But Infratil had its second strong day in a row on speculation that it was doing a data centre deal with Anthropic in rural New South Wales.
Utilities investor Infratil was up 15c to $14.50 on trade worth $10.57m, after gaining 30c the day before.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.36% to 51,863.69 points, the S&P 500 was steady on 7764.64, and the Nasdaq Composite hit a new high after gaining 0.45% to 27,244.28.
Brent crude oil fell under the psychological $100 mark and at 6pm NZ time was trading at US$98.46 ($172.60) a barrel.
United States chief envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Iranian officials for about three hours on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
An Iranian official indicated Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US eased military pressure and lifted its port blockade.
At home, KMD Brands declined 10c or 4.95% to $1.92 after reporting a 6.5% increase in revenue to $1.05 billion and an underlying net loss of $9m for the 12 months ending July.
A $394m post-tax impairment expense sent the loss to $414.4m. KMD’s operating earnings (ebitda) were $42m, up 137.7%, and its gross margin increased 1.2% to 57.7%.
Kathmandu’s sales, including online, increased 7.4% for the first seven weeks from July 27, supported by strong growth in New Zealand, and Rip Curl sales were up 1%, while its multi-brand Ozmosis stores fell 12.1%.
KMD is forecasting full-year 2027 revenue of between $1.055b and $1.075b, ebitda of $52m-$55m and capital expenditure of $15m-$16m. It has a further $10m of cost savings underway.
During its business review, KMD tested interest in Rip Curl’s retail chain Ozmosis, but no suitable proposal emerged.
However, KMD said the board has considered several indicative approaches from external parties and determined that further engagement with a limited number of those parties is appropriate.
Goodson said KMD has opened itself up to potential suitors, but they were early-stage, non-binding approaches and whether they translate into a merger and acquisition, only time will tell.
Fellow retailer Briscoe Group was up 11c or 2.33% to $4.83 and Hallenstein Glasson gained 16c to $13.26.
The energy sector was weaker, with Meridian down 9c to $5.53; Mercury decreasing 11c to $6.87; Contact shedding 10c to $8.69; and Vector falling 8c to $4.65.
Freightways declined 44c or 3.42% to $12.41; Skellerup was down 18c or 2.34% to $7.50; NZME declined 3.5c or 3.18% to $1.065; and The Warehouse dropped 2c or 3.23% to 60c.
Gentrack fell 21c or 4.96% to $4.02; Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ was down 12c or 3.79% to $3.05; Mainfreight eased 99c to $66.50; Comvita decreased 3c or 3.85% to 75c; and Blackpearl Group declined 1.5c or 4.84% to 29.5c.
Summerset rebounded 13c or 1.7% to $7.76; Napier Port was up 8c or 2.22% to $3.68; AFT Pharmaceuticals gained 8c or 1.9% to $4.30; Santana Minerals increased 2.5c or 3.85% to 67.5c; and Oceania Healthcare added 1.5c or 2.04% to 75c.
Argosy Property, up 1c to $1.025, said in a newsletter that its portfolio was not causing significant concerns with either investment values or income levels. The portfolio has weathered another downturn very well.
New leases, lease renewals and lease extensions have been secured across all three sectors in both Wellington and Auckland, with notable success in the Wellington office market at 147 Lambton Quay, Argosy said.
BurgerFuel, unchanged at 34c, told the market it was partnering with the SPCA to implement the certified welfare-plus standard for meat chickens and continue the development of higher-welfare chicken farming in New Zealand.
TruScreen, down 0.001c or 7.14% to 1.3c, told the market three cervical cancer screening proposals for Unitaid funding were not selected for further development.
The company still has grant applications with the Gates Foundation and Clinton Health Access Initiative, as well as a collaboration with a global non-government organisation for a Unitaid grant.
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