Forum Archive Index - March 2000

["Osbert Sun" <osbert.sun@xtra.co.nz>]

Below the daily DFM Market report Michel has mentioned. Happy reading

Osbert

----- Original Message -----
From: "Emy De La Mare" <emy@dfmainland.co.nz>
To: <osbert.sun@xtra.co.nz>
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000 8:58 AM
Subject: DFMtrade Morning Meeting - Thursday 9th March 2000


> NEW ZEALAND STOCKS, WELLINGTON, March 8 (Reuters)
>      New Zealand shares showed good resistance to substantial falls in
> overseas markets to close only marginally lower on Wednesday, despite some
> pressure on leading stock Telecom.
>
>    The NZSE-40 Index ended down 4.81 points at 2,021.25 on turnover of
> NZ$143 million, of which the lion's share was in Telecom.
>
>    Overnight, substantial falls were seen in both the Dow  and the
> Nasdaq , with Australia's All Ords  down nearly one percent in afternoon
> trading.
>
>    Having been bid up in recent days on the back of positive sentiment
> surrounding fellow regional telco Telstra , Telecom came under selling
> pressure and saw some profit taking, brokers said. It slipped 16 cents to
> NZ$8.94 on turnover worth NZ$93.9 million.
>
>    Shares in Telstra also fell in both Australia and New Zealand despite a
> strong first-half profit of A$2.09 billion that was ahead of expectations.
> In New Zealand, Telstra shares closed down 30 cents at NZ$10.30.   Some
> analysts and brokers had hoped Telstra would detail plans to spin-off some
> its high-tech and Internet assets.   "The big question now is, can Telecom
> maintain this momentum, or will it get sold off and have a look at those
> lower figures again?", one broker said.
>
>    Other falls were seen in Sky TV, down 10 cents to NZ$3.90 on what one
> broker said was some profit taking, and a nine cent fall in Contact Energy
> to NZ$2.76, related to the woes of parent company Edison International.
>
>    Brokers said the government's Budgetary Policy Statement released on
> Wednesday afternoon had been largely as expected and had had little impact
> on the share market.
>
>    Stocks in positive territory included Fletcher Energy, boosted by some
> good company specific news.   The possibility of a viable gas find off the
> New Zealand coast and the recognition of a potentially valuable stake in a
> U.S. energy company contributed to a 25 cent rise to NZ$4.85 in Fletcher
> Energy's share price, brokers said.
>
>    Australia's AMP was also stronger on news of an impending merger in the
> Australian financial services industry.   AMP, talked of by the market as
a
> possible takeover target for National Australia Bank, gained NZ$2.10 to
> NZ$19.70, up nearly 12 percent.   However, later in the day AMP chief
> executive Paul Batchelor told a New Zealand media briefing in Wellington
he
> could see little sense in merging with a bank.
>
>    Investment company Guinness Peat Group rose three cents to NZ$1.36 on
> moderate volume of 400,000 shares after announcing a record year profit
and
> plans to exchange some of its shares for convertible notes.
>
>   "It's interesting... They're actually looking to buy back 40 percent of
> their stock with a note giving people the option of having a fixed
interest
> investment for a while and still have exposure to the company, while the
> company still gets the use of the funds," said ABN Amro head dealer Nigel
> Scott.   "It's a relatively novel approach -- I think probably it
increases
> the value for the people that stay on there, but we'll just have to wait
> and see."
>
>
>
> NEWS ROOM - NZ.
> http://www.newsroom.co.nz/
>
>
>
> AUSTRALIAN STOCKS, SYDNEY, March 8 (Reuters)
>     Australian shares managed on Wednesday to fight off more gloomy news
> from Wall Street, closing down only one percent compared with a 3.7
percent
> fall in the Dow Jones industrial average on Tuesday.
>
>     The market instead took its inspiration from a widely mooted A$8
> billion to A$9 billion bid for bancassurance group Colonial Ltd by
> Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which sparked speculation other insurance
> groups and regional banks would become takeover targets.
>
>     The benchmark All Ordinaries Index closed down 32.5 points at 3,218.5,
> but had slipped as low as 3,201.2 during the session.   "This (CBA and
> Colonial) has put all the insurance companies and regional banks into
> play," said Dicksons analyst Michael Heffernan.
>
>     Life insurance and funds management giant AMP was the outstanding
> performer on the day, rallying A$1.162 or about eight percent to A$15.77.
>    "There has been speculation for some time that National Australia Bank
>  would take over AMP and the regional banks are all targets," said Ord
> Minnett director of institutions Eric Gale.
>
>     However, AMP chief executive Paul Batchelor told a media briefing in
> New Zealand on Wednesday that AMP saw little merit in merging with a bank.
>
>     Trading in Colonial and CBA shares has been halted pending the release
> of an announcement.
>
>     The other big story on Wednesday was that Australia's leading telco
> Telstra Corp posted a 15 percent rise in first half net profit to A$2.09
> billion, compared with market expectations of A$1.93 billion.
>
>     The group is still targeting double-digit full year earnings growth,
> plans to cut costs by A$650 million, and is talking to media groups to
> bolster its Internet sites with strong content. It is also mulling
spinning
> off some divisions.
>
>     But Telstra shares closed down 50.1 cents at A$8.209 while its
> instalment receipts were knocked down about eight percent to A$5.23.
>     "The stock was supported (earlier in the week) by overseas investors
> because it is relatively cheap compared with overseas telcos and then it
> has been sold down on the result. But there is nothing out of the ordinary
> about the result," Commonwealth Bank equities researcher Caroline Eganshe
> said.    She said Telstra's net operating profit was in line with CBA's
> forecast while the dividend of eight cents was ahead of CBA's forecast of
> 7.5 cents.
>
>     Seven Network was another strong performer, finishing up 55.1 cents or
> 8.3 percent at A$7.158. Brokerage Salomon Smith Barney specialled about
2.7
> million shares at A$7.15.
>
>     Ord Minnett's Gale said the television broadcaster's interim profit
> released on Tuesday was one of the strongest it had posted for years.
> However, he said investors seemed to be looking for more strategic news.
>
>     Elsewhere, Australia's largest retailer Coles Myer  on Wednesday
posted
> a seven percent rise in net profit after abnormals to A$294.5 million for
> the 26 weeks to January 23. The company said it expected to report a full
> year profit of up to A$485 million.    Coles' shares closed down 11 cents
> at A$6.36.
>
>     Turnover on the wider market was A$1.6 billion.
>
>     Declining stocks outpaced advances by a ratio of four to three, while
> about 19 percent of stocks traded remained steady.
>
>
>
> AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
> http://www.afr.com.au/
>
>
>
>
> US STOCKS, NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters)
> (The DOW Jones is UP 107 points to 9903 at 8.40am NZ time)
>
>      U.S. stock indexes pulled a switcheroo at midday on Wednesday with
the
> blue chips advancing for a change after Wall Street decided a broad
> sell-off had gone too far while technology issues retreated on
> profit-taking.
>
>    The strength in "old economy" stocks like transportation companies came
> as oil prices backed off highs, which had contributed to a selling frenzy
> amid fears that sharply higher interest rates would be needed to ward off
> inflation.   "It looks like the Dow stocks are developing some support,"
> said Charles Payne, head analyst at Wall Street Strategies. "But there are
> still so many questions about what the Federal Reserve is going to do with
> interest rates. On the Nasdaq, I think this is just a case of additional
> profit-taking."
>
>    The Dow Jones industrial average gained 29 points, or 0.30 percent, to
> 9,825, a day after it slid 374 points on heavy volume to hit its lowest
> level in nearly a year.   Despite the bounce, analysts said the same
> concerns about old-economy stocks withering in a higher interest-rate
> environment continued to haunt the 30-stock index.
>
>    In particular, some financial services stocks were hurt after Fed
> Chairman Alan Greenspan said he was worried that many U.S. banks seemed to
> think the current good economic times will last forever, causing laxness
in
> their lending.
>
>    American Express Co. fell 2-15/16 to 123-1/4 and Citigroup Inc was down
> 1/8 at 50-1/4.   On Tuesday, a profit warning from consumer products giant
> Procter & Gamble Co. <PG.N>, a classic old-line stock, sent the Dow
> tumbling 3.7 percent, driving the blue-chip index deeper into correction
> territory.
>
>    Leading the Dow higher on Wednesday was Johnson & Johnson, which rose
> 3-13/16 to 70-13/16.
>
>    The Nasdaq Composite Index, rife with "new economy" technology,
> biotechnology and telecommunications stocks, had been up more than 1
> percent, but turned lower as investors cashed in on a run-up that had
> driven the index briefly past the magic 5,000 barrier shortly after
> Tuesday's opening.
>
>    The Nasdaq was off 58 points, or 1.20 percent, at 4,789. Semiconductors
> slumped, with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange's semiconductor index off
> 3.81 percent. Among the losers was Intel Corp. , the world's largest chip
> maker, which eased 3-1/16 to 112-11/16.
>
>    The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 2 points, or 0.21
> percent, to 1,358. The Russell 2000 small-cap index gave up 9 points, or
> 1.52 percent, to 586.
>
>    The market's stomach-churning volatility intensified on Monday on
> remarks from Greenspan and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
> Arthur Levitt about a too-hot economy and overextended investors.   "The
> Dow is so oversold I wouldn't be surprised to see a snap-back rally," said
> Arnie Owen, the managing director of capital markets at Roth Capital
> Partners in Newport Beach, Calif.
>
>    Dow component Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide detergent and Crest
> toothpaste, opened 1 point higher, but was down 1-5/8 at 58-3/8 a day
after
> it lost 31 percent of its value when it said it would fall far short of
> earnings expectations, due in part to rising costs it was unable to pass
on
> to consumers.
>
>    Transport stocks such as airlines were up solidly after OPEC powers
> Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed in talks on Wednesday that oil producers
> should provide adequate and timely supplies to cool red-hot prices.   The
> price of a barrel of crude for delivery in April softened to $32.98 on the
> New York Mercantile Exchange after topping $34 in the previous day's
> trading.   The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 2.65 percent and UAL
> Corp, the parent of United Airlines, was up 7/8 at 47-7/8.
>
>    On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners were beating advances 5 to 4
> with 703 million shares changing hands. There were 35 stocks hitting new
> highs and 213 hitting new lows.   Pharmaceutical and retail drug stocks
> were also up, as semiconductor, gold, personal care, natural gas and oil
> driller stocks were down.
>
>    The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond inched up 1/32 with a yield at 6.14
> percent, a notch below Tuesday's close 6.15 percent, while the 10-year
note
> was flat, yielding 6.37 percent.
>
>
>
> UK STOCKS, LONDON, March 8 (Reuters)
>      Leading London shares dropped for the second straight session on
> Wednesday, shedding nearly one percent as gains made by oil issues
> disappeared in the face of losses in media and telecoms stocks.
>
>    London's blue chip index slipped 55.3 points or 0.86 percent to 6,411.2
> on moderate volume of two billion shares traded by the official 1630 GMT
> close.
>
>    Losers outstripped the gainers by four to one, with the FTSE 100's top
> ten losers all dropping more than six percent.
>
>    Biotechnology and IT stocks on the FTSE techMARK 100 index took a
> hammering as the fledgling indicator ended 3.4 percent lower at 5,413.82,
> not helped by the 1.2 percent loss to New York's Nasdaq at the time of
> London's close.
>
>    New York's Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.6 percent as official
> London trade concluded, having slipped into the red from a positive start
> following cautionary remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
> Greenspan.
>
>    The central banker expressed worry that many U.S. banks seemed to think
> the current good economic times would last forever, causing them to get
> excessively lax in their lending.   "I wouldn't say there's been
> across-the-board selling, it's more that there's not been a great deal of
> bidding," said the head of trading at a leading European brokerage.
>
>      FTSE 100 losses came despite a 58-point fillip from London's two oil
> giants BP Amoco and Shell Transport, which moved ahead on crude oil price
> rises to nine-year highs.
>
>    That was not enough to stem losses among telecoms, media, computer
> software and pharmaceuticals and stocks, which together knocked off more
> than 70 points from the main index.
>
>    The biggest points deduction came courtesy of mobile telecoms company
> Vodafone Airtouch, which slipped 1.7 percent to shave nearly 18 points
from
> the index.   News and information group Reuters topped the list of FTSE
100
> percentage losers, dropping nearly 11 percent, while new top flight index
> member Kingston Communications Plc fell nearly 10 percent, both reversing
> recent strong gains on profit-taking, dealers said.
>
>    Another suffering profit-taking was broadcaster BSkyB, down 6.4 percent
> to 19.85 pounds having touched an all-time high of 22.75 pounds on
Tuesday.
>
>    BSkyB shares have been the best year-to-date performers in the FTSE
100,
> up 114 percent since the start of January, marginally ahead of Reuters,
> based on Tuesday's closing price.
>
>
>
>
> Emy De La Mare
> D.F Mainland Securities Limited
> Private Bag 99912, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand
> Phone : 64-9-307-9066, Facsimile : 64-9-307-3391
> E-mail : clientservices@dfmtrade.com
> Website : http://www.dfmtrade.com
>
> osbert.sun@xtra.co.nz
>


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