NZ sharemarket finishes week on a strong note - Market close

The S&P/NZX 50 Index had another strong afternoon and closed at 11,938.08, up 64.04 points or 0.54 per cent.

The New Zealand sharemarket posted its fourth gain in five trading days and was again led by heavyweight Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, attracting renewed investor support.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index had another strong afternoon and closed at 11,938.08, up 64.04 points or 0.54 per cent, after reaching a morning low of 11,809.59.

The index finished the week ahead by 1.13 per cent and has risen more than 1.4 per cent year-to-date.

There were 83 gainers and 51 decliners over the whole market on volumes of 26.42 million share transactions worth $96.35m.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said it had been a rollercoaster week but the local market finished on a better tone. It was now focusing on earnings outcomes with the latest company reporting season beginning in a week’s time.

“We had a strong lead from the United States with solid results from Apple and Amazon and the Federal Reserve providing a Band-aid and discounting an interest rate hike.”

Solly said there have been a modest number of downgrades on the New Zealand market and the earnings forecasts (during the reporting season) will determine whether the market has found its bottom.

The US major indices roared back into life. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85 per cent to 38,225.66 points; S&P 500 increased 0.91 per cent to 5064,2; and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.51 per cent to 15,840.96.

Apple was up more than 7 per cent in after-hours trading to US$183.46 ($307.06) after beating analysts’ expectations with quarterly revenue of US$90.75 billion, including US$23.9b or a record 14 per cent growth in services such as App Store, Apple TV and Apple Pay. Amazon gained 3.2 per cent to US$184.72.

At home, market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 44c to $28.55. Solly said the stock is benefitting from research that concluded weight-reducing drugs only had a small impact on obstructive sleep apnea treatment. This allayed investor concerns.

Ebos Group, hit by selling during the MSCI Large Cap Index review, was up 33c to $36; Meridian Energy increased 9c to $6.10; Auckland International Airport gained 12c to $7.86; a2 Milk added 6c to $6.57; Freightways collected 8c to $8.48; and Serko rose 13c or 3.94 per cent to $3.43.

Gentrack increased 15c or 1.85 per cent to $8.25; Investore gained 3c or 2.73 per cent to $1.13; Turners Automotive added 7c to $4.31; Restaurant Brands increased 6c or 1.74 per cent to $3.50; and Bremworth was up 1.5c or 3.45 per cent to 45c.

Pacific Edge continued to rebound, up 0.007c or 7.29 per cent to 10.3c.

In the retirement sector, Summerset Group was up 16c to $10.786; and Ryman Healthcare was down 8c or 1.99 per cent to an 11-year low of $3.94.

Mainfreight shed 50c to $69; Infratil decreased 10c to $10.88; Delegat Group shed 10c to $6; Ventia Services declined 10c or 2.48 per cent to $3.94; Seeka eased 8c or 2.76 per cent to $2.82; and Rakon was down 3c or 3.09 per cent to 94c.

Synlait Milk continued to drift, down 3.5c or 7.37 per cent to 44c; Accordant Group declined 2c or 3.33 per cent to 58c; NZ Oil & Gas shed 1.5c or 3.26 per cent to 44.5c; and Geneva Finance decreased 1.5c or 5.56 per cent to 25.5c.

Dual-listed stocks Ampol fell $6.58 or 14.28 per cent to $39.50; and ANZ Bank was down 80c or 2.54 per cent to $30.70.

Heartland Group was up 1c to $1.04 after becoming the first New Zealand bank to buy an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution – Challenger Bank. Heartland has a 42 per cent market share in reverse mortgages across the Tasman.

Chatham Rock Phosphate, down 0.004c or 2.48 per cent to 15.7, has made an application for the Chatham Rise project to be considered as a listed project in the Fast Track Consenting Bill.