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New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index was dragged lower by Vital Healthcare Property Trust’s resumption of trading from a $190 million discounted placement to institutional investors, with the medical property landlord leading the benchmark lower, albeit keeping above the discounted offer price. Stocks across Asia were mixed as Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi joined the tech-rally on Wall Street, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was dragged down after Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s earnings and lending growth weren’t enough to meet the lofty expectations of that country’s biggest lender. Freightways gained with ANZ’s latest Truckometer gauge showing a pick-up in light vehicle activity, although retailers such as Hallenstein Glasson Holdings and Briscoe Group didn’t take much heart from the bank’s card spending data showing a small increase in retail consumption. And Comvita sank almost 12% after early voting showed a groundswell of opposition to the 80 cents per share takeover bid by Mark Stewart’s Florenz business. Shaky isles The NZX50 decreased 12.93 points, or 0.1%, to 13,604.55, with 22 stocks declining, 21 gaining and seven unchanged. Turnover was $116.2 million across the main board, with Auckland International Airport accounting for $18.3 million, as it decreased 0.5% to $8. Vital Healthcare Property Trust led the benchmark index lower as it dropped 7.8% to $2.01 when it resumed trading, after completing a $190 million placement selling units at a discounted $1.95 apiece. A $30 million unit purchase plan will follow, with the funds raised going towards buying the management contract from Canada’s Northwest Properties for $214 million. Other commercial landlords were mixed, having been sold down on Monday by institutions wanting to participate in the offering. Kiwi Property Group was unchanged at $1.07, Precinct Properties NZ rose 0.4% to $1.22, Goodman Property Trust was unchanged at $2.07, and Argosy Property decreased 0.4% to $1.24. Stocks across Asia were mixed as investors digested the prospect of the US federal government shutdown coming to an end, which spurred a rally on Wall Street, particularly among the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Nasdaq-listed Rocket Lab – a favourite among Sharesies users – jumped 7.2% to US$55.64 in afterhours trading on Wall Street after the space company reported record quarterly revenue and gross margin in the September period. That tech rally buoyed Japan’s Nikkei 225, which was up 0.5% in late trading, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.2%. A stalling juggernaut Australia’s ASX200 dipped 0.1% in late trading, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia weighing on the bourse as its lending and earnings growth in the September quarter failed to live up to the heady expectations built in. The ASX-listed stock sank 6.2% to A$164.05, while National Australia Bank declined 1% to A$42.82. “CBA did report a solid uptick and it’s not all too bad, but when you’re priced to perfection you need to bring excellent results, not mundane results,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “That’s pushed the ASX weaker in a mixed day in Australia.” The dual-listed banks were stronger on this side of the Tasman, with Westpac Banking Corp posting the biggest gain on the day, up 4.1% at $46.42, while ANZ Group Holdings advanced 0.6% to $44.09. Heartland Group Holdings, which holds its annual meeting in Ashburton on Thursday, gained 0.9% to $1.09. SkyCity Entertainment Group gained 1.3% to 76.5 cents after the company’s Queenstown casino was granted a 15-year renewal of its licence by the New Zealand Gambling Commission. Stock exchange operator NZX rose 1.6% to $1.57 after issuing a notice that software firm Locate Technologies, which uses Bitcoin to supplement its treasury, will list on the local bourse on Dec 3. ASX-listed Locate was up 1.5% to 6.8 Australian cents across the Tasman after opening an offering to raise $1 million at 7.5 NZ cents a share. Meanwhile, the Smart Bitcoin exchange traded fund was marginally weaker at $4.158. Nervous merchants Retailers were generally weaker after ANZ New Zealand figures showed spending on credit and debit cards by the bank’s customers rose 0.1% on a rolling three-month basis, and 3.2% higher than a year earlier. Hallenstein Glasson Holdings fell 1.1% to $9.89 and Briscoe Group declined 0.2% to $5.40, while KMD Brands was unchanged at 28 cents. Outside the benchmark index, Warehouse Group was unchanged at 80 cents and Michael Hill International slipped 1.3% to $38 cents. Meanwhile, ANZ’s Truckometer showed a pickup in light traffic last month – typically a measure of demand – while heavy traffic, which tracks more closely with production, eased in October. Freightways, a favourite barometer of the economy, rose 1.8% to $14.30. Comvita sank almost 12% to 69 cents after the company said 49.7% of votes have been lodged ahead of Friday’s special meeting, with 55.9% of those votes cast in favour of accepting Mark Stewart’s 80 cents per share scheme of arrangement to take over the mānuka honey products maker. The kiwi dollar was unchanged at 56.46 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 7am, holding gains from 56.27 cents yesterday after the Reserve Bank’s latest survey of inflation expectations showed firms inflation expectations remain well-anchored. Reporting by Paul McBeth.
