Market commentary
WELLINGTON: Fisher and Paykel Healthcare sprang to life and reclaimed the mantle of the biggest market cap stock. Its 5% plus price rise drove the New Zealand sharemarket back over the 13,000 points mark.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index, snapping a week of falls, climbed 145.14 points or 1.13% to 13,026.45. There were 84 gainers and 53 decliners over the whole market on volume of 45.3 million share transactions worth $186.19 million.
Dan Stratful, investment adviser with Forsyth Barr, said, ‘‘Fisher and Paykel is a darling stock and with its price falling to the early $30s it became a good buying opportunity . . .’’
He said the electricity companies had been pulling the market down lately and investors had every reason to take profits in Contact and Meridian after their recent strong rise.
Medical devices manufacturer Fisher and Paykel Healthcare surged $1.81 or 5.68% to $33.69 on trade worth $18.2 million. Its market capitalisation reached $19.4 billion, clear of Meridian on $18.8 billion when its share price fell a further 8c to $7.36 after reaching an intraday low of $6.91. Meridian has now fallen just over $2 or more than 20% since January 7 when the ETF buying reached its peak.
Contact Energy fell another 41c or 4.61% to $8.48, while Mercury was up 23c or 3.51% to $6.78, and Genesis Energy rose 9c or 2.45% to $3.77 as the electricity merrygoround continued.
The retailers, boosted by improved earnings, made further ground. Hallenstein Glasson rose 14c or 1.96% to $7.28, Briscoe Group was up 18c or 3.4% to $5.48, and The Warehouse Group increased 7c or 2.33% to $3.07. Fastfood operator Restaurant Brands was up 32c or 2.81% to $11.69.
Auckland International Airport rose 17c or 2.34% to $7.44; Mainfreight increased $1.79 or 2.7% to $68.09; Ryman Healthcare climbed 50c or 3.39% to $15.25; Summerset Group Holdings was up 16c to $12.10; Infratil gained 17c or 2.35% to $7.39; and Chorus moved ahead 10.5c to $8.255. Another blue chip stock Port of Tauranga fell 18c or 2.34% to $7.50.
Fletcher Building gained another 6c to $6.28; SkyCity Entertainment recovered 4c to $3.11; Scott Technology was up 8c or 3.49% to $2.37; and Accordant (formerly called Allied Work Force) rose 7c or 5.26% to $1.40.
Z Energy increased 5c to $3.11 after providing an upbeat third quarter update.
Eftpos provider Smartpay Holdings rose 9c or 10.11% to 98c after reporting significant growth in its Australian business. Revenue for the December quarter grew 75% and transacting terminals increased to 5775, from 4611 in the previous quarter. New Zealand revenue was up 2% from the previous quarter.
Online personal lender Harmoney Corp had a welcome lift, rising 21c or 7.53% to $3 after growing its loan book. —