Paul Robertshawe, chief investment officer with Octagon Asset Management, said it was a constructive day and the general tone of the market felt okay.<\/p>\n
The market is eagerly awaiting the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) monetary policy review on Wednesday, with mixed views on a possible hike in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.5%.<\/p>\n
Robertshawe said the market was still pricing in an 80% chance of an increase, but with the oil price coming down and the US-Iran war holding, more people were talking about keeping the cash rate on hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would be good for confidence and the economy,\u201d he said. \u201cThe New Zealand savings rate is at its highest level since the Covid pandemic \u2013 people have built in precautionary savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
ASB said the big four banks were split, but \u201cwe expect the Reserve Bank to hold the OCR at 2.25%. Monetary policy-making during an economic shock is a bit like jumping at a crocodile in a dimly lit room.<\/p>\n
\u201cData to confirm if the inflation crocodile is real and has teeth is due after (this week\u2019s) monetary policy review, and we think the decline in oil prices gives the Reserve Bank time to wait for this,\u201d ASB said.<\/p>\n
ANZ said overall card spending lifted 0.1% in June, with annual growth accelerating to 5.8%.<\/p>\n
The ANZ World Commodity Price Index was down 1% in June, with all components falling except meat and fibre \u2013 largely caused by the oil price fall as Middle East tensions eased and the Hormuz Strait began reopening.<\/p>\n
Local stocks<\/p>\n
Infratil increased 30c, or 1.98%, to $15.42 after telling the market its major investment in CDC Data Centres has increased from A$1.76 billion (NZ$2.1b) to A$9.21b, reflecting a 23.6% gain in valuation to a mid-point of A$ 18.5b, up $3.5b, for the June quarter.<\/p>\n
Infratil, with a 49.72% stake, said CDC\u2019s valuation increase was driven by strong growth in contracted capacity to more than 1GW, the acceleration of its build programme, and the expansion of the total pipeline from 2.6GW to 3.GW through full-year 2040.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s rumoured that CDC is likely to secure a contract to supply 500MW of capacity to the American artificial intelligence company Anthropic.<\/p>\n
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 64c to a three-month high of $40.35, and a2 Milk continued its climb, gaining 25c or 2.75% to $9.35.<\/p>\n
Robertshawe said a2 Milk went from the fifth to the fourth-strongest brand when the China 618 e-commerce shopping festival ended (on June 18).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe brand hasn\u2019t suffered from the product recall in the US, but I\u2019m not sure about the restocking and how much shipping and flying (product) a2 Milk is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
UBS Group AG has increased its stake in a2 Milk from 5.33% to 6.5%. \u201cThey are a believer \u2013 or who they represent,\u201d Robertshawe said.<\/p>\n
Ebos Group increased 51c or 2.43% to $21.49; Mainfreight gained 61c to $64.29; Vista Group rose 15c or 6.52% to $2.45; Delegat Group was up 18c or 4.46% to $4.22.<\/p>\n
T&G Global increased 11c or 4.6% to $2.50; Michael Hill gained 1.5c or 3.7% to 42c; and Blackpearl Group added 3c or 5% to 63c.<\/p>\n