Summerset Group Holdings stock gains 3 per cent after first-quarter sales rise 36 per cent from a year earlier
New Zealand shares rose, paced by Summerset Group Holdings after it posted record first quarter sales. SkyCity Entertainment Group and A2 Milk Co fell as the strong dollar weighed on stocks with transtasman exposure. The NZX 50 rose 24.05 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 5855.44. Within the index, 31 stocks rose, 13 fell and six were unchanged. Turnover was below average at $80 million.
Summerset gained 3 per cent to $3.42 after it said first quarter sales of occupational rights rose 36 per cent from a year earlier to 125, the highest for any first quarter.
Rival operator Metlifecare rose 3.2 per cent to $4.85, while hospital investor Vital Healthcare Trust advanced 1.8 per cent to $1.69. Retirement villages and healthcare provid- ers are benefiting from an increase in average life spans, stoking demand.
Companies with transtasman exposure fell as the New Zealand dollar flirted with parity against the Australian dollar for much of the day. The Kiwi currency retreated more than a cent during the afternoon after the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised the market, keeping rates on hold at 2.25 per cent, after being largely expected to cut them.
A2, the milk marketing company that earns most of its income across the Tasman, was the worst performer on the benchmark index, dropping 1.8 per cent to 55c. SkyCity, which operates the Darwin and Adelaide casinos, fell 1 per cent to $4.09.
“The question will be, if the dollar is sustained at these high levels against the Australian, what impact that will have on our economy long term,” said James Smalley, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene.
NZX rose 1.8 per cent to $1.12. The Wellington-based stock market operator said total number of trades rose 5.1 per cent to 124,598 in March from a year earlier, while value traded rose 14 per cent to $3.7 billion.
Meanwhile, NZX also launched three new exchange traded funds giving investors exposure to Australia’s resource and financial sector and dividend-paying New Zealand stocks. The Australia Resources Fund was quoted at $3.42, the Australian Financials Fund was $8.48, and the NZ Dividend Fund at $1, although the NZX website showed no volume for any of the new funds.
Spark New Zealand rose 0.5 per cent to $3.065. Fletcher Building, the construction and building supplies firm, fell 0.7 per cent to $8.37.
Outside the benchmark index, Veritas Investments was unchanged at 89c after it responded to media reports about the financial health of its Mad Butcher brand by saying the liquidation of four of its franchisee-operated budget meat outlets this year is a coincidence.
Pyne Gould Corp was unchanged at 34c. The asset management firm has been censured by the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal for its second breach of corporate governance rules in recent months.