MARKET CLOSE Late rally as NZ shares beat global gloom

MARKET CLOSE Late rally as NZ shares beat global gloom

March 19 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares rallied late in the day, after suffering from the same negative sentiment induced in other overseas markets by the banking crisis in Cyprus.

The NZX 50 Index rose 4.016 points, or 0.093 percent, to 4,345.040 after spending most of the day in negative territory. Within the index, 28 stocks rose, 15 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was heavy at $336.8 million.

Volume was driven especially by heavyweight Fletcher Building, down 2.05 percent at $8.62 on volume of $45.8 million, GPG up 0.83 percent at 61 cents on turnover of $43.6 million, and Sky Television, up 2.46 percent to $5.41, following last week’s sale of the 44 percent of the pay TV company owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

"If you add in the 12 percent dividend, then those investors that bought at $4.80 have made over 15 percent in that very short time,” said Mark Lister at Craigs Investment Partners. “That's a brilliant outcome for all those investors."

With News gone from the register, the stock is attracting Australian institutional investors, Lister said.

GPG announced it was hiring brokers to promote a standalone listing for its global threadmaker, Coats, as it moves to complete its selldown of other assets to realise capital for shareholders.

A notable feature was the resilience of the Summerset share price. The retirement home operator closed at $2.54, down 0.53 percent, but well above the $2.42 that Quadrant Private Equity sold 18.6 percent of its stake a day earlier at $2.42.

Quadrant retains 37.2 percent of the company.

"They will be reasonably pleased about that," said Lister."It's held up reasonably well", especially after gloomy news from Europe, where the tiny Eurozone economy of Cyprus is suffering a banking crisis, which knocked Asia-Pacific share markets a day earlier as fears of similar outcomes in larger European economies reignited.

Pumpkin Patch, which reported disappointing sales and supply chain difficulties on Monday, continued to be punished for a second day, down 0.45 percent to $1.60.

(BusinessDesk)

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