB shares from Toi Foundation for $620m and establish the TSB Heartland Bank. The merger is expected to be completed in December.
Goodson said the merger was “a bolt out of the blue, but it is highly synergistic in terms of costs and revenue. A new combined entity will have a stronger credit rating, and have larger scale to take on the four major banks.”
Green Cross Health surged 54c or 36% to $2.04 after announcing a conditional agreement to sell its medical division, The Doctors, to Tend Health for $270m.
Privately owned Tend, which provides online GP services, would end up with 90 clinics and more than 550,000 enrolled patients. Green Cross said it would refocus on its core pharmacy business under the Unichem and Life Pharmacy brands.
Gentrack rose 29c or 7.9% to $3.96 on the back of a sharp rally in software-as-a-service (Saas) stocks offshore. Goodson said the stocks had been pummelled in recent months on fears of the impact of artificial intelligence.
Accounting software firm Xero had gained 7.6% to A$87.14/NZ$105.19 (at 6pm NZ time) on the Australian stock exchange.
The dual-listed banking groups, ANZ and Westpac, were down $1.73, or 4.05%, to $40.95 and $0.80, or 1.84%, to $42.75, respectively.
Goodson said the Fair Work Commission in Australia had delivered a 4.75% minimum wage increase. “This will ripple through the market with direct employment cost impact.
“Australia has a real inflation issue, and the increase will make it worse, and another Reserve Bank (of Australia) rate hike will be necessary at its next meeting.”
Infratil and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led the local market lower, declining 47c, or 2.98%, to $15.29 and 49c, or 1.34%, to $36.80, respectively. Fisher & Paykel accounted for trade worth $30.74m.
Skellerup fell 22c or 3.58% to $5.93; Vista Group shed 15c or 5.79% to $2.44; Vulcan Steel decreased 24c or 3.61% to $6.40; and Sanford was down 16c or 2.13% to $7.36.
Other decliners were Briscoe, down 10c or 2.13% to $4.60; Eroad, falling 4.5c or 4.29% to $1; and Bremworth, decreasing 3.5c or 4.67% to 71.5c.
Among the gainers, Mercury Energy was up 10c to $7.05; Genesis added 6c or 2.39% to $2.57; Third Age Health increased 20c or 4.17% to $5, Foley Wines rose 4c or 9.3% to 47c; and Comvita improved 2c or 2.94% to 70c.
Infant formula supplier a2 Milk, up 15c or 2.29% to $6.70, said equities analyst CLSA Australia had recommended a downgrade, citing uncertainty over supply delays – following a price query from the ASX.
Vector was down 5c to $4.99 after telling the meeting it is retaining its fibre business and will pursue growth opportunities, including through the data centre and 5G expansion in Auckland.
Air NZ, down 1c to 43c, reported total passengers of 1.253m in April, up 2.2%, and the load factor was 85.8%, up from 83.9% in the same month last year.
Stride Property, down 3c or 2.58% to $1.13, has appointed David Green, a director since June last year, as chairman to replace Tim Storey, who has resigned.
Ventia Services was up 15c or 1.99% to $7.70 after securing a five-year extension, worth $133m, to operate the Australian Marine Centre user facility in Henderson, Western Australia.
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