NZX cash trading picks up in August with Z Energy listing

Wednesday 4th September 2013

Cash trading on the New Zealand stock exchange accelerated in August from July in a month when Z Energy joined the NZX.

Total trading of $3.4 billion was 18 percent higher than the same month a year earlier, and up from $2.6 billion in July, according to NZX's monthly shareholder metrics. Total trades climbed by a third to 98,457 for an average daily value of $156 million. Share trading accounted for most of the transactions, with just 2,780 debt trades worth $83 million.

Z Energy accounted for the $1.5 billion of new capital listed, lifting the value of new listings this year to $5.8 billion. The stock exchange has had some major wins this year with the government's partial sale of MightyRiverPower and dairy processor Synlait Milk.

Some $144 million of new capital was raised in August, taking the year to date total to $2.49 billion. July was a busy month for capital raisings, with some $1.46 billion raised in primary and dual and secondary equity offerings.

The benchmark NZX 50 index edged up 0.1 percent to 4540.97 in August, and has gained 13 percent this year. The market capitalisation of all equity on the bourse was $77.9 billion, or 37 percent of gross domestic product, as at Aug. 30, up from $76.5 billion, or about 36 percent of GDP, at the end of July.

The stock exchange's derivatives trading surged from a year earlier, with 8,146 lots traded, more than twice the number in August 2012, and open interest jumped 158 percent to 14,642.

Grain trading was less impressive, with a 19 percent decline to 587,562 tonnes traded in the season to date, and its grain information subscriptions dropped 14 percent to 1,853 from the same month a year earlier.

General agri subscriptions increased 0.9 percent to 10,092 in August from a year earlier, though total subscriptions were down 1.3 percent at 21,878.

NZX shares rose 0.8 percent to $1.28 in trading yesterday, and have gained 5.8 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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