MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise in last day of 2009; Warehouse, retailers gain

Dec. 31 (BusinessWire) – New Zealand shares rose in the final trading session for 2009, rounding out an annual gain of about 18%. Warehouse Group paced gains in retailers.

The NZX 50 Index rose 9.23, or 0.3%, to 3230.14. Within the index, 25 stocks rose, nine fell and 16 were unchanged. Turnover was $37 million, capping a quiet week as many investors took a summer holiday.

Warehouse Group climbed 1.5% to $4.21 and has advanced almost 20% this year. Clothing chain Hallenstein Glasson Holdings rose 1.5% to $3.35 and jeweller Michael Hill International gained 1.5% to 67 cents.

Children’s clothing chain Pumpkin Patch rose about 1% to $2.05 and has more than doubled this year as investors welcomed its decision to limit losses in the U.S. by exiting unprofitable stores.

Outdoor equipment chain Kathmandu fell 0.5% to $2.04. The shares are now 9 cents below their November IPO price of $2.13. The IPO enabled Kathmandu’s owners, Goldman Sachs JBWere and Quadrant Private Equity, to sell their entire stake.

Still, the retailer fared better than Synlait, DNZ Property and BioVittoria, which all failed to sufficiently entice investors with their initial share sales in the past two months, a sign that investors are still risk-averse when it comes to equities.

New Zealand Oil & Gas gained 0.6% to $1.67 as the price of New York crude oil advanced for a seventh straight day. Crude oil for February delivery traded at US$79.53 in Asia, bringing its rally this year to almost 80%.

APN News & Media, the Australian publisher of the NZ Herald, climbed 8% to $2.97, leading the index higher. NZ Farming Systems Uruguay rose 4.4% to 48 cents.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances fell 6.5% to 58 cents, the biggest decline on the NZX 50 today.

F&P Healthcare, which gets almost 80% of its revenue in U.S. dollars, fell 0.9% to $3.37 as the kiwi dollar rose above 72.50 U.S. cents.

(BusinessWire)

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