NZX cash market trading falls 5.6% in July from year earlier; stock trading falls, debt rises

Wednesday 3rd August 2016

NZX cash market trading volumes fell in July, led by a drop in equities, although a 6.5 percent gain in the S&P/NZX 50 Index meant the value of trading was still higher than in the year-earlier month.

Total trades last month fell 5.6 percent from a year earlier to 122,670, according to NZX's monthly shareholder metrics. The total value traded rose 3.6 percent to $3.4 billion.

Turnover on the NZX is dominated by the equity market, which had a capitalisation of $124.6 billion in July, up about 21 percent from the same month last year.The market capitalisation of debt securities grew at more than three times the pace - 72 percent - to reach $22.7 billion last month. Total equity trades fell 6.4 percent to 119,134 and the value rose 1.1 percent to $3.2 billion. Trading in the debt market, where investors typically prefer to buy and hold their investments, jumped 33 percent to 3,536 and the value of trading climbed 79 percent to $190 million.

It has been something of a boom year for the debt market after the Local Government Funding Agency made the decision to list all of its debt securities last November and record low interest rates spurred sales of corporate debt by companies eager to lock in low borrowing costs. Total listed debt securities increased 24 percent to 98 in July from a year earlier, while equity securities dropped 0.6 percent to 170.

In NZX's derivatives market, lots traded fell 34 percent to 12,468 in July from a year earlier, while open interest rose 1.2 percent to 37,610.

Its SuperLife fund management unit lifted funds under management by 15 percent to $1.57 billion. Smartshares units on issue jumped 54 percent to 711, while their value climbed 64 percent to $1.6 billion.

In grain trading, the volume traded rose 11 percent to 575,431 tonnes.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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