Kiwi sharemarket follows Asia higher
Spark, Sky TV and Metlifecare among day’s biggest gainers
New Zealand shares rose, following Asia higher, as blue chip stocks including Spark and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare helped drag the benchmark index up, offsetting a bigger number of smaller firms declining.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index increased 35.45 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7729.44. Within the index 16 stocks gained, 21 fell and 13 were unchanged. Turnover was $139 million.
Stocks across Asia gained, following Wall St’s cue where the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new record as US company earnings continued to largely beat expectations.
led the NZX 50 higher, rising 2.9 per cent to $3.86. gained 2.1 per cent to
increased 2 per
Spark Sky Network Television Metlifecare F&P Healthcare
$3.38, cent to $5.70 and climbed 1.6 per cent to $11.14.
“When you’ve got three of the biggest stocks in the market in the top five, that’s going to offset the smaller companies,” said James Smalley, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. Other stocks to gain included
which rose 1.6 per cent to $26.80, its sixth day of increases and
Xero,
its highest close in two years.
Smalley said the accounting software firm’s last update, where it said it was breaking even on a cashflow basis, might be giving investors more confidence in the company to justify a higher price.
Fletcher Building
also gained for a sixth day, rising 0.3 per cent to $8.01.
Smalley said the country’s biggest construction company had provided investors with some comfort that the board was taking its recent earnings downgrades seriously.
Investors are waiting for company earnings to start in earnest next week, and Smalley said some of the bigger falls on the day were probably people cashing in profits on stocks that had enjoyed recent gains. Those included
which dropped 2.6 per cent to $1.50 in the largest decline on the day, down 2 per cent to $2.43, and which fell 1.7 per cent to $1.16.
ance Glass, Moa Group Metro Perform- Genesis Energy, NZX, Auckland International Airport
slipped 0.2 per cent to $6.945 after the country’s main air hub said it might need balance sheet support towards the end of the regulated period from 2018 to 2022 as it rolls out a $1.9 billion investment programme to upgrade its infrastructure. Outside the benchmark index,
rose 2 per cent to 50c after the craft beer brewer raised $329,000 at a premium price of 52.34c a share, and announced a reshuffle of its board with former Fonterra senior manager Sheena Henderson replacing Allan Scott.
Airwork Holdings
increased 0.7 per cent to $4.40 after refinancing and increasing its banking facility by US$60m to US$195m.