MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise; Fletcher at highest in 2016, Auckland Airport heavily traded

Tuesday 31st May 2016

New Zealand shares gained as Fletcher Building reached its highest level this year on speculation it will benefit from housing demand, while Auckland International Airport, which fell, was the most heavily traded stock. Orion Health Group, Sky Network Television and Air New Zealand all rose.

The S&P/NZX50 Index rose 19.8 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,039.42. Within the index, 27 stocks advanced, 16 declined and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $473.1 million.

Fletcher Building rose 1.5 percent to $8.95, and is up 20 percent for the year.

"All the talk about a housing shortage is pretty good news for a stock like Fletcher Building and investors, particularly Australian investors, are pretty keen on the stock at the moment," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Green. "They view Fletcher Building as undervalued compared to the peers in Australia."

Orion Health Group was the biggest gainer, up 6 percent to $5.15. It's gained 52 percent this year and last week announced it was targeting a return to profit in 2018 after reporting a 26 percent increase in annual revenue and a narrowed loss.

Auckland International Airport dropped 2.6 percent to $6.24. The listed airport was the most traded stock on the index, with 25.8 million shares equating to 2.3 percent of all its shares available, or $161.1 million dollars, through today.

Kathmandu Holdings rose 3.9 percent to $1.59, A2 Milk Co gained 3.3 percent to $1.58, and Summerset Group advanced 3.2 percent to $4.80.

Sky Network Television gained 2 percent to $4.50. It's risen 13 percent in the past fortnight after the stock plummeted when the pay-TV operator said subscriber numbers were expected to fall further this financial year, causing earnings next year to miss analyst estimates.

"It's been sold down over the past few weeks - news on the loss of subscribers really dented investor confidence so it got hit very hard, but it is certainly showing some good signs of recovery at the moment," Williamson said.

Air New Zealand advanced 1.6 percent to $2.25. Today, Chinese airline operator HNA Aviation Group announced it has bought a 13 percents stake in Virgin Australia. Air New Zealand is considering selling its 25.99 percent stake in Virgin.

Kiwi Property Group shed 4.2 percent to $1.485 after giving up rights to a 3.3 cent dividend.

Freightways dropped 3.2 percent to $6.60, Mighty River Power fell 1.7 percent to $2.97 and Comvita declined 1.6 percent to $12.55.

Outside the main index, TruScreen gained 10 percent to 27.5 cents. The NZAX-listed cervical cancer test developer will have its technology used in a major cervical cancer screening programme in north-eastern China. The company also said it will stay on the NZAX platform for the next 12 months having been told it won't need to migrate to the NXT platform.

Wynyard Group gained 2.8 percent to 73 cents. The Auckland-based intelligence software developer is continuing with its boardroom refresh with two new appointments including New Zealand Venture Investment Fund chief Richard Dellabarca as deputy chair, while separately tapping former NZME Publishing executive Phil Eustace as interim chief financial officer.

VMob Group gained 5.7 percent to 37 cents. Australian and New Zealand high net worth investors and institutions have stumped up $3.3 million to help the mobile marketing platform company pursue offshore expansion, particularly in the US.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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