The New Zealand dollar and steel companies Vulcan Steel and Steel & Tube Holdings declined as US President Donald Trump flagged new tariffs on aluminium and steel imports in the latest round of his expanding trade wars.
The kiwi fell to 56.52 US cents at 5pm in Auckland from 56.60 cents at 7am and 56.82 cents last week, while Vulcan Steel – which is reporting its first half result on Tuesday – declined 1.7% to $7.60 and Steel & Tube was down 1.2% at 83 cents.
“The view that Trump’s economic policies hadn’t been fully priced into the US dollar has largely been borne out, as the US dollar has continued to lift beyond the immediate reaction to the US election last year,” ASB Bank chief economist Nick Tuffley said in a note. “If anything, the US dollar lift has been slightly swifter as markets have responded to one of the most currency-sensitive economic issues – tariffs.”
Stock markets across Asia were mixed as investors digested the latest tariff threat, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index falling 0.4% in late trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 1.4%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index largely unchanged. Futures pricing indicated gains for Wall Street.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index fell 25.84 points, or 0.2%, to 12,876.35 with a turnover of $110.4 million across the main board.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand rose 1.8% to $2.26, above the $2.25 offered by its cornerstone shareholder City Developments Ltd, after the hotel owner’s independent directors recommended minority shareholders reject the Singaporean company’s offer because it's too low. The bid was a premium to the trading price, but well short of the company’s net tangible assets of $3.36 per share.
CDL Investments, the property developer controlled by Millennium & Copthorne, rose 4.1% to 77 cents. It’s not subject to a takeover by the Singaporean parent.
No deal
Meanwhile, ikeGPS – whose directors rebuffed a private equity suitor’s non-binding offer of $1 last week – rose 1.2% to 83 cents, adding to its 32% surge on Friday.
Forsyth Barr analysts James Lindsay and Will Twiss raised their spot valuation on the company for the second time in as many weeks, adding 5 cents to the valuation which they put at 92 cents.
They reiterated that a “materially higher price may be possible in an M&A scenario” given ikeGPS’s development pipeline and high-quality customers.
Oceania Healthcare led the benchmark index lower, falling 3.8% to 77 cents, while Gentrack declined 1.9% to $13.04.
Meridian Energy slipped 0.2% to $5.90 after saying the Environment Court approved the consent for its 120-megawatt solar farm in Northland.
Manawa Energy clawed back some of Friday’s losses as it rose 2.1% to $5.32. The Commerce Commission last week raised concerns about Contact Energy’s proposed takeover of the electricity generator. Contact slipped 0.5% to $9.26.
Investore Property posted the biggest gain on the benchmark index, up 2.7% at $1.15, while Sanford advanced 2.4% to $4.64.
Spark New Zealand was the most heavily traded stock on a volume of 4.3 million shares, as it rose 1.7% to $2.93.
Comvita rose 1.3% to 78 cents after the honey products maker’s independent review of its accounts found more irregularities in the sales of its Chinese subsidiary that overstated earnings in previous years.
Santana Minerals climbed 5.1% to 62 cents with gold prices remaining elevated in the uncertain tariff environment as futures prices climbed back above US$2,900 an ounce.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from yasin hemmati on Unsplash.
