Overseas
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX had fallen 3.2% to 8567.4 points at 5.30pm NZ time. The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index was down 6.85% to 51,812.4 points and Hong Kong Hang Seng had declined 2.55% to 25,101.04.
This followed a weekend fall on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.95% to 47,501.55 points; S&P 500 declined 1.33% to 6740.02; and Nasdaq Composite fell 1.59% to 22,387.68.
Nowhere to hide
Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said on a day like this, there was nowhere for the investor to hide.
“Equities are down, gold is down (1.2% to US$5099) and bond yields are up (NZ 10 Year Government Bond yield increased nearly 19 points to 4.687%),” he said.
“There was no sense of panic and markets are very alert to the fact that things can change quickly. President Donald Trump is material to this.”
Goodson said the surge in oil price created a genuine macro-economic threat of weaker growth and higher inflation. “I expect the Reserve Bank will look through this in the short-term but if it becomes longer-lasting then it will have to reassess.
“It’s very frustrating. Just when the New Zealand economy was beginning to burst back to life, this comes along.
“If the Iran war drags on, then we have an interesting developing story on our fuel supply, to put it mildly.”
49 days supply
Goodson said New Zealand has 49 days of petrol, 27 in the country and 22 days shipped on the water from Singapore; diesel 54 days (24 and 29 days), and jet fuel 50 days (28 and 22).
“The futures market sees the high oil price lasting for several months to May/June, and in December falling to US$75.40 a barrel,” Goodson said.
In the sea of red on the local market, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell $1.90 or 4.76% to $38; Infratil was down 24c or 2.21% to $10.60; Auckland International Airport declined 38c or 4.35% to $8.36; and a2 Milk decreased 42c or 3.55% to $11.42.
In the energy sector, Meridian was down 16c or 2.84% to $5.47; Contact shed 23c or 2.45% to $9.1; Mercury decreased 14c or 2.17% to $6.30; and Genesis shed 7c or 3.15% to $2.15.
Air New Zealand fell 4c or 7.8% to 47c; Tourism Holdings declined 14c or 5.51% to $2.40; SkyCity was down 2.5c or 3.03% to 80c; and Property for Industry decreased 8c or 3.35% to $2.31.
Fletcher Building declined 10c or 2.9% to $3.28; Mainfreight eased $1.15 or 1.81% to $62.35; Freightways was down 36c or 2.58% to $13.60; Port of Tauranga declined 31c or 3.8% to $7.85; Napier Port shed 18c or 4.59% to $3.50; and Skellerup was down 17c or 3.02% to $5.45.
In the technology sector, Gentrack fell 31c or 3.8% to $7.84, and Vista was down 3.5c or 1.86% to $1.845.
Amongst the few gainers, CDL Investments increased 4c or 5.13% to 82c; PGG Wrightson was up 5c or 2.35% to $2.18; and Rua Gold rose 13c or 7.56% to $1.92.
Fonterra Co-operative, up 2c to $6.26, said all the regulatory approvals for selling Mainland Group to French dairy giant Lactalis for $4.22 billion have been received and the agreement is unconditional.
Californian electronics company Bourns has extended the takeover offer of Rakon to April 13 after receiving acceptances totalling 64.82% of the issued shares, representing more than 1,900 shareholders.
Bourns said if the 90% threshold was not reached and the condition was not waived, the offer of $1.55 a share would lapse.
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