Today’s trade was set against another flare-up in the US-Iran conflict, which has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz since late February and left markets racked with uncertainty.
“Two other factors at play at the moment are obviously inflation and technology valuations on US companies in particular starting to play a part,” Williamson told BusinessDesk.
“Of course, the US market has performed this year to date a hell of a lot better than [the] New Zealand [market], in particular, has.”
The S&P/NZX 50 began the day southbound as sellers outnumbered buyers, with an intraday low arriving after midday.
On the south side of the ledger, Serko was down 2.86% to $1.53, albeit on slim volume, with Synlait Milk shedding 4.65% to 41 cents on residual lukewarm sentiment after its recent refinancing news.
“It’s a company that’s been under a fair amount of pressure in recent months,” Williamson said.
Other stocks to fall on overall cool market sentiment included SkyCity Entertainment, down 3.13% to 46.5 cents, while KMD Brands was flat at 8.2c.
Westpac ebbed, while ANZ Group Holdings firmed. Auckland Airport, Air New Zealand and Mainfreight also fell. Williamson said Mainfreight was sensitive to Middle East news flow.
Infratil shed 1.93% to $14.76, with Williamson noting the stock was sensitive to events on the Nasdaq, which in Wall Street trade on June 10 saw semiconductor chip makers, tech and AI stocks falter.
Meanwhile, Williamson said the prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer, or even rising if inflation pressures persisted, was also figuring in investors’ minds.
“Interest rate-sensitive stocks like the property sector have been under a little bit of pressure.”
The property sector was mixed. Goodman Property fell 2.68% to $1.995 and Fletcher Building shed 0.96% to $3.10, but Stride Property rose 0.92% to $1.10, Precinct Properties gained 0.99% to $1.02, and Property for Industry added 0.41% to $2.42.
On the positive side of the ledger, Summerset Group improved 0.86% to $8.18, albeit on mild volume.
Telecommunications companies Spark New Zealand, up 1.34% to $1.895, and Chorus, up 1.74% to $9.95, both rose.
Williamson considered Spark’s rise to be the result of investors dabbling in bargain hunting on the back of recent softness in the stock.
Chorus’ rise was likely due to investors’ appetite for safety.
Energy companies also firmed, with Mercury up 0.15% at $6.76, Genesis rising 0.78% to $2.57 and Meridian gaining 0.34% to $5.90.
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter – your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.