After a few downers NZ shares get an upper

New Zealand shares rebounded today, as a strong lead from Wall St and stimulus from the People’s Bank of China buoyed Asian markets from coronavirus fallout and caused investors to walk back a portion of the recent sell off.

Wednesday, February 5th 2020, 6:13PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 92.59 points, or 0.8 percent, to 11,604.08. Within the index, 27 stocks rose, 19 fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was $180.7 million.

A lift from Wall Street set the tone throughout Asia after Chinese stimulus helped allay fears about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The People's Bank of China injected 1.7 trillion yuan into the financial system via reverse repos on Monday and Tuesday spurring a rally in the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, with all three up more than 1.4 percent overnight.

“I look through Asia today and it is a sea of green," said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.

"Most investors are looking at what is happening with the Chinese market and it is up again."

The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai rose 1.6 percent in afternoon trading, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.5 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.4 percent.

The New Zealand market was led higher by Tourism Holdings, which rose 7.1 percent to $3 on an above average volume of 371,000 shares.

The stock was initially sold off, falling nearly 11 percent, when it warned annual net profit will probably fall about 14 percent because of the coronavirus impact on Chinese tourism, the Australian bushfires and the previously advised problems in its US business.

McIntyre said investors had taken cheer in the forecast profit of $24 million, despite the downgrade, and bargain hunters were looking through the coronavirus toward future earnings.

“Over the last month, the share price is down nearly 16 percent, on a six-month rolling basis it is down close to 30 percent. So, in a market which would seem fully valued, investors are seeking value,” he said.

Other travel related stocks hit by coronavirus fears also regained some ground. Auckland International Airport rose 3.7 percent to $8.50, trading on a volume of 3.5 million shares, more than three times its 90-day average.

SkyCity Entertainment Group rose 1.1 percent to $3.59 on an above average volume of 1.4 million shares and Air New Zealand held at $2.745 also on above average volume of 2 million shares.

McIntyre said another stock that investors were were chasing value in was Pushpay Holdings, which rose 1.1 percent to $3.59 on triple its average volume of 1.5 million shares.

“It’s a stock that fits into that category of a high growth company, and a lot of brokers have done good research and put good price targets on it, so all things equal it should perform well in 2020.”

McIntyre said Smartpay Holdings, outside the NZX 50, had an update showing growth from Australian market. The stock rose 9.9 percent to 72.5 cents on a volume of 152,000 shares.

Infratil said it will start investing in European renewable energy projects and already has a portfolio of Irish wind farms lined up.

McIntyre said investors were keen to buy into the infrastructure investment firm based on a good performance over the last few years, coupled with an increased appetite for investments to fill out ethical portfolios.

“I think a number of investors are screening for renewable or ethically type investing, that is a continuation of a theme that has developed over the last two or three years," he said.

Infratil rose 2.5 percent to $5.53 on a below average volume of 397,000 shares.

Today, research house Jarden warned that Sky Network Television may have trouble funding its transition into the highly competitive streaming market. Sky Network Television fell 3 percent to record low 65 cents on a lighter than average volume of 350,000 shares.

Vista Group International posted today’s biggest loss, falling 5.6 percent to $3.21 also on a light volume.

Among other stocks trading on more than a million shares, Metlifecare rose 0.2 percent to $6.89, Oceania Healthcare rose 1.7 percent to $1.21, Meridian Energy rose 3.9 percent to $5.35, Spark New Zealand rose 1.6 percent to $4.68, and Contact Energy rose 0.6 percent to $7.20.

McIntyre said looking forward, investors were anticipating the start of earnings seasons, but were still wary of the potential damage that could be caused by the continuation of the coronavirus globally.

Tags: Market Close