NZX leads charge to record late in the day
Air NZ posts biggest fall on ordinary stats
New Zealand shares edged up to a new record, led by stock market operator NZX and as investors changed their tune on a2 Milk Co late in the day. Air New Zealand fell on disappointing monthly metrics.
The S&P/NZX 50 index increased 3.77 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 8284.58. Within the index, 24 stocks gained, 19 fell, and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $141 million.
“Our market has recovered late in the day — it’s almost unchanged now but was down a reasonable amount,” said Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene in Christchurch. “There’s not a lot of guts to the market at the moment.”
led the benchmark index higher, rising 1.8 per cent to $1.12. The stock market operator has been criti-
NZX
cised this year for not developing a pipeline of new initial public offerings, with just one this year, and has developed a strategy to refocus on its core market business.
Williamson said a lot of investors are looking ahead to next year, and if the Vodafone New Zealand IPO goes ahead in the first quarter it will be a shot in the arm for the exchange.
rose 0.3 per cent to $7.77, having traded as low as $7.48 during the day, which Williamson said helped the market’s turnaround at the close.
Retirement
A2 Milk
village operator gained 1.6 per cent to $1.24 and power company advanced 1.5 per cent to $5.57. Real estate investors also gained, with rising 1.4 per cent up 1.1
Arvida Group Energy Industry
$1.635.
Air New Zealand Contact Argosy Property Kiwi Property Group Property for
to $1.08, per cent to $1.385, and
advancing 0.9 per cent to
posted the biggest fall on the day, down 3.5 per cent to $3.205 as investors took a dim view of the airline’s latest operating stats. The figures showed passenger numbers rose in the month, largely due to domestic travel, while longhaul routes showed shrinking load factors, indicating declining capacity utilisation. Separately, Qantas Airways subsidiary Jetstar said it would restart its Wellington-toQueenstown service next year.
“Investors obviously didn’t think too much of the data that came out,” Williamson said.
which leaves the NZX 50 at the end of the week, fell 1.3 per cent to $29.40.
Xero, Ebos Group
fell 1.2 per cent after announcing chief executive Patrick Davies is stepping down and will be replaced by chief financial officer John Cullity next March. Outside the benchmark index, climbed 5.5 per
Hallenstein Glasson
cent to $3.62.
Fletcher Building Auckland Inter- national Airport
to $6.695, rose 1.4 per cent to $7.50 and gained 0.2 per cent