There were 80 gainers and 60 decliners on the main board with 29.4 million shares worth $118.4 million changing hands.<\/p>\n
Sullivan said \u201cwe had a strong afternoon after the Aussie consumer price index [CPI] was lower than expected. This is beneficial for interest rates, and dual-listed stocks such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Ebos had a good day\u201d.<\/p>\n
Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare increased $1 or 2.45% to $41.75 on trade worth $13.45m, beating its previous high of $41.23 set on March 2.<\/p>\n
The Australian CPI increased 3.8% in the 12 months to June, down from 4% in May, with the market expecting anything from 4% onwards.<\/p>\n
The largest contributors to annual inflation in June were housing, rising 6.8%; food and non-alcoholic beverages and recreation and culture, both increasing 3.3%.<\/p>\n
Economists across the Tasman are now predicting the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep the Official Cash Rate on hold for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
The S&P\/ASX 200 Index had increased 1.07% to 9043.2 points at 6pm NZ time.<\/p>\n
In South Korea, the Kospi Index \u2013 heavily exposed to AI<\/a> stocks Samsung and HK Hynix and leveraged exchange-traded funds \u2013 had recovered from an early fall of 11.58% to be down 6.17%. But it was on track for a record monthly loss of about 30%.<\/p>\n Trading in the market, which had risen more than 100% this year, was suspended for 20 minutes for the second day running.<\/p>\n At home, Ebos Group rose 99c or 4.58% to an 18-week high of $22.61; Fletcher Building was up 7c or 1.84% to $3.88; a2 Milk gained 12c to $8.77; Infratil added 13c to $15.35; and Chorus increased 24c or 2.52% to $9.78.<\/p>\n Vulcan Steel increased 18c or 2.8% to $6.60; Third Age Health rose 15c or 3.45% to $4.50; Bremworth gained 2.5c or 3.68% to 70.5c; and Pacific Edge added 1c or 4% to 26c.<\/p>\n In the energy sector, Mercury was up 8c to $6.81; Meridian was down 8c to $5.76; and Contact decreased 18c or 1.95% to $9.05.<\/p>\n Port of Tauranga was down 15c or 1.81% to $8.13; Briscoe declined 23c or 4.84% to $4.52; and SkyTV decreased 7c or 2.12% to $3.23.<\/p>\n Online travel provider Serko gained 7c or 5.34% to $1.38 after confirming full-year revenue guidance of $128m-$134m and spending of $132m-$140m.<\/p>\n Serko told the market that the impact of the Middle East conflict on its business remained minimal in both the first quarter and the second. <\/p>\n The impact was confined to a reduction in completed room nights in the Middle East region, representing less than 3% of the business.<\/p>\n AFT Pharmaceuticals climbed a further 34c or 7.59% to $4.82 after broker Forsyth Barr said in a report that AFT\u2019s current valuation attributed minimal value to either its research and development (R&D) pipeline or its fast-growing international businesses.<\/p>\n Forsyth Barr said AFT hosted a forward-looking investor day highlighting its attractive R&D pipeline. While not all projects are likely to progress as planned, success in even one could create meaningful shareholder value.<\/p>\n The broker retained an outperform rating \u201cwith the risk-reward skewed to the upside\u201d and a target share price for AFT of $5.05.<\/p>\n Pole monitoring firm ikeGPS was down 2c to $1.16 after reporting steady revenue of $6.4m for three months ending June. Subscription customers increased to 476, from 441.<\/p>\n Platform subscription revenue for the quarter was up 27% to $5.3m<\/a> and gross margin was 82%, up from 75% for the same quarter last year. Total cash was $33.8m and ikeGPS had no debt.<\/p>\n Me Today was up 0.003c or 6.98% to 4.6c after telling the market it expects full-year revenue of more than $7.4m<\/a> and an operating earnings (ebitda) loss of less than $1.6m \u2013 both better than anticipated, driven by growth in the New Zealand market.<\/p>\n SkyCity, up 0.005c to 63.5c, has consolidated its banking facilities ahead of schedule, with two tranches of $57.5m and $80m being included into one facility of $140m maturing in September 2029.<\/p>\n