Market close: Bargain hunters push NZ sharemarket to big gain

Fletcher Building burst through the $7 mark, climbing 24c or 3.52 per cent to $7.06. Photo / File

Bargain hunters returned and pushed the New Zealand sharemarket ahead more than 1 per cent after it had its worst February in 12 years.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index finished the week up an impressive 154.29 points or 1.26 per cent to 12,426.77 – its biggest one-day gain in seven weeks. The index was down 6.9 per cent in February, the weakest since 2009.

There were 96 gainers and just 33 decliners over the whole market on strong volume of 55.4 million shares worth $215 million.

Sam Dickie, senior portfolio manager with Fisher Funds, said fund managers on and offshore are putting their money to work and looking to bargain hunt in New Zealand.

"Our market has been an under-performer to date and its good to see some action.

"Long-term interest rates have stabilised, and there was broad-based buying across the board – not just for the re-opening stocks but also those large cap stocks that have under-performed lately like the gentailers and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare," said Dickie.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare rose 19c to $29.14; Fletcher Building burst through the $7 mark, climbing 24c or 3.52 per cent to $7.06; Mainfreight increased 50c to $68.50; Contact Energy was up 25c or 3.6 per cent to $7.20; and Mercury gained 12c or 2.04 per cent to $6.

Meridian Energy said it is buying back 476,174 shares on-market over the two months and they will be retained for its long-term senior employee incentive scheme. Meridian's share price increased 9c to $5.77. Genesis was up 4.5c $3.88.

The travel stocks sustained their newly-found confidence for a border reopening and people having more mobility. Auckland International Airport climbed 45c or 6.34 per cent to $7.55 and Air New Zealand rose 7c or 4.12 per cent to $1.77.

Other re-opening stocks Vista Group gained 6c or 3.35 per cent to $1.85; Sky City Entertainment was up 5c to $3.32; and Tourism Holdings increased 2c to $2.25.

Retirement village operators Ryman Healthcare increased 14c to $15.79, Summerset Group Holdings gained 8c to $12.95; and Arvida was up 2c to $1.73.

Kiwi Property, owner of the Sylvia Park shopping centre, increased its 2021 full-year earnings forecast and its share price rose 5c or 4.24 per cent to $1.23. Kiwi said its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) is expected to be in the range of 5.5-5.6c a share, up from the previous 4.9-5.15c a share.

Freightways shed 11c to $10.79; Briscoe Group lost 11c or 1.78 per cent to $5.53; Scales Corporation was down 10c or 2.29 per cent to $4.26; and a2 Milk slipped a further 11c to $9.44 – its lowest level for at least two years. Marlborough Wine Estates slumped 9c or 16.36 per cent to 46c.

Livestock Improvement Corporation hit the main gainers list, rising 4c or 4.17 per cent to $1. Infratil increased 10c to $7.20; Z Energy recovered 4c to $2.70; and Restaurant Brands was up 15c to $12.70.

Four smaller institutions have been selling My Food Bag and its share price slipped a further 2c to $1.61, significantly below its initial public offer price of $1.85. Ten of the top 12 institutions participated in the keenly-awaited listing.

At least two brokers will be releasing research notes on My Food Bag once the 40-day black-out ends on March 31, and one analyst said "it is our understanding that the company is performing well and we do expect a good result when they report in April".

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stormed to a new all-time high of 32,485.59, and the technology-driven Nasdaq Composite got back in the action, rising 2.52 per cent to 13,398.67 after last week's sell-off.