NZ sharemarket closes flat; FPH, ATM gain; BFG, PGW lose

Highlights

• S&P/NZX 50 closed 0.06% higher in Thursday’s trading session.
• Fisher & Paykel gained 1.48%, while the a2 Milk company’s shares rose 1.77%, helping the market keep buoyant.
• Stocks on Wall Street fell on Wednesday, while crude oil futures slumped.

NZ sharemarket ended in green on Thursday after losing 0.4% a day before. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 closed 0.06% higher at 11,609.82, led by gains in consumer staples and healthcare stocks.

Top stock Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZX:FPH) gained 1.48%, that helped the market in keeping buoyant. The company declared its plans to spend NZ$275 million on a site in South Auckland to create an R&D and pilot manufacturing facility. The a2 Milk Company’s (NZX:ATM) shares rose 1.77%, EBOS Group’s (NZX:EBO) shares gained 1.22%, and Auckland International Airport’s (NZX:AIA) shares increased 1.19%.

TruScreen (NZX:TRU) shares gained the most, up by 6.38%, after the company announced that it had signed a 5-year manufacturing deal with Zapco. This was followed by General Capital’s (NZX:GEN) shares rising 3.85% and Good Spirits Hospitality’s  (NZX:GSH) shares gaining 3.64% on Thursday.

 Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®

PGG Wrightson Limited (NZX:PGW) and Burger Fuel Group Limited (NZX:BFG) were among the top losers, losing 4.58% and 4.69%, respectively.

US stocks end lower

Stocks on Wall Street posted losses on Wednesday, led by expectations of a tighter Federal Reserve policy. Investors remain worried on aggressive rate hikes ahead.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.9%, the S&P 500 lost 4.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.6% in Wednesday’s trading session.

Oil and gold prices slump

Global oil prices experienced a drop on increased supply and worries of a economic meltdown due to COVID restrictions in China.

Brent oil futures slumped 2.22% to US$93.52 a barrel at the time of writing, while WTI crude futures fell 2.2% to US$87.5 a barrel.

Gold prices declined sharply on Thursday because of strength in USD and bond yield on the back of hawkish stance by the Federal Reserve.

At the time of writing, spot gold prices were down 0.46% to US$1703.1, while gold futures were down 0.74% to US$1713.35.