Record end to market’s best week in months

Fuelled by recovering prices across the board, the New Zealand sharemarket finished its best week in three months on a record high.

The S& P/ NZX 50 gained 44.62 points or 0.36 per cent to 12,280.54, after reaching an intraday high of 12,312.69. On the day before, it surpassed the previous peak of 12,073.34 set on February 21.

There were 87 gainers and 50 decliners over the whole market, with trading reaching 50.8 million shares worth $ 151.82. Yesterday was the index’s eighth successive daily rise.

“We’ve had a pretty solid week — the best since early July,” said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners. “We’ve seen good rallies in the United States markets, and the gentailers rebounding strongly on the expectation that the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter closure is not all over.

“And interest rates continue to fall. A sixmonth deposit rate at the bank is 1 per cent. Businesses are relatively optimistic about the next six to 12 months — there’s light at the end of the tunnel rather than just gloom and doom.

“I don’t see the demand for good quality stocks turning around. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare and a2 Milk drove the market through the Covid crisis and have faced selling pressure in the last month or so. But a whole bunch of other companies have taken the baton and run with it,” Lister said.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up

9c to $ 34.55 but a2 Milk fell 11c to $ 15.57.

Contact Energy surged 30c or 3.97 per cent to $ 7.85; Summerset Group climbed 42c or

4.52 per cent to $ 9.72; Ebos Group rose 24c to $ 24.76; online travel provider Serko increased 10c or 2.13 per cent to $ 4.79; and

Fletcher Building gained 10c or 2.3 per cent to $ 4.45.

From the energy sector, Trustpower increased 19c or 2.57 per cent to $ 7.59, Genesis was up 5c to $ 3.18 but Meridian stalled, falling 10c to $ 5.40.

Among the decliners, Freightways fell 8c to $ 8.31, SkyCity slipped 3c to $ 3.11, and The Warehouse also lost 3c to $ 2.17.

Chorus reported that fibre broadband connections increased by 33,000 during the first quarter of the 2021 financial year but copper broadband and voice connections decreased by 57,000. Its share price fell 8c to $ 8.82.

The biggest decliner on the day was Enprise Group, which invests in highgrowth technology companies, falling 15c or 12.93 per cent to $ 1.01.

Rakon, which makes advanced frequency and timing products, was up 2.5c or 6.49 per cent to 41c.