NZ shares rise as earnings continue; NZX gains on spec div
The S&P/NZX 50 index increased 15.55 points, or 0.2 percent, to 8,987.49. Within the index, 26 stocks gained, 19 fell, and five were unchanged. Turnover was $111.7 million.
Company reporting season continued with NZX declaring a special dividend from the sale of non-core assets. Chief executive Mark Peterson was also upbeat about how far the stock market operator has come in its five-year transformation plan. The shares rose 1.8 percent to $1.11.
Heartland Bank reported an 11 percent increase in net profit, driven by growth from its reverse mortgage business, and said it will target double-digit earnings growth again for the 2019 year. Still, the stock fell 1.7 percent to $1.71 as the bank increased provisioning for bad debts.
Shane Solly, a portfolio manager at Harbour Asset Management, said some parts of the market are fully-priced. That means earnings results need to be good to lift share prices. That's added to volatility in markets, especially in Australia.
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