Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund up 4% as NZX 50 lifts second day this week

The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.20% to 12,936.41 points with 27.6 million shares changing hands, amounting to $103.6m in value traded.

Paul Robertshawe, Octagon’s chief investment officer, said the big news on the market was the death of Michael Hill International’s founder, Michael Hill.

He said that, short term, it was unlikely to change investors’ positions on the company, but that it could change things going forward.

“He’s a veteran; he built that business from nothing. It’s across three markets now,” Robertshawe said. “The family’s still there, but they might choose to bring in some fresh eyes and see what that does for the business.”

In February, the firm’s chief executive, Daniel Bracken, died as a result of an adverse reaction to medical treatment.

Heavy hitters

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare led volumes, with nearly $18m worth of the company’s shares trading hands throughout the day. The index’s largest constituent was up 1.12% to $36.98.

Spark New Zealand, the third-most-traded stock in terms of value, fell 1.41% to $2.455.

On Monday, the firm said it was considering its three newly appointed directors as candidates to replace longstanding chair Justine Smyth.

Robertshawe said he expected the market to pick back up as earnings season kicks off, but that it has “never recovered from the school holidays a couple of weeks ago”.

He did highlight higher-than-usual volumes in Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund, which rose 3.9% to $6.92.

“Volume is quite decent, so someone’s taking a position on it, given how illiquid it normally is,” he said.

He could only put the movement down to speculation that the co-operative is close to getting a deal for its consumer business over the line.

Infratil shares gained 2.48% to $11.99, approaching the $12 mark for the first time since January.

Robertshawe said there have been a couple of analyst reports in recent days that suggest Infratil's investments in the United States, such as Longroad Energy, were less under threat than previously thought.

Small-caps

Going in the other direction was 2 Cheap Cars Group, which tumbled 11.11% on low volumes to 56c.

The drop came after an announcement on Monday, in which it told the market that while it expects vehicle sales to exceed those in 2025, it anticipates net profit after tax (Npat) to fall year-on-year.

Software firm IkeGPS’ shares dipped 0.97% to $1.02 after it reaffirmed guidance in a first-quarter trading update and reported annual subscription revenue exit run rate rising 29% on the prior corresponding period.

New Zealand earnings season will kick off in August when PGG Wrightson reports full-year earnings on Aug 12.

However, Robertshawe said markets will likely get a boost later this week when Meta, Microsoft and Amazon report in the United States.

“That'll guide global markets and give people a feeling around the AI trade, I suspect. Down here, that relates to things like Infratil and some of the energy players.”