NZ sharemarket listless on light trade

The New Zealand sharemarket made a small gain but lacked real direction, while leading energy stock Mercury reached a four-month high.

Monday, December 18th 2023, 6:38PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was up and down for most of the day but settled later in the afternoon to close at 11,564.98, up 14.78 points or 0.13%.

The index reached an intraday low of 11,508.13 points. There were 57 gainers and 84 decliners on the main board with 28.76 million shares worth $89.33 million changing hands.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said: “The market got through a lot of activity last week with the repricing of interest rates and assets, and rate cuts being priced in.

“It was a quieter day today and trading was lighter – volumes do ebb at this time of the year,” he said.

The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index rose 8.7 points in December to 88.9, the best since early last year. But pessimists still outnumbered optimists.

Westpac said more households expected the economy to strengthen over the coming year and expected their personal finances would improve, with prices for some necessities easing back.

Mercury Energy increased 18c or 2.83% to $6.54, reaching a level last seen in late August. Contact was up 8c to $7.90.

Other energy stocks were weaker. Genesis declined 5.5c or 2.17% to $2.475; Manawa shed 15c or 3.44% to $4.21; and Vector decreased 14c or 3.61% to $3.74.

Ebos Group was up $1.27 or 3.65% to $36.09; Fletcher Building increased 15c or 3.23% to $4.80; Mainfreight gained $1.29 or 1.92% to $68.40; Freightways collected 13c to $8.43; Arvida Group added 2c or 2.04% to $1; and Move Logistics was up 4c or 7.55% to 57c.

In the property sector, Argosy gained 3c or 2.78% to $1.11; Investore was down 3c or 2.7% to $1.08; Vital and Healthcare Trust declined 5c or 2.28% to $2.14.

Vista Group rose 15c or 10.34% to $1.60 after signing a new software management agreement with Cinepolis, one of the largest cinema exhibitors in the world in terms of ticket sales and attendance per auditorium. The Cine Yelmo cinema network in Spain has 50 sites and more than 530 screens in 24 provinces.

Synlait Milk, up 3c or 3.16% to 98c, has gained B Corp status, the global gold standard accreditation for sustainability.

My Food Bag move

My Food Bag increased 1.9c or 14.39% to 15.1c, and Pacific Edge was up 0.003c or 4% to 7.8c.

ANZ NZ Investments increased its stake in Pacific Edge to 14.83%, up from 12.37%. APL Holdings Trust, which includes director Cecilia Robinson, bought 7 million shares in My Food Bag at 12.5c a share (a cost of $875,000) and increased its shareholding of 5.95%.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 14c to $23.85; Spark decreased 10c or 1.93% to $5.07; Chorus declined 12.5c to $7.645; Turners Automotive fell 14c or 2.99% to $4.54; and Serko shed 20c or 4.65% to $4.10.

Of the port companies, Napier was down 11c or 4.33% to $2.43 and Tauranga declined 12c or 2.21% to $5.30.

Other decliners were Scott Technology falling 12c or 3.81% to $3.03; Gentrack down 17c or 2.5% to $6.64; AFT Pharmaceuticals decreasing 8c or 2.37% to $3.30; and Accordant Group shedding 7c or 7.22% to 90c.

Rakon slid 4c or 3.45% to $1.12; Restaurant Brands was down 12c or 3.33% to $3.48; Scales Corp declined 9c or 2.74%; and CDL Investments decreased 5c or 6.49% to 72c.

Channel Infrastructure was down 1c to $1.45. Mobil Oil NZ has now sold all 53.76 million shares or 14.19% in Channel which operates the fuel import terminal at Marsden Point near Whangārei.

MHM Automation, up 1c to $1.64, is holding its shareholders’ meeting on January 26 to confirm the takeover by US-based Bettcher Industries for $1.70 a share. MHM’s non-conflicted directors are backing the scheme of arrangement.

Tags: Market Close