Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the local market was happier. The US markets were mixed and the FTSE and Nikkei indices were positive.
“The markets were reading a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict and the oil price,” he said.
Brent Crude oil had fallen to US$87.37 a barrel at 5.30pm NZ time.
Sullivan said, “If we don’t see oil production resuming and the tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz, then the picture could change quite quickly.”
Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, said it could restore about 70% of its exports within days by rerouting flows through a pipeline to Red Sea ports.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 had risen 2.61% to 55,663.37 points at 6pm NZ time, and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.58% to 8,743.3.
The UK FTSE 100 increased 1.59% to 10,412.24 points, and on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite were flat after a volatile day on 47,706.51 and 22,697.1, respectively. The S&P 500 was down 0.21% to 6781.48 points.
At home, Briscoe increased 11c or 2.38% to $4.74 after reporting a 0.9% increase in revenue to $798.83m for the 12 months ending January 2025.
Net profit was down 2.3% to $59.22m, and the retailer is paying a final dividend of 10c a share on March 31.
Homeware sales were up 1.42% to $496.8m and sporting goods 0.13% to $302.1m. Online sales were now 20.04% of the revenue. Total costs were up only 1.19% on the previous year.
Briscoe said its new distribution centre in Drury was a transformational investment that would materially improve supply chain capability, inventory flow and efficiency.
Fellow retailers Michael Hill increased 1.5c or 2.91% to 53c, and KMD Brands was up 0.5c or 2.22% to 23c.
ANZ Research reported that overall card spending rose 0.6% in February (seasonally adjusted) and was up 4.4% compared with the same month last year.
Spending continued to trend higher, with annual growth positive for most sectors. Housing was a soft spot, while lower petrol prices had dragged down annual growth in the motor vehicles and fuel category (but watch this space), ANZ said.
Making strong recoveries were market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, up 78c or 2.05% to $38.65; Freightways increasing 24c or 1.78% to $13.99; Mainfreight gaining 92c to $61.50; and Serko rising 11c or 5.64% to $2.06.
In the energy sector, Meridian added 16c or 2.97% to $5.55; Mercury was up 15c or 2.42% to $6.35; and Vector gained 11c or 2.35% to $4.79.
Auckland International Airport was up 19c or 2.28% to $8.53; Infratil added 28c or 2.63% to $10.93; a2 Milk gained 16c to $11.51; Fletcher Building increased 9c or 2.71% to $3.41; and Port of Tauranga collected 10c to $7.95.
The banking sector was stronger, with ANZ gaining $1.76 or 3.99% to $45.90, and Heartland Group increasing 3c or 2.43% to $1.265.
Other gainers were Scales Corp up 17c or 2.84% to $6.15; Vista Group increasing 5c or 2.76% to $1.86; Precinct Properties adding 2c or 1.83% to $1.11; and Santana Minerals improving 2.5c or 2.45% to $1.045.
Metro Performance Glass fell 10c or 6.8% to $1.37, Investore shed 3c or 2.79% to $1.045; and Ventia Services was down 18c or 2.63% to $6.66.
Tāiko Critical Minerals went into a trading halt at the request of NZX’s regulatory body NZ RegCo for a discussion over the West Coast Barrytown Mineral Project’s financial model. The mining company last traded at 21.5c.
Tāiko said the life-of-mine revenue for the project would be US$3.28 billion ($5.5b), with operating margin of 57.5%, capital expenditure of US$66m and equity payback of 3.8 years.
Bremworth’s scheme of arrangement with US flooring company Mohawk Industries, which owns another carpet maker, Godfrey Hirst, has been extended after the Commerce Commission said it wanted more time for its clearance decision, now April 2. Bremworth was down 2c or 2.82% to 69c.
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