\u201cIt does feel like markets have maybe just run into a few minor headwinds after a strong period,\u201d Lister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly outperforming other markets in the region. Aussies are up, but much less than us. The Nikkei in Japan is down a little over 1%, obviously the S&P500 was off slightly off a little bit overnight, while the UK was one of the few markets to be up. So most international markets are off a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skellerup Holdings held its annual general meeting on Thursday, with the rubber manufacturer\u2019s earnings lifting by 10% in the first quarter of 2026. <\/p>\n
The business said demand for its products was robust and called out dairy and infrastructure as notable contributors. <\/p>\n
\u201c$55 million to $60 million midpoint is in line with where analysts were expecting. The stock is up because it\u2019s a bit of confirmation that analysts weren\u2019t off the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have expected their guidance to be a little soft because of the tariff impact, but they\u2019re managing to absorb that tariff hit and still making decent results, which is great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skellerup\u2019s share price lifted 1.36% or 7c to $5.20 after 144,980 shares changed hands on turnover worth $754,035.08.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Vista Group gave a third-quarter update, advising that despite the box office experiencing some softness, year-on-year revenue growth continued. Vista Group\u2019s share price rallied 7.03%, up 18c to $2.74.<\/p>\n
Heartland Group lifted 3c to $1.09 after trading on high volume, with 1.7m shares changing hands on turnover worth $1.8m.<\/p>\n
Scales Corporation lifted 2.88% or 17c to $6.07, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lifted 2.14% or 75c to $35.75, while Meridian Energy fell 0.84% or 5c to $5.93.<\/p>\n
Lister said analysts and investors were keeping a close eye on the next 10 days, which will feature the latest data on US inflation, as well as results from five of the \u201cmagnificent seven\u201d: Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta.<\/p>\n
Gold prices sank further on Wednesday while major stock markets mostly fell following some disappointing corporate earnings amid lingering worries over trade tensions.<\/p>\n
Major US indices fell, with the Dow retreating from a record the prior day, as lacklustre results from Netflix added to angst that upcoming reports from other tech giants may also fall short.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you\u2019ve got stocks that are priced with high expectations, if you\u2019re not meeting those expectations, then the market is going to struggle with that,\u201d said Dave Grecsek, a partner at wealth management firm Aspirant.<\/p>\n
More broadly, the market is wondering if \u201cwe are overextended here in this artificial intelligence trade\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
Most European equity indices also fell following declines in leading Asian markets earlier.<\/p>\n
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.<\/p>\n