Sharechat Logo

MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks rise, lead by renewed appetite for property trusts

Friday 1st October 2010

Text too small?

New Zealand stocks rose for the first time in four sessions, as renewed appetite for property sector stocks lifted the market into positive territory.

AMP NZ Office Trust, Kiwi Income Property and Goodman Property Trust led gains on the day.

The NZX 50 Index rose 34.8 points, or 1.1%, to 3,212.9. Within the index, 34 stocks rose, 11 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover was $58.6 million.

AMP Office (NZX: APT ) rose 5.4% to 78 cents, pacing gainers on the day. Kiwi Income (NZX: KIP ) rose 3% to $1.04, and Goodman Property (NZX: GPT ) rose 2.1% to 97 cents.

“It is interesting to see property stocks rally today as we’ve been fans of New Zealand property stocks for a while,” said Shane Solly, portfolio manager for Mint Asset Management. “The move today just tells you that people are beginning to recognise the underlying value of these stocks.”

NZ Farming Systems (NZX: NZS ) rose 4.8% to 66 cents. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZX: FPH ) rose 3.4% to $3.07, and NZ Refining (NZX: NZR ) rose 3% to $3.79.

Tower (NZX: TWR ) rose 2.2% to $1.87 after the company announced that it made a $118 million offer for Fidelity Life. Tower has offered $82 a share for Fidelity, made up of $55 cash and $27 of Tower shares.

“Fidelity is a well established business and there certainly appears to be a number of positive outcomes from bringing the two together,” Solly said.

Air New Zealand (NZX: AIR ) rose 0.8% to $1.28 after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the airline’s credit rating to an investment grade Baa3. Moody’s said the airline’s majority ownership by the government means its rating incorporated a high likelihood of government support, and the upgrade reflected its good performance through the recession.

"The one notch upgrade to Air New Zealand’s issuer rating reflects its relative good performance and resilience through the down turn, and our expectation of continued improved performance," said senior analyst Ian Lewis in a statement.

Lyttelton Port (NZX: LPC ) was unchanged at $2.49 after abandoning two-years of merger talks with rival Port Otago because it is preoccupied with rebuilding after the Canterbury earthquake.

Lyttelton suffered significant damage to its port infrastructure and facilities as a result of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck Christchurch on Sept. 4. and required a review of "short and long term asset management and development plans," deputy chairman Bill Luff said. The final costs of repairs have not been disclosed.

Pike River Coal (NZX: PRC ) fell 2.7% to $1.10, pacing decliners on the NZX 50. Yesterday, the company said it had agreed terms with 29% owner NZ Oil & Gas (NZX: NZO ) for a $25 million short-term working capital facility that allows it to complete mine development. The facility is repayable on December 15.

Rakon (NZX: RAK ), fell 2.4% to $1.21, Ebos Group (NZX: EBO ) fell 1.5% to $6.80, and clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson (NZXHLG) fell 0.9% to $4.24.

Hellaby (NZX: HBY ) fell 2% to $1.96. The company earlier announced that shareholders had oversubscribed for the rights issue at a deep discount, allowing the diversified group to strengthen its balance sheet and contemplate acquisitions.

Investors applied for $30.7 million of stock under the 3-for-7 issue, more than the $28.4 million sought. The company will stick to its original target, issuing 21.85 million shares at $1.30 apiece, which was a 30% discount to its price at the time it was announced.

Allied Farmers (NZX: ALF ) fell 7.4% to 2.5 cents after auditors gave only a qualified sign-off on the company’s annual accounts, saying it doesn’t have enough evidence that the company can continue as a going concern.

 

Businesswire.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

MARKET CLOSE: Mainfreight shares rise in weak market
MARKET CLOSE: Telecom powers ahead
MARKET CLOSE: NZX stars on the market
MARKET CLOSE: NZX lifts nearly 10pts, despite post-Budget slip
MARKET CLOSE: NZX lifts again in quiet day
MARKET CLOSE: NZX closes up but off best levels
MARKET CLOSE: Sharemarket bounces unconvincingly
MARKET CLOSE: NZX finishes down again
MARKET CLOSE: Tower shares slip as quake impact hits home
Market Close: Shares ease ahead of OCR call