Market commentaries
AUCKLAND: New Zealand shares yesterday were mixed as a dip by bluechips Spark New Zealand, a2 Milk and Contact Energy took the sheen off Restaurant Brands New Zealand’s doubledigit spike on a takeover bid.
The S&P/NZX 50 index decreased 1.2 points, or 0.01%, to 8910.59. Within the index, 21 stocks gained, 18 fell and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was $108.8 million, of which Restaurant Brands accounted for $17.4 million.
The fastfood operator was the biggest mover on the day, climbing 14% to a record close of $8.67 on almost 10 times the average volume. The company received an indicative offer from Mexico’s Finaccess Capital to buy threequarters of the business at $9.45 a share.
‘‘It’s about 30% above where we see Restaurant Brands, but it’s a good quality business and you’d expect anyone to look at it,’’ Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said.
‘‘It goes to show, if there’s a quality business in our markets — and there are fewer listed by the day — then there’s going to be an approach by a serious investor.’’
Restaurant Brands underpinned a positive market for most of the day, as New Zealand and Australia outperformed Asia. However, declines in some of the NZX 50’s larger companies resulted in a late turn on the index.
Spark fell 0.5% to $3.88 on larger than usual volumes after payTV operator Sky Network Television talked up its production and distribution advantage over broadband broadcasters in premium sports. Sky shares rose 2.3% to $2.25.
Mr McIntyre said Sky TV’s depressed share price makes it vulnerable to a takeover, and that its ability to service the entire nation through satellite could be an advantage.
A2 gave up some of Wednesday’s gain, falling 1.7% to $10.41. Contact declined 1.8% to $5.63 after releasing its latest operating statistics. Like other generatorretailers, it is contending with low hydro storage and high wholesale prices.
Meridian Energy rose 0.8% to $3.135 and 1.8 million shares changed changes, while Mercury NZ was unchanged at $3.34 on a volume of one million shares. Genesis Energy slipped 0.4% to $2.45 on light volumes after saying it was buying coal and gas on the wholesale market ahead of expected coal imports in December.
Port of Tauranga rose 3.6% to $5.12 on light volumes after predicting earnings growth at its annual meeting on Wednesday. Fletcher Building rose 2% to $6.23.
Z Energy fell 4.1% to $6.35, the lowest since March 2016, on half its average volume. The transport fuels company has reported lower retail petrol volumes in the September quarter. It may come under increased scrutiny from the government, which is fasttracking legislation to give market studies powers to the Commerce Commission.
Synlait Milk fell 2.5% to $9.60 on very light volumes. Ryman Healthcare was down 2.4% to $12.48
Metlifecare slipped 0.2% to $6. Chairman Kim Ellis told shareholders the board is considering ways to reduce the stock’s discount to net asset backing, including a potential buyback.
Comvita rose 1.3% to $6.08 on very light volumes after shareholders were told the new strategy should lead to higher sales and earnings in the current financial year. A Banking and telco stocks lifted the Australian sharemarket to close slightly higher yesterday despite lower commodity prices weighing down the energy and materials sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 3.3 points, or 0.06%, at 5942.4 points yesterday while the broader All Ordinaries was up 2.9 points, or 0.05%, at 6050.0.
The ASX was down 0.3% at noon, but the financial sector led a late rally as buyers wanted to cash in on dividends, CommSec chief market analyst Steven Daghlian said.
‘‘This is ahead of profit results from many of the banks and ex dividend dates for Bank of Queensland, NAB, ANZ, Macquarie and Westpac,’’ he said.
The major banks reversed early losses, led by Commonwealth Bank leading the gains, up 0.5%, to $67.22, and ANZ had the least, up 0.3% to $25.88.
Telco stocks were also buoyant, closing 2.3 % higher with Telstra climbing 3.3% to $3.16.
Local energy companies had good news to tell their annual general meetings, but sliding oil prices still dragged the sector down 0.2%.
Woodside Petroleum, which yesterday reported a 25% jump in thirdquarter revenue, was down 0.8% to $36, while shares in gas giant Santos were down despite achieving its debt target ahead of schedule and reporting a 22.7% jump in thirdquarter revenue.
The materials sector also weighed heavily, with BHP down 1.4% to $33.20, having reported at its annual general meeting in London it had not seen a material impact from current global trade tensions.