Shares close flat, Auckland Airport turnover heavy

By NZPA

Thursday 1st November 2007

Shares closed virtually unchanged today, despite heavy trading in blue chip Auckland Airport after it canned a takeover offer yesterday.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 1.2 points at 4207.88 on heavy turnover of $185.5 million. There were 51 rises and 42 falls.

Auckland Airport rose a cent to $2.88 on $39.9m worth of shares traded. The stock tumbled 21c, or 6%, yesterday after the board pulled out of talks with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

"Obviously a number of disappointed investors who were thinking they were going to profit from a much higher takeover price," said Hamilton Hindin Greene partner, Grant Williamson.

Hedge funds had been expected to quit the stock with the failure of two potential takeover bids. However, chief executive Don Huse told Reuters the company was still likely to attract offshore interest.

Following a fully subscribed share float, Fisher Funds' managed fund Marlin Global had a subdued debut today, closing marginally ahead of the $1 listing price which included one warrant for every two shares.

Marlin Global shares closed at 90c, having traded between 88c and 94c, on turnover of half a million shares. The warrants closed at 21c.

"It's a medium- to long-term investment, it's not a short-term proposition, but it's a welcome sight to see another quality fund list on the market," Williamson said.

That was a marked contrast with infrastructure consulting company Opus, whose shares jumped more than 20% on their $1.65 issue price when they began trading this week.

Opus shares closed today up 3c at $2.04.

Takeover target Sky City rose 8c to $5.45, possibly benefiting from investors selling out of Auckland Airport.

"The story still is the M&A activity in Sky City, and the M&A that's disappeared out of Auckland Airport," Williamson said.

Telecom fell 6c to $4.28 ahead of its first quarter result tomorrow.

Fletcher Building rose 14c to $12.00, Contact Energy was down 2c at $9.04, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 5c at $3.56, and F&P Healthcare fell 2c to $3.23.

Mainfreight was up 5c at $7.35, Freightways was flat at $3.90, and Port of Tauranga rose 5c to $7.10.

Trustpower fell 13c to $9.15, key shareholder Infratil was down 2c at $3.03, and Vector was a cent lower at $2.38.

Sky TV lost 7c to $5.69, Pumpkin Patch was down 5c at $2.99, Methven lost 5c to $2.40, and Rakon rose 2c to $5.47.

ANZ was up 55c at $36.60, Westpac jumped 89c to $37.40 after reporting a rise in profit, and Lion Nathan rose 14c to $11.20.

Australia's benchmark index was up 1.4%, while Japan's Nikkei average was up 0.8%.

In the US, stocks rose, buoyed by the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cut and its view that credit market strains have eased, and by reports showing surprising strength in economic growth and employment.

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