Synlait leads gains before trading halt
NZ sharemarket suspended due to operational issues
New Zealand shares barely traded yesterday as the system was down for most of the day due to operational issues.
The S&P/NZX50 Index rose 7.6 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 9214.02 before the glitch halted trading. Within the index, 19 stocks rose, 16 were unchanged and 15 fell. Turnover was $33 million.
Trading was suspended at 11.15am and didn’t re-open during the day as the stockmarket operator dealt with technical difficulties. Turnover reached $16.5m before trading was suspended.
NZX chief financial officer Graham Law said the first issue the markets experienced was due to an internal operational issue, which is being investigated.
“Following the resolution of the initial issue, a secondary issue has arisen which has resulted in further delays” which NZX is also investigating. The exchange has been in regular contact with market participants throughout the period. NZX’s current focus is on recommencing trading as soon as possible,” Law said.
After the close of trading, NZX said normal trading would resume today with the problem resolved. A full investigation will take place over the next few days.
“Any crossings and pre-negotiated deals effected that could not be reported should be reported in the preopen and flagged as late trades,” it said.
Dual-listed Synlait Milk was the best performer on the index, up 2.5 per cent to $12.50. A2 Milk, also listed on the ASX, rose 1.7 per cent to $12.39.
Scales Corp gained 1.9 per cent to $4.94. It expects a good export apple season will deliver full-year operating earnings at the top of the company’s forecast range. The apple grower, food processor and exporter reported a 22 per cent increase in net profit to $34.8m for the six months ended June 30 on the back of good growing conditions and better volumes.
Arvida Group rose 1.5 per cent to $1.35, and Air New Zealand advanced 0.6 per cent to $3.29. Tourism Holdings was the worst performer, down 3.6 per cent to $5.93. It announced plans to step up investment in its TH2 joint venture with RV maker Thor Industries, which will stop it from repeating another year of record profits. Skellerup Holdings fell 0.9 percent to $2.15 and Sky Network Television dropped 0.8 per cent to $2.43.