Who would have thought: Shares rise despite lockdown extension

New Zealand shares started the week on a positive note with most stocks making gains, including those affected by the extended Auckland lockdown.

Monday, September 13th 2021, 6:29PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 106.5 points, or 0.8%, to 13,170.89. Turnover was $258 million.

Late in the afternoon, prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced NZ’s biggest city would remain at level 4 for another eight days, before moving to level 3 if conditions allowed.

If investors were hoping for a swift end to Auckland’s lockdown, they didn’t show it.

Some of the listed companies most affected by covid restrictions were among some of the best performing stocks on the market today.

Tourism Holdings climbed 2.6% to $2.40, SkyCity Entertainment was up 1.8% at $3.34 and Air New Zealand rose 1% to $1.56.

Lockdown beneficiary, My Food Bag jumped 1.5% to $1.38 following the decision having trended downwards over the past five sessions.

Shares in Auckland International Airport were up 1.8% at $7.43 today, after the group bidding for Sydney Airport raised their offer price to A$8.75, up from A$8.45.

The buyer will now do four weeks of due diligence and, if no better offer is received, the airport’s board will recommend shareholders approve the deal.

Pushpay Holdings was the best performing stock on the day, up 3.3% at $1.90 – its highest price since April and up 13% since it announced it would acquire streaming firm Resi.

Infrastructure investor Infratil also continued to rally, today up 2.3% at $7.775, having recently announced it would pursue renewable energy opportunities in Asia.

Stride Property Group shares climbed 1.9% to $2.66, as the company revealed plans to spin off its office property portfolio into its own listed entity called Fabric Property.

Fabric will go public via an initial public offer raising at least $250m, with Stride shareholders being given one share in the new entity for every four they currently hold.

Other property stocks also rallied today: Goodman Property Trust units were up 2.8% at $2.56 and Kiwi Property Group climbed 2.2% to $1.17.

Outside of the top 50 stocks, Green Cross Health shares fell 1.7% to $1.16 after the company announced it had bought a quarter stake in an online pharmacy business called PillDrop.

Sky Network Television had the day’s biggest fall, down 2.4% at 20.5 cents as it continues to fluctuate around its current level.

The kiwi finished the day still a little above 71 US cents while it climbed even higher against the Australian currency, touching 96.70 cents – the highest since April last year.

The kiwi dollar dipped a little lower, from 71.12 US cents to 71 cents, after the prime minister announced the Auckland region would stay in a strict lockdown until next Tuesday.

Tags: Market Close