INVESTMENT MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 116, 12 November 1938, Page 12

INVESTMENT MARKET

FAIRLY QUIET WEEK

SOME GAINS RECORDED

"Evening Post" November 12,

Investors continue .to exercise caution, and not without reason, in the New Zealand share market, Business over the week has continued on the quiet side, weakness being conspicuous in the gilt-edged section. The racing / carnival week in Christchurch naturally accounted for some of the lack of interest in the New Zealand investment market. But there was not the wonted spring in the Sydney and Melbourne share markets either. Values of shares, however, showed no marked depreciation; in fact, there were some gains and these were noticed in shares of some New Zealand companies A little improvement was discernible in the market for bank and insurance shares. Preference, however, -is still shown""* for Australian investments, including Commonwealth Government Bonds. New Zealand local body debentures are freely quoted by sellers. New Zealand industrial shares have no scarcity of sellers, but the buyers appear to be exceedingly shy. Bank returns., in Australia as in New Zealand for September last show a continued rise in advances. The increases 'in the Commonwealth over the past twelve months is £22,000,000. The increase in deposits, however, is £4.200.000. The figures are the subject of comment by the Commonwealth Bank in its latest bulletin. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand in its statistical summary also shows the upward swing of advances of the trading banks of the Dominion, and a contraction in deposits when comparison is made with the position as disclosed at the end of September, 1937. From these indications, here and in Australia, it would appear that accommodation for share business may not be easy to obtain until returns from exports begin to make themselves conspicuous in current accounts. As to Australia, the Commonwealth Bank i remarks that "although still at a high level, some hesitation is evident in internal activity. . . . Building activity, j on the whole, is still continuing at a fairly steady rate in New South Wales, but signs of recession in the j rate of city building have been evident | for some Jime." For what they arej worth, these indications of business in Australia and the influence they may have on the value of industrial shares may interest investors' in New Zealand, now that so close a connection between the Australian and New Zealand Stock Exchanges is established^ GOVERNMENT LOANS. In the sales of New Zealand Government Stocks and Bonds as reported this week it will be noticed that the 4 per cent, issues have declined this week. The quotations given in the table following these notes are the last received to noon yesterday. Sales reported this week 'and those of last week and of a year ago were as follows: — Nov. 1, Last This I'er. Year. 1!>37. week. week, cent. £ £ £ 3 1939-41 9S 96 VI- *91V 2 31/- ... 19r.3-37 99 fISVa 93% 3'i ... 1939-43 101% 9S 9S 3% ... 1949-52 1041/2 99% lOO I,* 4 ... 1910 1027s 99 99 4 ... 1949 103 99 Vk 9» 4 ... 1955 105 Vs 99% 99 ♦Buyers. Authority for November 1, 1937. Suotations is the official record of ew Zealand Stock Exchanges and prices are of actual sales or approximate. Half-yearly interest is due on 3 per cent. 1941 Stocks and Bonds on November 15, and on 4 per cent. Stocks and Bonds, 1955, on December 15, 1938. The 2940-43 and 1949-52 loans carry interest at Z\ per cent, to the expiry of the free of income tax period, and then automatically become 4 per cent, and taxable. Thus in quotations these issues should be described at 3£-4 per cent. Sellers of 3| per cent. Stock, 1938-41, quoted £ 100 10s, but failed to attract buyers' attention. Sales of Government Stocks and Bonds this week were reported as follows:— 3£ p.c. Stock (1939-43). £98, £98 10s, £98; Zh p.c. (1953-57), £93 10s, £93 7s 6d; 34 p.c. (1949-52), £99 10s; 4 p.c. Stock "(1946). £99 ss, £99 2s 6d, £98 15s, £99, and Bonds, £98 •17s 6d; 4 p.c. (1949), £99, £98 15s, £99 ss, £98 17s 6d, £99, and Bonds, £99 2sr 6d, £99; 4 p.c. (1955), £99 10s, £99, £98 15s. £99. and Bonds £99 7s 6d, £99 10s, £99. AUSTRALIAN LOANS. Interest shown in Australian Commonwealth loans this week may be gauged' by the business reported on New Zealand Stock Exchanges, which was as follows: — 4 per cent. Australian Consolidated Stock (1941), £102 13s 9d; (1947), £102; (1944), £102 2s 6d; 4 per cent. Commonwealth Bonds C 1950), £103 2s 6d; (1951-55), £103 2s 6d. LOCAL BODY LOANS. The turnover in New Zealand local authorities' loans was on the small side, the following sales being reported:'— 4i per cent. Wellington City (1943), £.100 15s; (1951), £102 12s 6d. 4J per cent. Dunedin Drainage Board (1950-53), £102 15s, and (1953-56), £101. 4£ per cent. Hamilton Borough (1960), £101. 4J per cent. Auckland Hospital Board (1944), £101. Company debentures reported sold included 6£ per cent. Gisborne Sheepfarmers (1941), £101; 6 per cent. Amalgamated Brick, Wellington (1944), £96 10s, and Auckland (1944), £97. BANKS, INSURANCE, FINANCE. The volume of business in bank shares was rather small, but most of the attention was paid to the shares of the two New Zealand institutions. The prices actually paid this week, or where no sales were reported, buyers' or sellers' values, were as follows:— Highest. Lowest. Bank. £ 6. d. £ s. d. New. Zealand •! 1 H 2 0 8 National of Xew Zealand 2 10 2 2 9 9 New South Wales coo 15 0 31 5 0 Australasia 10 :i 0 10 2 0 Union :... S 14 9 *S 10 0 Commercial 0 16 10 0 IB 8 E.S. and A. 5 11 0 5 10 0 ■"Buyers. The sales of Bank of New South Wales shares were for those in the Sydney register. Buyers were in the market at £30 15s for shares on the Melbourne register. Business reported in Bank of New Zealand shares opened at 40s 6d and steadily improved to 41s 3d, with sales following at 40s lOd, closing at 41s 6d. The long-term mortgage or D shares '■* sold at 27*-lid, but the price thereafter fell to 275. j National Bank of New Zealand sold at 50s '2d, but eased down to 49s 9d, recovering to 50s. Commercial Bank of Australia showed but little change on the week, keeping at about 16s 9d. The prefer-! erice issue of this bank made £9 13s, a slight improvement on the price reported last week. There were sellers of National Bank

of Australasia (£5) at £6 17s 6d, ! buyer's' ideas of value being £6 13s 6d. Commercial Bank of Sydney shares were in demand at. £20 ss, but there were no declared sellers. The insurance share section was relatively active with a larger turnover than usual. Nationals had business from 15s 9d to 16s 2d, the closing i price. South British improved from 43s 9d to 44s 3d, and a similar recovery was made in New Zealand Insurance, which opened at-53s and closed at 54s 3d. Standards were wanted at 50s 3d, sellers quoting 53s 9d. Queens-! land Insurance shares were available at 57s but there were no buyers. ■ Financial companies' shares were very quiet, in fact unwanted. New Zealand Guarantee Corporation show- ] ed no change with business done at! 4s Id. | STOCK AND STATION COMPANIES. Stock and station companies' shares ( were in slack demand. Business was done in Dalgetys at £7 19s 3d, and Goldsbrough Morts advanced with sales at 28s to 28s 9d. National Mortgage A sold at 40s. There were buyers of New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Stock at £22 10s, but sellers stood out for £30. Some attention was paid to Farmers' Auctioneering shares, with: the result that sales were reported of! A pref. at 21s and B pref. at 20s. METAL SHARES. The turnover in Australian mining j shares was only moderate but the; trend of the market was generally upwards, prices comparing as follows: — Highest. Lowest. Close. Broken Hill South .. 32/3 31/7 32/3 Electro. Zinc (ord.) .. 46/- 45/- 46/Electro. Zinc (pref.) .. 49/5 48/- 49/5 Mount Lyell 29/2 2S/S 28/10 Mount Jlorgau 10/- 9/10 10/North Broken Hill was not reported j among the sales. STORE SHARES. There was not much activity in the chain store share market this week. except for Woolworths (N.Z.), which were in active demand, rising from 19s I to 20s 9d, but eased down to 20s 7Jd. ] Woolworths, Ltd., sold at 20s 9d to] 20s lid, closing at 20s lOd. G. J. Coles improved from 79s 6d to 80s. ' I Myers Emporium, Melbourne, were in the sales, the ordinaries commanding 29s 4£d and the preference issue 36s 3d to 36s 6d. Apart from Woolworths (N.Z.), no other New Zealand store shares were in the sales. INDUSTRIAL AND OTHER. Sales df New Zealand industrial shares were almost negligible. BusiI ness reported will be found in the table of sales for the week appearing on the opposite page. Broken Hill shares were on a rising market with a moderate amount of business at from 57s 3d to 58s 3d. Australian Glass held at around £5 2s. Sales were made at down to £5 Is, but the latest report was £5 2s 6d. British Tobaccos were on^a firm market at between 48s 6d and 495. Burns. Philp eased down from 53s 6d to 535. Colonial Sugars opened at £49 and di-opped to £48 12s 6d, the closing price being £48 15s. Dunlop-Perdriau call for no special remark, standing at 20s 7d, with 38s 5d paid for preference. Brewery shares were firmer, New Zealand Breweries moving up from 35s to 41s. Dominion Breweries rose to sales at 365, but later these shares changed hands at 355. Australian brewery shares sold included Tooths at 55s 6d and Carlton at 66s s|d. OIL AND GOLD. I Taranaki Oils keep at around 13s. A ! sale of Oil Search, Australia, at 7s | was notified. Blackwater Mines inproved from 17s 6d to 18s 6d. Waihi Investments sold [at 8s 7d and Marthas at 10s.