Comvita recovers ground as stocks rise
SkyCity and Arvida among gainers while Spark NZ slips back in heavy trade
New Zealand shares rose, with Comvita recovering some ground after last week’s slump as the government proposed a definition of manuka honey. Tourism Holdings, SkyCity Entertainment Group and Arvida Group were among leading gainers.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 15.51 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7254.38. Within the index, 31 stocks gained, 10 fell and nine were unchanged.
Turnover was $139 million, of which $31m was trading in
shares. Spark was the biggest decliner on the NZX 50, falling 2.9 per cent to $3.50 as 8.7 million shares changed hands.
The benchmark index reached a six-month high last week but has since slipped back to trade in a relatively narrow range.
The market “is still bouncing along on relatively high multiples in general terms”, said David Price, a broker at
New Zealand Spark
Forsyth Barr. “It’s going to need a boost from earnings and probably a bit better than what we saw” in the latest round of results.
climbed 3.8 per cent to $7.40, having tumbled from $8.60 last week after the manuka honey products company warned it would post an operational loss this year due to weaker-than-expected trading and a poor season for the honey harvest.
Yesterday, the Ministry for Primary Industries released a scientific definition of manuka honey, involving four chemicals and a DNA marker, as part of a consultation package on honey exports, saying authentication was “essential to maintaining New Zealand manuka honey’s premium position in overseas markets”.
rose 1.8 per cent to $4.46 while the campervan rental company, gained 3.1 per cent to $3.70.
the retirement village and aged care facilities operator,
Comvita SkyCity Tourism Arvida Group, Holdings,
rose 1.6 per cent to $1.28, while gained 0.9 per
Summerset Group Ryman Healthcare
cent to $5.45 and rose 0.1 per cent to $8.70.
Port of Tauranga Fisher & Paykel
rose about 2 per cent to $4.10 and gained 1 per cent to $9.74.
Healthcare Opus International Consultants
rose 1 per cent to 97c after the engineering consultancy told shareholders at their annual meeting that it is seeing the benefits of its new business strategy.
Chairman Kerry McDonald, who also announced his retirement in the next few months, said while the 2016 result was disappointing there were key elements that were “positive and encouraging”, including in Australia and Canada which have been the two areas of “greatest difficulty”.
rose 1.3
Westpac Banking Corp Heartland
per cent to $37.72 and gained 1.2 per cent to $1.70. dipped 2.3 per cent to
Bank Infratil
$2.92.
Scott Technology
rose 1.7 per cent to $3.05. Last week the company posted a 48 per cent increase in firsthalf profit and chief executive Chris Hopkins says a global drive for increased automation means the industrial robotics firm is in a “sweet spot”. Among other smaller companies, gained 3.8 per fell 3.6 per cent fell 2.1 per cent
Trilogy International Serko Rubicon
cent to $2.49, to 27c and to 23.5c