“It doesn’t have to be a massive portfolio for investment funds to flow from New Zealand, and the selling pressure was widespread,” he said.
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 1.37% to 8,511.90 points at 6pm NZ time.
On Wall Street over the weekend, the major indices retreated, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.07% to 49,526.17 points; the S&P 500 declining 1.24% to 7,408.5; and the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.54% to 26,225.14.
Tech stocks were hit by rising bond yields as oil prices remained elevated and tensions between the US and Iran remained high.
The US 10 Year and 30 Year Treasury Notes reached their highest levels for more than a year, climbing to 5.154% and 4.63%, respectively.
Brent Crude oil was trading well above US$100 ($171.23) at US$110.80 a barrel.
Local stocks
At home, Ebos Group hit a seven-year low after falling 72c, or 3.44%, to $20.21; and Mainfreight declined $2.39, or 4.28%, to $53.50, its lowest level since October 2020.
Ryman Healthcare shed 13c or 6.1% to $2; SkyCity fell 3.5c or 6.03% to 54.5c; Synlait Milk decreased 5c or 10.87% to 41c; Heartland Group was down 5c or 4.67% to $1.02; Serko declined 56c or 3.45% to $1.40; and Vista Group dropped 4c or 1.93% to $2.03.
Wine exporters Foley Wines fell 4.5c or 8.74% to 47c, and Delegat Group was down 9c or 2.37% to $3.71.
Infant milk supplier a2 Milk fell a further 38c or 5.07% to $7.12 following another downgrade – this time from Citigroup, which cut earnings by 5-10% and valuation by 30%.
Robertshawe said the analyst’s view was that the spillover effect would be on the recall of US products and on access to the Chinese market.
“It’s a bearish view, and maybe the Aussies were selling.
“There were increased engagements on Chinese websites over the recall early on, but that died away quickly. Nestle and Danone also had recalls, and no one has lost their licence in China.
“It’s a dent for a2 Milk, but I don’t think it’s massively serious, and they will just have to prove themselves again before the market gives them credit,” Robertshawe said.
Utilities software firm Gentrack was down 15c or 3.66% to $3.95 after reporting a slight drop in revenue to $110.14m and 28.86% decline in net profit to $5.11m for the six months ending March. It is not paying a dividend.
Group recurring revenue increased 12% to $85.3m, but non-recurring fell 30% to $24.9m, and operating earnings (ebitda) were $7.9m compared with $13m in the previous corresponding period.
Gentrack said the ebitda reduction occurred in the utilities, rather than the airport division, driven by the delay in new project revenue and a decision to continue to invest in product and international growth.
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is reshaping expectations in the sectors Gentrack operates in, and “this dynamic reinforces rather than disrupts our position,” the company told the market.
Freightways was down 40c or 3.03% to $12.80; Auckland International Airport decreased 13c to $8.25; Napier Port eased 9c or 2.42% to $3.63; Skellerup declined 19c or 3.15% to $5.84; and Sky TV dropped 7c or 2.2% to $3.11.
In the retail sector, Briscoe decreased by 13c, or 3.06%, to $4.75, and Michael Hill decreased by 1.5c, or 3.6%, to 39.5c.
Pacific Edge was up a further 1c or 3.7% to 28c after receiving long-awaited news that draft US Medicare reimbursement coverage was being published for its Cxbladder cancer diagnostic products.
Among the few gainers, South Port NZ was up 19c or 2.26% to $8.61, Tourism Holdings gained 5c or 2.33% to $2.20, and Steel & Tube improved 1.5c or 4.11% to 38c.
Kiwi Property, down 3c or 3.19% to 91c, reported a 2.9% increase in revenue to $271.41m and a 11.5% decrease in net profit to $50.45m for the year ending March.
Kiwi’s portfolio was valued at $3 billion, a decline of 0.9% over the year, and net tangible assets per share decreased 2.4% to $1.12.
Elsewhere in the sector, Stride was down 2c or 1.72% to $1.14; Investore declined 3.5c or 3.27% to $1.03; and Precinct shed 2c or 1.94% to $1.01.
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