“Business and consumer confidence surveys are higher, and even if gross domestic product growth is not 5% but only 2-2.5% next year, you will see some decent outcomes on the company earnings front.
“Interest rates are down and we will be a year through the tariffs and know what business looks like. Next year will be quite a bit better than this year.”
The United States markets continued to rally but investors were asking two big questions:
Can artificial intelligence (AI) spending translate into durable earnings fast enough to justify valuations and financing intensity?Will the Federal Reserve be able to cut meaningfully in 2026, or will the inflation/stagflation risk keep policy tighter than the market wants?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.38% to 48,134.89 points; the S&P 500 gained 0.88% to 6834.5; and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.31% to 23,307.62.
Rocket Lab, with a record 21 Electron rocket launches this year, reached a new high after rising 17.69% to US$70.52 ($122) and went higher to US$73.39 in after-hours trading.
The Santa Claus rally, first recorded in 1972, is defined as the last five trading days of the year plus the first two in January. Even in years when the S&P 500 posted a negative performance earlier in December, the index still finished the Santa Claus rally period higher 77% of the time.
Reuters reported that Nasdaq is seeking to extend trading hours to 23 hours a day, five days a week, with two daily sessions and a one-hour pause in between. The rationale is global demand to trade US stocks on local time zones, and the growth of overnight trading venues.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had gained 0.99% to 8706.9 points at 6pm NZ time.
Ebos ‘under pressure’
Back home, the rally was led by market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, up 79c or 2.13% to $37.89; Ebos Group rebounding 53c to $28.06; Mercury Energy gaining 10c to $6.40; and a2 Milk rising 38c or 3.71% to $10.62.
Robertshawe said Ebos was under pressure to sell from offshore shareholders. A block of shares was sold last week at $26.60, and this has cleared the air with the big sellers having finished.
He said, based on the latest data, a2 Milk’s export shipments were tracking to plan and the share price got hit on Friday.
Retirement village stocks Ryman Healthcare was up 9c or 3.15% to $2.95, and Summerset Group increased 39c or 3.29% to $12.26.
Fletcher Building was up 11c or 3.06% to $3.71; Hallenstein Glasson increased 27c or 2.8% to $9.90; Skellerup gained 12c or 2.33% to $5.26; and Serko added 6c or 2.03% to $3.01.
Property for Industry was up 5c or 2.16% to $2.37; Vista Group gained 5c or 2.02% to $2.53; T&G Global increased 6c or 2.62% to $2.35; and Blackpearl Group rose 3.5c or 3.63% to $1.
Comvita, putting together a recapitalisation plan, was down 2c, or 3.77%, to 51c; 2 Cheap Cars fell 4c, or 6.72%, to 55.5c; and Third Age Health declined 18c, or 2.96%, to $5.91.
Michael Hill, unchanged at 38c, has refinanced its debt facility with ANZ Banking Group and a new lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, on improved margins for an additional two years to the end of August 2028.
The existing facility limits continue, with the $90m core facility and the $20m seasonal uplift for four months from September 15 each year.
Spark, unchanged at $2.24, has formed a partnership with ASX-listed Challenger to establish a new financing structure for the interest-free payment plans Spark offers its customers to buy mobile handsets and other accessories.
The new structure will reduce working capital carried on Spark’s balance sheet.
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