Holiday spirit pushes market to record
Transport and logistics operator Mainfreight struck the $65 price level and the leading index smashed the 13,000 points mark in another breathless and historic day on the New Zealand sharemarket.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed at an all-time high of 13,020.21, up 177.51 points or 1.38 per cent. The previous closing high was 12,919.25 on December 11. The index began the year at 11,491.90 points and fell to a low of 8498.69 on March 23.
There were 83 gainers and 54 decliners over the whole market on solid trading of 69.5 million shares worth $168.22m.
Jeremy Sullivan, investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said “there are some cheery investors out there as we go into the holiday season. There’s still a lot of money looking for a home and bargain hunting has come into the blue chips, with some stocks having been sold down and now being re-rated.
“The United States government is voting on the new $US900 billion coronavirus stimulus bill, and this added to the positive sentiment,” Sullivan said. “Covid-19 is still going to be a major story next year.” Some investors filled up their Christmas stockings with Mainfreight shares. Its price soared to all-time high of $65 – unprecedented for New Zealand stocks – after rising $1.75 or 2.77 per cent during the day. Mainfreight chair Bruce Plested’s Christmas present is a shareholding in the company worth $1.035b.
Ebos Group, one of those stocks that had been sold down, continued its rebound, climbing 34c to $28.35; a2 Milk is making a strong recovery, up 40c or 3.48 per cent to $11.89; and a recent laggard Port of Tauranga gained 15c or 2.07 per cent to $7.40.
The renewable energy stocks are still being powered by global exchange traded funds, with Contact rising 48c or 5.78 per cent to $8.78,
Meridian gaining 50c or 7.46 per cent to $7.20, and Mercury up 8c to $6.43.
With the NZ dollar falling against the United States greenback (it was trading at US70.57c at 5.45pm), apple exporter Scales Corporation rose 10c or 2.06 per cent to $4.95. Air New Zealand climbed 4c or 2.62 per cent to $1.76.
Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 2c to $33.90, and Ryman Healthcare lost 15c to $15. Fellow retirement village operator Summerset Group Holdings was up 11c to $12.05.
Utilities investor Infratil confirmed it is now holds a majority 56.25 per cent stake in Australia radiology chain Qscan after paying $309.5m to Quadrant Private Equity and existing doctor and management shareholders. Its share price rose 23.5c or 3.22 per cent to $7.54.
AFT Pharmaceuticals is launching its Maxigesic pain relief tablets into Canada through its wholesale distribution partner BioSyent Pharma, and AFT’s share price shot up 35c or 7.45 per cent to $5.05.
Tourism Holdings had a testing day after telling the market its 2021 full-year loss will be greater than the analysts’ average forecast of $12.8m, though it can’t presently provide a creditable guidance.
Its share price closed down 2c to $2.52 after falling as low as $2.34.
Direct consumer lender
Harmoney jumped 33c or 12.6 per cent to $2.95 – still below its listing price of $3.50 – after announcing it has secured a $200m facility to help grow its loans and expand its product offering. Carpet maker Cavalier increased 5c or 14.49 per cent to 39.5c.