MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares dip; Kiwi Property capital raising hogs the headlines

Thursday 31st October 2019

(Oct. 30, 5:57 PM)New Zealand shares dipped as Kiwi Property Group's plans to raise up to $210 million kept investors busy ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy review overnight and a slew of local company earnings and annual meetings tomorrow.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index decreased 4.21 points, or 0.04 percent, to 10,789.54. Within the index, 28 stocks fell, 16 rose, and six were unchanged. Turnover was $172.1 million.

Property stocks were generally weaker as investors cleared out their portfolios to make way for Kiwi Property's capital raising. The owner of the Sylvia Park mall in Auckland will raise $180 million in a fully underwritten placement at $1.58 a share, a discount to the $1.67 price they closed at yesterday. A further $20 million of shares will be sold to New Zealand retail investors with the capacity to accept a further $10 million of oversubscriptions.

"Kiwi is following Goodman Property Trust in looking to raise capital. It's obviously a good time because the share price is well in excess of NTA or asset backing," said Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. Kiwi Property's net tangible assets were $1.423.

Goodman Property fell 2.5 percent to $2.125 on a volume of 1.9 million units, more than its 90-day average of 1.1 million. Stride Property declined 0.9 percent to $2.30, Vital Healthcare Property Trust was down 0.7 percent at $2.68, Argosy Property decreased 0.7 percent to $1.42, Investore Property fell 0.5 percent to $1.93, Precinct Properties New Zealand slipped 0.3 percent to $1.845, and Property For Industry was down 0.2 percent at $2.41.

Trading in Kiwi Property was halted for a bookbuild and will resume tomorrow.

Stocks across Asia were mixed as investors await the Federal Reserve's policy review, which is expected to see lower US interest rates. At the same time, investors are weighing up whether the US and China will sign a mini-trade deal at the APEC Leaders' Summit next month.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which derives the bulk of its revenue overseas, fell 0.4 percent to $19.10 on an unusually large volume of 2.2 million shares. It typically trades on a volume of 545,000.

Closer to home, local investors have one eye on company earnings and annual meetings tomorrow, and the reweighting of the MSCI New Zealand Index at the end of the week.

Z Energy reports its first-half earnings tomorrow, having already warned that tighter competition and the cost of the Commerce Commission's fuel market study weighed on the bottom line. Its shares fell 1.5 percent to $5.26 with 1.2 million shares traded.

Among those holding annual meetings tomorrrow, Tourism Holdings was unchanged at $3.57 and Chorus rose 2.3 percent to $5.38.

Freightways fell 0.4 percent to $7.95. Late in the trading day it announced a $117 million acquisition of Big Chill Distribution, which operates a fleet of more than 200 refrigerated trucks and trailers. The courier and information management company will also hold its annual meeting tomorrow.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group decreased 0.2 percent to $29.88 ahead of reporting its annual earnings tomorrow. Westpac Banking Corp was also down 0.2 percent at $30.86. It reports on Monday.

Sky Network Television led the market lower, down 4.2 percent at 92 cents, with 475,000 shares traded, less than half its 1.2 million average.

Meridian Energy was the most traded stock on a volume of 3.2 million shares, which fell 1.1 percent to $4.65. Fletcher Building, which some investors expect will leave the MSCI index in the upcoming reweighting, fell 0.2 percent to $4.55 with 2.5 million shares traded.

Synlait Milk was unchanged at $9.40 on a volume of 1.1 million shares, well up on its 78,000 average and its busiest trading day since October 2018.

Of other stocks trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Spark New Zealand increased 0.8 percent to $4.415, Auckland International Airport rose 1.3 percent to $9.35, Mercury NZ declined 0.7 percent to $5.035, and Contact Energy dropped 2.2 percent to $7.48.

Outside the benchmark index, Scott Technology rose 1.3 percent to $2.33. The company today said it will receive a $5.8 million six-year loan from the government's Provincial Growth Fund to set up an agriculture technology unit. The full terms of the deal are still to be agreed.

(BusinessDesk)

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