MARKET CLOSE NZX 50 index closing on 1,000 point rise

MARKET CLOSE NZX 50 index closing on 1,000 point rise in one year

Jan 17 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares rose as another consumer confidence survey showed improving sentiment, especially in Auckland, even as Australian jobs data disappointed financial markets.

The NZX50 rose 27.57 points, or 0.66 percent, to 4196.81, closing on a 1,000 point gain in the last 12 months. On the same day last year, the NZX50 stood at 3234.805. Within the index 22 stocks rose, 15 fell, and 13 were unchanged.

The biggest gain of the day going to Warehouse Group, up 3.23 percent to $3.20, while heavyweight Fletcher Building was up 2.47 percent to $9.11, having risen more than a dollar over the last six weeks and showing a 20.65 percent gain over the last three months on the back of improving economic sentiment.

However, Rob Mercer of broking firm Forsyth Barr warned while Fletcher's earnings outlook was undoubtedly improving, "it's still a challenging market".

"You're seeing people favour certain cyclicals, but like anything, the market is pushing some of the fundamentals close to fair value."

While equities were increasingly back in favour, especially with current low interest rates, he doubted New Zealand stocks would show another 25 percent gain, as seen in the NZX50 index over the last year.

"The market now is very close to full value."

Outside the NZX50, Turners Auctions gained 9.38 percent to $2.10 after issuing a strong profit upgrade.

Among decliners, Pumpkin Patch lost some of this week's gains, falling 2.8 percent to $1.39, but remains 5.93 percent higher than it was a week ago. PGG Wrightson fell 2.13 percent to 46 cents.

Also among stocks to fall was Air New Zealand, down 1.17 percent to $1.265, amid reports that Boeing's Dreamliner fleet has been grounded in the US.

However, Mercer said there should be no impact on Air New Zealand from the news. The airline had deliberately chosen to delay receipt of its first 787 Dreamliner aircraft in order to take Series 9 planes, whereas the grounded aircraft are Series 8 and problems would be ironed out before the Series 9 was released.

"That was the choice they made,' he said. "These things are good headlines at the moment, but they're not a reason for someone to be nervous about Air New Zealand."

(BusinessDesk)

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