NZX CLOSE: Shares rise; Rakon gains after capital raising, ANZ Bank up

Monday 28th September 2009

New Zealand shares rose, with the NZX 50 Index recording its biggest advance in a week, as Rakon Ltd. climbed after completing its capital raising and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group advanced following its agreement to buy the rest of its joint venture with ING Group.

The NZX 50 rose 19.92, or 0.6%, to 3131.17, the biggest gain since Sept. 17 and the first advance in three sessions. Within the index, 21 stocks rose, 17 fell and 12 were unchanged. Turnover was $61 million.

Rakon (NZX: RAK ) climbed 4.2% to $1.25. The manufacturer of components for navigation systems last week completed the sale of 39.1 million new shares at $1.15 apiece, raising $45 million to fund expansion of its Chinese operations. The shares, which have declined 5.5% this year, are rated `outperform’ based on the consensus of six recommendations compiled by Reuters.

ANZ Bank (NZX: ANZ ) climbed 6.1% to $29.70, leading the index higher. Several analysts raised their price targets for the shares after the lender’s announcement on Friday that it agreed to pay A$1.76 billion for ING 51% stake in their Australia and New Zealand wealth management and life insurance joint venture. The deal lifts its wealth management assets to a scale to compete with rivals.

Infratil Ltd (NZX: IFT ) rose 1.2% to $1.72 after the investment group said it’s readying to acquire electricity assets in New South Wales though it hasn’t committed to such a move yet, it said in its investor update. The government of Australia’s most-populous state is selling three power retail units though it plans to regulate prices for the next four years.

Telecom Corp (NZX: TEL ) rose 1.2% to $2.65 after the Commerce Commission said on Friday that it will investigate whether to remove or amend regulation of the company’s retail services to wholesale customers. Telecom requested the commission revisit the regulation, which it claims was surpassed by the enforced operational separation in 2006.

Pyne Gould Corp (NZX: PGC ) sunk 14% to a record low close of 70 cents. Tthe investment and finance group with ambitions to become a bank, plans to raise as much as $270 million in an underwritten rights offer at a 60% discount, seeking to restore a balance sheet eroded by write-downs on property loans.

Heritage Gold NZ (NZX: HGD ) fell 4.4% to 2.2 cents after the mining company said it is concerned at the lack of overseas interest in local projects as it continues to seek a partner for its Talisman Mine project. "Our concern has been the reluctance of overseas groups to consider New Zealand as a mining and resource friendly environment,” chairman Geoffrey Hill told shareholders at their annual meeting on Friday.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances (NZX: FPA ) gained 3.1% to 67 cents, clawing back some of Friday’s 12% slump, when the manufacturer said depressed trading conditions in the U.S. meant competition for sales of home appliances was been more intense than expected. It is now forecasting a full-year loss of $2 million to $5 million, from a prospectus estimate of $11.7 million profit.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Ltd (NZX: MCK ) slid 2.6% to 38 cents after chairman Wong Hong Ren said market and trading conditions “remain challenging and will remain so in the near term.” Operating profit after tax and minorities fell to $5.38 million in the first half from $13.29 million a year earlier.

Businesswire.co.nz

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