Tech firms push shares to new record

Stocks shrug off trade war gloom to smash 11,000 mark

The S&P/NZX 50 Index cracked another milestone, climbing above 11,000 for the first time, as exportbased software firms Vista Group International and Pushpay Holdings got a boost from a weaker currency.

The benchmark index rose 54.21 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 11,008.13, having gained 26 per cent since the

start of the year. Within the index, 31 stocks increased, 13 fell, and six were unchanged.

Turnover was $140.3 million. New Zealand’s stock market outperformed most other markets after weaker than expected US manufacturing data stoked fears of a recession in the world’s biggest economy.

Software companies Pushpay and Vista led the market higher, both bouncing back from recent sell-offs. Vista rose 6.8 per cent to $4.06.

Pushpay advanced 5.5 per cent to $3.26.

Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners, said both companies have been under pressure, with Vista punished over its downgraded growth outlook and Pushpay underperforming the past month. Ebos Group rose 2.4 per cent to $23.76.

Meanwhile, Sky Network Television fell 0.9 per cent to $1.11. The pay-TV operator is an importer and has to pay more for programming rights when the currency is weak.

Companies paying reliable dividends remain in demand as investors weigh up the additional risk of buying defensive stocks against the minimal returns available after inflation on term deposits and corporate bonds.

Port of Tauranga advanced 1.5

per cent to $6.60, Vital Healthcare Property Trust was up 1.5 per cent at $2.67, Genesis Energy increased

1.3 per cent to $3.545 and Meridian Energy rose 0.9 per cent to $5.80. Trustpower’s 2021 bond paying annual interest of 5.63 per cent was the most traded debt security on a volume of 362,000. The notes closed at an unchanged yield of 2.35 per cent.

Trustpower shares increased 0.4 per cent to $7.83, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.39 per cent, according to Refinitiv data.

Spark New Zealand was the most traded stock on a volume of 2.8 million shares. It rose 1.8 per cent to $4.54.

Arvida Group rose 1.4 per cent to $1.39 and Air New Zealand was up 0.7 per cent at $2.93 on a volume of 1.7m. Of other stocks trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Fletcher Building rose 1.8 per cent to $4.60, Kiwi Property Group increased 0.6 per cent to $1.64, SkyCity Entertainment Group was unchanged at $3.85, Contact Energy fell 1.2 per cent to $8.94, and Auckland International Airport was up 0.3 per cent at $9.71. Synlait Milk posted the day’s biggest decline, down 2.8 per cent at $9.12.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units were down 1.2 per cent at $3.26. Fonterra Cooperative Group yesterday affirmed its current forecast payout for the 2020 season. A2 Milk was up 0.8 per cent at $14.72. Goodman Property Trust decreased 0.2 per cent, or 0.5 of a cent, to $2.175. NZX was unchanged at $1.27. The average daily turnover was $159m in August.