NZ sharemarket flat but more than $300m changes hands

The New Zealand sharemarket took a pause from its six-week rally, weighed down by some profit-taking. However, the market was still heartened by the continuing fall in wholesale interest rates.

Friday, December 15th 2023, 6:34PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed at 11,550.2, down just 2.68 points or 0.02% after having a late surge in the last hour. The index gained nearly 0.5% for the week and is now up 0.7% for the year to date.

There were 97 gainers and 42 decliners over the whole market, with 112.61 million shares worth $320.21m changing hands. The trading session was extended for the final day of the quarterly rebalancing for the NZX and FTSE Russell indices.

Turners Automotive, down 10c or 2.09% to $4.68 on trade worth $15.28m, and Gentrack, rising 37c or 5.75% to $6.81 on trade of $26.42m, are joining the NZX top 50. Synlait Milk, unchanged at 95c, and Pacific Edge, declining 0.005c or 6.25% to 7.5c, are being removed.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said the market rally has been in full swing, and it was time to turn the noise down.

“There’s been a bit of profit-taking going on, and it’s been a strong week, boosted by the lower interest rates globally,” Solly said.

“With interest rates stabilising and the cost of capital becoming less of an issue, the mix is there for merger and acquisition activity amongst under-valued stocks. We’ve seen it in the Australian market, and New Zealand could rejoin that party."

The NZ 10-year government bond yield has settled at 4.56%, a full one percent drop from 5.57% on Oct 19. The US 10-year treasury note yield went below 4% for the first time since August, trading at 3.948%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index climbed higher, increasing 0.43% to 37,248.35 points, and the S&P 500 was just 1.6% off its all-time high with a 0.26% gain to 4719.55.

Back in NZ

Wellington-based Volpara Health Technologies, listed on the Australian securities exchange (ASX) market, has accepted a takeover offer from South Korean medical artificial intelligence company Lunit for A$1.15 (NZ$1.23) a share.

Volpara, a global leader in software for the early detection of breast cancer with most of its business in the US, had traded around A70c for the last 12 months.

At home, the retirement village and property sectors benefited from the fall in interest rates.

Summerset Group rose 42c or 4.34% to $10.10, and Ryman Healthcare was up 4c to $5.35.

Property stocks Argosy increased 3c or 2.86% to $1.08; Vital Healthcare Trust rose 9c or 4.29% to $2.19; Stride added 5c or 3.68% to $1.41; Property for Industry collected 4.5c or 2.04% to $2.25; Precinct was up 3c or 2.56% to $1.20; and Kiwi picked up 4c or 4.88% to 86c.

Ebos Group fell $1.18 or 3.28% to $34.82; Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 76c or 3.07% to $23.99; and Mainfreight shed $1.11 to $67.11.

Meridian, up 10c or 1.88% to $5.41, said in its latest operating report that national hydro storage fell from 100% to 88% in the month to Dec 11. National electricity demand in November was 0.7% higher than the same month last year, and retail sales volumes increased 3.2%.

Among other energy companies, Manawa was up 21c or 5.06% to $4.36, and Genesis gained 7c or 2.85% to $2.53.

ANZ Bank increased 66c or 2.46per cent to $27.51; Freightways rose 28c or 3.49% to $8.30; Hallenstein Glasson was up 25c or 4.62% to $5.66; Skellerup gained 14c or 2.83% to $5.09; SkyCity improved 5c or 2.78% to $1.85; Channel Infrastructure added 3c or 2.1% to $1.46; and Marlin Global Fund rose 5c or 5.75% to 92c.

Tags: Market Close