Market close: NZX continues rise, SkyCity falls on exec departures

SkyCity's share price fell 11c or 3.49 per cent to $3.04. Photo / 123RF

The New Zealand sharemarket continued its merry way, with heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare once again driving prices up and the latest economic outlook also keeping the situation buoyant.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 44.75 points or 0.35 per cent to 12,744.92 though the market did taper off in the afternoon after reaching an intraday high of 12,855.02.

There were 101 gainers and just 36 decliners across the whole market, and the volume at the start of the week reached 59.7 million shares worth $171.23 million.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said it was another positive day and the large cap stocks have returned doing the heavy lifting.

He expected the positive sentiment to continue. "The uncertainty of the US election has been removed, and our Reserve Bank has been very accommodating with its lending programme. The New Zealand economy is performing better that most economists predicted in the middle of the year.

"They predicted house prices would go down 10 per cent and at the end of October they were up 19 per cent. There's a lot of capital looking for a home in New Zealand. Even if the need for negative interest rates has been removed, a cash rate cut or quantitative easing is still likely. And the low interest rates will continue to boost the market," Sullivan said.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare climbed 77c or 2.28 per cent to $34.60 on trade worth $29m, but a2 Milk slipped 2c to $15.30 on trade worth $10.8m. Other heavy lifters Spark was up 5c to $4.665, Port of Tauranga also increased 5c to $7.30, and Fletcher Building gained another 8c to $5.45.

Chorus was up 5c to $8.85; Synlait climbed 10c to $5.56; Comvita increased 8c or 2.55 per cent to $3.22; and Freightways rose 11c to $9.16 after hitting $5.04 on March 16.

The Australian ASX market was down for most of the day after trading for only half an hour. Trading was still halted at 5.45pm NZ time but in that first half hour ANZ Banking Group was up 61c or 2.8 per cent to $22.40 and Westpac rose 29c to $19.69.

The talk of the local market was SkyCity's surprise announcement that three top executives were leaving, and its share price fell 11c or 3.49 per cent to $3.04. Chief executive Graeme Stephens is retiring at the end of this month to be replaced by present chief operating officer Michael Ahearne. Chief financial officer Rob Hamilton and chief marketing officer Liza McNally are stepping down in February and March next year.

In a trading update, SkyCity said its New Zealand revenue to October 31 was at 88 per cent of the comparable period last year, and its online casino was trading consistently.

Auckland International Airport was down 9.5c to $7.65 after reporting another month of falling traffic. Total passenger volumes decreased 68.6 per cent in October compared with the same month last year. Domestic passengers were 34.9 per cent down. But Air New Zealand was up 5c or 3.13 per cent to $1.645.

NZME rose 3c or 4.11 per cent to 76c after making an investor presentation which included New Zealand Herald premium subscribers reaching 93,000, including 49,000 paid digital subscribers. NZME, which has made cost savings of $20m a year, expects digital-only subscribers will exceed print subscription by the end of 2023, with a target of more than 210,000 subscribers. It is aiming for 15 per cent of New Zealand households to be NZ Herald subscribers in print or digital within five years.

Carpet maker Cavalier has quickly signed a new sale and purchase agreement for its Auckland property with another undisclosed buyer after Kinleith Land and Infrastructure defaulted. The deal is worth $900,000 more at $25.5m and Cavalier's share price increased 2.5 or 7.69 per cent to 35c.