Fletcher Building's shares were up after it handed over the New Zealand International Convention Centre to SkyCity. Photo / NZME
The New Zealand sharemarket made a steady gain to hit an all-time high on the day Fletcher Building handed over the long-awaited landmark New Zealand International Convention Centre to SkyCity Entertainment Group.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index, which includes dividends, reached an intraday high of 13,649.74 and closed at 13,605.96, up 49.66 points or 0.37% and above the previous record of 13,570.86 set on October 9.
There were 72 gainers and 66 decliners on the main board with 33.6 million shares worth $133.89 million changing hands.
Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the local market is heading in the right direction, albeit slowly, and a further cut in the Official Cash Rate on November 26 will benefit stocks, particularly those dividend-sensitive ones.
In Australia, the Reserve Bank kept the cash rate at 3.6%, disappointing households hoping for a Melbourne Cup interest rate cut.
The bank said the recent data suggests some inflationary pressure may remain in the economy, while private demand is recovering and labour market conditions still appear to be tight.
Financial conditions have eased since the beginning of the year, but it will take some time to see the full effects of earlier cash rate reductions, the bank said. It was appropriate to remain cautious given the recent evidence of more persistent inflation.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 0.95% to 8810.1 points at 5.45pm NZT on the cash rate news.
Fletcher Building increased 6c or 1.83% to $3.34 and told the market the handover of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) marked a major milestone for Auckland and the country.
Fletcher said the impact of the 2019 fire transformed the rebuild into one of the most technically demanding projects in the country’s construction history.
SkyCity, down 1c to 73.5c, will now begin operational testing and commissioning before the centre’s official opening in February next year.
Sullivan said the market was relieved Fletcher had removed the centre from its books – if it hadn’t delivered, SkyCity would have had recourse through legal means.
Market leader Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 25c to $37; a2 Milk gained 11c to $11.03; Heartland Group added 3.5c or 3.23% to $1.12; Skellerup increased 9c to $5.56; and Comvita, under takeover offer, was up 2.5c or 3.36% to 77c.
NZ Herald and BusinessDesk owner NZME increased 6c or 5.08% to $1.24; Winton Land was up 8c or 3.69% to $2.25; and Vulcan Steel gained 18c or 2.24% to $8.23.
In the energy sector, Meridian was up 9c to $6.03; Mercury gained 8c to $6.59; and Contact added 9c to $8.35.
Mainfreight was down $1 to $60; Freightways declined 35c or 2.42% to $14.10; Port of Tauranga decreased 13c to $7.55; Spark eased 5c or 2.05% to $2.39; and Vista Group fell 14c or 5.28% to $2.51.
Trade Window, unchanged at 35.5c, reported a 25% increase in trading revenue to $4.6m for the six months ending September compared with the same period last year. Annual recurring revenue was up 21% to $8.8m.
The transport and logistics software company confirmed full-year trading revenue of $10m-$11m, saying the second half is expected to outperform the first six months.
Uvre, unchanged at 25.5c, told the market the latest rock chip assays at its Coromandel Waitekauri and Central Otago Oturehua gold projects were high-grade. Uvre is drilling down to 250m at the Scotia South prospect in the Waitekauri field.
Me Today, down 0.001c to 6.7c, has raised $2.2m from its largest shareholders, trustees of the Baker and Sinclair investment trusts.
Cervical cancer screening firm TruScreen, down 0.002c or 9.52% to 1.9c, is looking at the South African market by appointing Johannesburg distributor AIR. TruScreen said South Africa had the 10th-highest global cervical cancer rate in 2022.
Being AI, unchanged at 10.7c, is selling its Send Global business unit to debtor Wilshire Treasury. Wilshire will pay $202,000 in cash and buy shares worth nearly $8.8m, offsetting Being’s outstanding loan to Wilshire.
American payment processing company Shift4 Holdings has completed the takeover of Smartpay at $1.20 a share. Smartpay has now delisted from the NZX.
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