Market Close: Shares rise as bigger rate cut seen, Lion gains

Wednesday 14th January 2009

New Zealand shares rose in light trading, pushing the NZX 50 Index up for a fourth day, amid expectations the central bank will slash interest rates this month to revive the economy.

The NZX 50 rose 12.142, or 0.4%, to 2786.784. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, nine fell and 18 were unchanged. Turnover was about NZ$42 million, according to Reuters data. Australian companies listed on the NZX were the biggest gainers today after a report showed a pick-up in housing finance across the Tasman.

Food manufacturer Goodman Fielder rose 6.9% to NZ$1.87, leading the index higher. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group gained 6.3% to NZ$18.50 and brewer Lion Nathan rose 6% to NZ$9.71.

Stocks of companies most exposed to the economic downturn were among the biggest decliners. Steel & Tube Holdings, which supplies steel building products, fell 1.7% to NZ$2.85 and Fletcher Building dropped 1.7% to NZ$5.89. Port of Tauranga slid 1.9% to NZ$6.38.

Ricky Ward, who helps manage NZ$450 million at Tyndall Investment Management, said investors are awaiting company results to gauge the extent of the slump and meantime, the New Zealand market suffers from low liquidity.

“A sense of unease is how we’re seeing things,” Ward said. “Everyone is expecting it (the earnings season) to be pretty poor. People are trying to work out what is the outlook.”

Adding to concerns about the outlook, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion yesterday showed companies are the most gloomy about their own activity this quarter since at least 1970 and one in three firms plans to cut jobs.

Telecom which has shifted call centres to the Philippines to reduce costs, fell 1.6% to NZ$2.48. This week, the phone company close its unprofitable Ferrit online shopping site citing tough retailing conditions.

Last month, Moody’s Investors Service said it may cut Telecom’s A2 long-term credit rating because of a “significant erosion in its margins” which “will not be easily reversed” in the current economic downturn. The stock has fallen 40% in the past 12 months.

Shares of L&P Petroleum Ltd, which is seeking to commercialise coal-seam gas from fields in Southland, jumped 16% to 9.3 cents after the company said extended laboratory tests of coal samples from its Goodwin-1 well confirmed the presence of gas.

In Sydney today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8% to 3684.1 in late afternoon trading as BHP Billiton gained 1.2% to A$30.79. Wesfarmers, Australia’s No. 2 retailer because of its takeover of Coles Group, fell 3.3% to A$16.92 after saying it may cut its dividend payments for a second year because of a A$150 million writedown of investments and looming debt repayments.

Caltex Australia, that nation’s biggest oil refiner, jumped 6.7% to A$7.98 after announcing a full-year operating profit of A$185 million, more than it had forecast just last month.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3% to 8441.27 in early afternoon trading, led by a 7.6% gain for Casio Computer and a 5.3% advance for Sony Corp.

(Businesswire.co.nz)

NZX Top 50
Last updated: 14/01/2009 5:10pm

AIA	1.69	0.00
AIR	0.93	-0.01
AMP	6.58	+0.08
ANZ	18.50	+1.10
APN	2.68	0.00
APT	0.99	0.00
CAV	1.95	+0.04
CEN	7.45	+0.18
EBO	4.30	+0.10
FBU	5.89	-0.10
FPA	1.39	0.00
FPH	3.24	+0.04
FRE	2.93	0.00
GFF	1.87	+0.12
GMT	0.96	-0.01
GPG	0.94	0.00
HLG	2.15	0.00
IFT	1.64	-0.01
IMP	1.10	0.00
ING	0.67	+0.02
KIP	1.05	0.00
LNN	9.71	+0.56
MFT	4.80	+0.15
MHI	0.55	0.00
MVN	1.24	0.00
NPX	3.10	0.00
NZO	1.24	+0.02
NZR	5.80	0.00
NZS	0.59	0.00
NZX	5.45	+0.04
PFI	1.12	+0.01
PGW	1.47	+0.02
POT	6.38	-0.12
PPL	1.00	+0.03
PRC	1.02	-0.01
RAK	1.23	+0.02
RYM	1.40	-0.02
SAN	5.25	-0.08
SKC	3.12	+0.04
SKL	0.77	+0.02
SKT	3.95	+0.04
STU	2.85	-0.05
TEL	2.48	-0.04
THL	0.70	0.00
TLS	4.40	0.00
TPW	7.20	0.00
TWR	1.60	+0.03
VCT	2.12	-0.02
WBC	20.20	+0.40
WHS	3.65	+0.03

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