Market close: Ebos strikes new high as NZX keeps climbing

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Up, up and away. The New Zealand sharemarket kept climbing its peak, with Ebos Group – a solid performer for many years - striking a new high.

On its tenth successive daily rise, the record-breaking S&P/NZX 50 Index gained a further 96.96 points or 0.78 per cent to 12,453.85. There were 92 gainers and 48 decliners on heavy volume of 47.05 million shares worth $197.46 million.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the outlook for lower interest rates is the continuing theme for the market, although it might be building in the likelihood of a correction.

"But the United States markets were strong overnight and by and large they are continuing their rallies on the expectation of a further economic stimulus," Sullivan said.

Ebos, which started in Christchurch 98 years ago as Early Bros Dental and Surgical Supplies, surged 61c or 2.4 per cent to $26 on trade worth $13m and reached a new all-time high. The previous day Ebos - now a supplier of healthcare and animal care products in Australia and New Zealand - had broken its previous record of $25.50 set on November 13 last year.

Sullivan said Ebos has been a strong performer for the last decade producing mid-teens revenue growth. "Supplying district health boards with medical supplies during the Covid pandemic would be good for business."

It plans further acquisitions and has plenty of headway in its gearing – although the company did say at its annual meeting that it didn't expect the same level of growth over the next quarter, he said. Two-thirds of Ebos' revenue is generated in the Australian market.

There were good rises right across the market. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare increased 66c to $35.36, and a2 Milk gained 37c or 2.35 per cent to $16.12. Their combined trading worth $46m made up nearly a quarter of the day's volume.

Mainfreight was up 54c to $48.50, Pushpay Holdings moved 15c to $9.25, and Ryman Healthcare rose 28c to $15.17.

Network operator Chorus received a favourable pricing ruling from the Commerce Commission and its share price increased 6c to $8.81. Fishing company Sanford gained 7c to $5.60.

The dual-listed banks had strong rises on the back of the Australian Budget which delivered tax breaks and an economic stimulus that promised less defaults on loans. ANZ was up 74c or 3.63 per cent to NZ$21.11 and Westpac increased 61c or 3.06 per cent to NZ$20.55.

Heartland Group Holdings, which became the first New Zealand bank to offer a home loan below 2 per cent, climbed 2c to $1.42. SkyCity bounced back with a 8c or 2.62 per cent rise to $3.13, and online travel provider Serko increased 7c to $4.80.

Contact Energy lost a lot of what it gained the day before through profit-taking and fell 16c to $7.94, Genesis Energy was down 8c or 2.51 per cent to $3.11, and Restaurant Brands declined 35c or 287 per cent to $11.85.

The Warehouse, the country's largest listed retail company, has told First Union it is laying off about 600 people at 92 stores and expect more redundancies to follow. Its share price went up 5c or 2.33 per cent to $2.20.

On Wall Street, the technology stocks came alive, driving the leading indices on a strong rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 250.62 points or 0.88 per cent to 28,837.52, the S&P 500 Index was up 1.64 per cent to 3534.22, and the technology-driven Nasdaq Composite increased nearly 300 points or 2.56 per cent to 11,876.26.

Apple, which overnight is expected to reveal an iPhone with 5G connectivity, climbed 6.35 per cent to US$124.40 ($187.31), Amazon gained 4.75 per cent to US$3442.93, Facebook was up 4.27 per cent to US$275.75, Google parent Alphabet increased 3.58 per cent to US$1564.59, and Microsoft was up 3.58 per cent to US$1564.59.