Stocks to watch: New Zealand equity preview

Tuesday 30th September 2008

The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: Stocks on Wall Street tumbled, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down 7% after the US House of Representatives voted 228 to 205 against a US$700 billion financial sector bailout plan. Crude oil for November delivery fell 9.9% to US$96.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. New Zealand's dollar dropped almost 2%.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings (HLG): The clothing chain operator yesterday posted a 26% drop in annual profit and said earnings will decline in the first half of the current year. The shares traded unchanged at NZ$2.87 yesterday and have dropped about 25% this year.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZO): Crude oil had its biggest slide in seven years, pacing declines in commodities. The stock traded at NZ$1.38 yesterday and has declined 12% in the past month.

Pyne Gould Corp. (PGC): The company today said it will seek a banking licence and restructure its MARAC and Perpetual units to form the core of a new bank. At the same time, Pyne Gould is reviewing ownership of non-banking assets and may consider a distribution to shareholders of its stake in PGG Wrightson (PGW), it said. Pyne Gould was last at NZ$3.30 and has fallen 12% this year. Wrightson fell to NZ$1.74 yesterday and has sunk 36% in the past month.

Steel & Tube Holdings (STU): The shares had their biggest gain in at least five years yesterday after Australia's OneSteel offered to buy the 49% of shares that it doesn't already own. OneSteel offered NZ$4.00 cash, a 33% premium to its price on Friday. Steel & Tube jumped 29% to $3.86 yesterday.

Telecom (TEL): The biggest stock on the NZX 50 Index may pace declines today after stocks slumped on Wall Street. The stock was at NZ$2.78 yesterday and has fallen 36% this year.

By Jonathan Underhill

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