Market commentaries

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares rose, led higher by Kathmandu Holdings and A2 Milk Co, while CBL Corp dropped.

The S&P/NZX50 Index gained 34.76 points, or 0.4%, to 8034.7. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 19 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover was $190 million.

‘‘There’s not a lot going on today, some stocks are regaining ground they lost yesterday,’’ said Grant Williamson, broker at Hamilton Hindin Greene. ‘‘There’s a bit of buying activity in A2 and Synlait which obviously helps the index somewhat.’’

Kathmandu Holdings led the index, up 2.5% to $2.44. Z Energy gained 2.4% to $7.70 and Metro Performance Glass rose 2.3% to 88 cents.

A2 Milk Co gained 2.1% to $7.79 while Synlait Milk advanced 1.9% to $7.08.

CBL Corp was the worst performer, down 1.3% to $3.04. Vector dropped 1.2% to $3.31 and Port of Tauranga fell 0.9% to $4.54.

Outside the benchmark index, Pushpay Holdings rose 3.1% to $3.37 (see report page 14).

Steel & Tube Holdings dropped 1% to $2.04. Its firsthalf earnings may fall as much as 38%, reflecting a writedown of inventory, restructuring costs and margin pressures (see page 14).

‘‘The market is not too surprised,’’ Mr Williamson said. ‘‘Steel prices are having to be moved up by distributors because underlying steel prices have moved higher and they’re trying to recapture margins, but it takes time to flow through.’’ Rakon gained 7% to 23c (see page 14).

‘‘. . . it certainly seems to be improving but off a very low base,’’ Mr Williamson said. ‘‘Investors will be a little bit relieved there.’’

The Australian sharemarket edged higher as takeover speculation fuelled a big gain for gas giant Santos and other sectors recovered from early weakness.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 0.2% at 5943.5 points, as almost all sectors recovered from early falls to end the day modestly higher.

Citi markets equities director Karen Jorritsma said news of Santos recently rejecting a multibilliondollar takeover offer from a US investor took the market by surprise.

‘‘It’s been a timely reminder to look for good companies with strong assets that are merger attractive for offshore buyers, and investors have done a little of that today,’’ Ms Jorritsma said.

There is speculation that a second, improved proposal will soon be put to Santos, and its shares hit their highest mark since August 2016, adding 57c, or 13%, to $4.95.

Oil Search gained 1.3%, Woodside Petroleum added 0.4% and Origin Energy was 0.3% higher.

Westpac was the only major bank to lose ground, dropping 0.3%, and ANZ was the best performer, adding 0.6%.

After a drop in iron ore prices, BHP Billiton fell 0.3%, while Rio Tinto gained 0.2%

Hospital operator Ramsay Health Care reaffirmed its forecast of earnings per share growth in 201718, and its shares rose 3.5% to $67.12 Retailer Harvey Norman was another strong performer, rising 3.7% to $3.91, a day after reporting a 4.8% increase in sales across its franchisee network in the first eight weeks of the financial year.

Fairfax Media’s property spinoff Domain fell 11c to $3.69 in its first session on the market, and Fairfax shed 31.5% to 73c.

The Australian dollar was boosted by an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate to 5.4% in October, briefly rising above US76c before slipping back in afternoon trade.

The broader All Ordinaries index was up 11.2 points, or 0.19%, at 6023.5 points.

The SPI200 futures contract was up eight points, or 0.13%, at 5950 points. National turnover was 4.9 billion securities traded worth $6.2 billion. — BusinessDesk/AAP