Increased US tariffs drive NZ stocks lower

The S&P/NZX50 Index ended 94.34 points, or 0.74%, down at 12,729.40, with 32 million shares, worth $108.1 million, trading.

There were 86 decliners and 42 gainers on the main board.

The imposition by the US of a 15% tariff on NZ goods, up from a previously advised 10%, took the market by surprise.

Exporters stung

America is a key export destination for F&P Healthcare (FPH) – the market’s biggest stock – which has extensive manufacturing assets in NZ and Mexico.

The US announcement drove FPH shares – which have a 16% weighting on the S&P/NZX50 – down by 80c or 2.17% to $36.

Medical supplies distributor Ebos – after a strong run-up on speculation that it may soon join the ASX200 index – fell back by 92c (2.25%) at $39.98.

Harbour Asset Management portfolio manager Shane Solly said FPH and Ebos were the main drivers on the day.

“There’s clearly a little bit of uncertainty around these US tariffs,” Solly said.

One broker estimated the higher tariff regime could potentially impact F&P’s earnings by about 1% or 2%.

“With these tariffs, the devil will be in the detail,” Solly said.

“And with FPH, much will depend on how much inventory it already has sitting in the US.”

Solly said FPH could have fallen further, had it not been for its Australian-US competitor, Resmed, which occupies similar segments in the respiratory products market, reporting a strong annual result.

Resmed said its net profit rose 37% to US$1.4 billion (NZ$2.4b) in the year to June 30, while revenue for the year increased 10% to US$5.1b.

ASX-listed Resmed rallied by A77c to A$43.22 in late trading.

Meanwhile, tariff concerns weighed on Seafood exporter Sanford, which dropped 10c or 1.75% to $5.60.

Elsewhere on the market

Among the other leaders, Meridian fell 3.5c to $5.73, Spark gained 2.5c to $2.45, while Mainfreight regained some lost ground to end 30c higher at $59.50.

SkyCity remained under pressure, losing 4c to finish at 98c.

Solly said ongoing weakness in the economy could continue to drag on activity at SkyCity’s NZ casinos.

Among the small caps, honey exporter Comvita firmed 4c to 50c.

“Overall, there’s a bit of caution in the wind, and we are entering a particularly busy time for company reporting [from mid-August], so let’s just wait and see where markets land,” Solly said.

Looking ahead, Stats NZ’s labour market data is out on Wednesday.

Kiwibank economists expect the data to show the labour market likely loosened further over the June quarter.

“We expect the unemployment rate to increase to 5.3% from 5.1% – the highest in over eight years,” the bank said.

The Reserve Bank’s “nowcast” estimate of GDP over the June quarter is for a quarter-on-quarter contraction of 0.29%.

The estimate is updated every Friday.