Greg Smith, investment specialist with Generate, said the market pricing for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate hikes had reversed and banks were recalibrating their mortgage rates.
“This can only be good for economically sensitive companies like Freightways.”
He said the local market held up well because it had less exposure to technology than offshore markets.
“The volatility in the tech sector offshore returned, and there was talk that OpenAI may now delay its initial public offering [IPO] till next year. With another trillion-dollar listing like Anthropic, investors’ appetite may be called into question.
“The US$1.8 trillion [$3.1t] SpaceX listing was down 25% from its peak, and the average retail investor who bought after the IPO will be underwater,” Smith said.
In the United States, investors continued to worry about hyperscaler spending on AI and who would foot the bill. Those fears outweighed upbeat signals on AI demand from chipmakers Micron and Qualcomm.
The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.46% 25,358.6 points, marking its first four-day string of losses since February. The S&P 500 was steady at 7,357.49 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.14% to 51,920.62.
Apple was down 6.15% to US$275.15 after announcing price increases for the MacBook and iPad due to higher component costs, such as chips.
Two weeks after listing, SpaceX was down to US$153, having peaked at $201.8 on June 16. Rocket Lab has also fallen back, down 5.53% to US$80.69 after hitting a high of $150.23 a month ago.
In South Korea, the Kospi Index was down 6.87% at 5.45pm NZ time, with Samsung declining 7.46% and SK Hynix falling 8.19%. The early plunge in the index triggered a 20-minute circuit-breaker halt in trading for the second time this week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 4.17% with SoftBank, a major backer of OpenAI, plunging 12.67%. SoftBank has invested US$64 billion in OpenAI and holds a 13% shareholding.
Local stocks
At home, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 23c to $38.45; Turners Automotive declined 20c or 2.33% to $8.40; Delegat Group decreased 11c or 2.78% to $3.85; and Santana Minerals fell 3c or 5% to 57c.
In the energy sector, Mercury was down 13c or 1.9% to $6.70; Meridian eased 7c to $5.75; Contact shed 15c to $9.24; and Vector was up 13c or 2.63% to $5.07.
In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson was down 12c to 10.08 and Briscoe Group was up 12c or 2.63% to $4.68.
Mainfreight gained 58c to $60.20; Port of Tauranga was up 16c or 1.87% to $8.73; Seeka increased 15c or 3.03% to $5.10; Serko added 4c or 2.76% to $1.49; and Ebos Group collected 21c to $20.65.
Scott Technology rose 13c or 5.2% to $2.63; Stride Property was up 2c or 1.79% to $1.14; Allied Farmers gained 2c or 3.17% to 65c; and TradeWindow added 1c or 5.88% to 18c.
Vista Group, up 3c to $2.48, announced a new agreement with existing client Cineplex, one of Europe’s leading cinema operators, based in Vienna. Cineplex’s 59 sites and more than 400 screens will transition to the Vista Cloud management software platform.
KMD Brands, down 0.002c or 2.7% to 7.2c, has refinanced its existing debt with $208m of syndicated multi-currency revolving facilities for 2.5 years, providing the retailer with funding through to October 2028.
CDL Investments, unchanged at 71c, told the market that its Middle Road residential project in Havelock North has been accepted for the Fast-track Approvals process. The project is expected to deliver 300-350 residential sections and future housing choices.
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