No oil crisis
Greg Smith, investment specialist at Generate, says there’s no oil crisis; it’s just a lack of confidence over when the Hormuz Strait will reopen and the oil tankers start moving.
“The drop in the oil price to back under $100 was encouraging and the G7 nations talked about releasing oil reserves. There is still a lot of uncertainty over how long the Middle East conflict will last,” Smith said.
Markets cooled after President Donald Trump said the war against Iran could be reaching its end – the US was far ahead of his initially stated timeframe of four to five weeks.
Smith said the US futures were pointing to lower markets and this may have taken the wind out the New Zealand sails in the afternoon trading.
Overseas
Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.86% to 8673 points at 6pm NZ time. The Japanese Nikkei 225 had risen 2.52% to 54,059.43 points, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng had gained 1.56% to 25,804.7.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% to 47,740.8 points; S&P 500 gained 0.83% to 6795.99; and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.38% to 22,695.94.
Local stocks
At home, Ebos Group was up 16c to $22.65; Scott Technology gained 8c or 3.48% to $2.38; and Summerset Group increased 25c or 2.48% to $10.35. But fellow retirement village operator Oceania Healthcare was down 3.5c or 4.49% to 74.5c.
The dual-listed banking groups rebounded strongly, with ANZ up 60c to $44.14 and Westpac increasing $2.30 or 4.87% to $49.50.
Serko gained 6c or 3.17% to $1.95 after narrowing its full-year revenue guidance to $119m-$121m, from the previous $115m-$123m. Serko also lowered its total spend to $121m-$123m, from $124m-$128m.
Smith said Serko talked about a new multi-agent artificial intelligence offering at its investor day, and mentioned its partnership with Booking.com was working well.
Winton Land was up 1.5c to $1.98 after receiving Fast-track approval to develop the Sunfield community near Papakura that includes 3854 homes including three retirement villages, 47ha industrial business park, 7.7ha town centre, 2.3ha healthcare precinct and a school.
Air New Zealand, down 0.5c to 46.5c, has suspended its earnings guidance because of the “unprecedented volatility” in global jet fuel markets which has seen the price surge from US$85 a barrel to $150-$200 during the Middle East conflict.
The airline told the market it is 83% hedged against Brent crude for the second half of the 2026 financial year and it expected earnings to be broadly in line with, or modestly below, the first-half loss of $59m.
Global transport and logistics company Mainfreight declined $1.77 or 2.84% to $60.58; T&G Global fell 18c or 6.67% to $2.52; Briscoe Group shed 7c to $4.63; and Vista Group decreased 3.5c or 1.9% to $1.81.
Energy sector flickers
In the energy sector, Contact was up 15c to $9.32; Meridian was down 8c to $5.39; and Mercury decreased 10c to $6.20.
Port of Tauranga, unchanged at $7.85, told the market that the Environment Protection Authority has appointed an expert panel, the same as before, to consider its wharves extension application under the Fast-track system. The port’s original application was withdrawn because of an error in the fast-track legislation, and the panel will make its decision by September 7 following tangata whenua submissions on March 30.
Santana Minerals, up 0.005c to $1.02, said in its half-yearly report that construction of the Ophir-Bendigo Gold Project in Central Otago is expected to start late this year. The miner will receive its Fast-track Approvals decision by October 29.
AFT Pharmaceuticals, up 1c to $3.51, has told the market that the Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim by former contractor PBL Solutions for a share of profits from the use of topical skin medicine Pascomer.
Californian electronics company Bourns now holds 65.58% of Rakon’s issued shares. Bourns has extended its $1.55 a share takeover offer of advanced manufacturer Rakon to April 13. Rakon was down 0.005c to $1.47.
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter – your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.