COMMERCIAL

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25550, 19 July 1948, Page 8

COMMERCIAL

STOCK EXCHANGES INVESTMENT TRENDS REVIEWED (By Our Commercial Editor.) Business was very well spread on the Christchurch Stock Exchange last week, with the exception that Australian shares were not so actively traded as in some previous weeks. Price variations in the main were small and rises outnumbered falls. The week’s turnover at 12,545 shares was 638 up on the previous week. Details of business with tne previous week’s figures in parenthesis, are as under:—Government loans, £l7OO (£1300); bank shares, 200 (560); breweries, 600 (400); coal, 300 (nil); frozen meats, 200 (1250); gas, 200 (nil); insurance, nil (200); loans and agency, 175 ( 622); shipping, nil (400); woollens, nil (26); miscellaneous, 7110 (7308); mining, 900 (100); unlisted, 2860 (950). Government loans issues were firm, with very little business passing. The 1962-64 3 per cent, issue had business at £99 10s, ex interest, to show the purchaser an even 3 per cent, return. Commercial Bank ordinary shares had the only business in the banking section, which was particularly dull. There was again lack of evidence of London buying support for the English domiciled banks. Trading in the breweries section was on a very modest scale. Ballins were firm with business at 35s 6d, and buyers offered Id more at the close. New Zealand Breweries lost a little ground to sell at 54s 9d. A little more interest was displayed in the coal' section. Pukemiros had business at the unchanged rate of 335. Buyers for both Kaitangatas and Taupiris advanced their offers, and sales of the latter stock took place in the North at 925, but local buyers were prepared to pay more on the closing day. In the frozen meats section. New Zealand Refrigerating paids lost a little ground to sell at 40s, and more were available at that figure. The contributing shares of the same company appeared slightly easier, with quotations from buyers at 19s, with sellers asking 19s 2d. Wellington Gas Company shares were traded at 30s 6d. Apart from this, no business was recorded in this section. Buyers for Christchurch fully-paids were slightly better, and the contributing shares were steady. No sales were recorded in the insurance section, but quotations were fairly firm.. except for Nationals, which appeared to be easier. In the loans and agency section. C.F.C.A. preference shares were traded at the unchanged rate of 60s. Dalgetys did business at £l2, but sellers were prepared to accept less at the close of the week. Here again there appeared to be no evidence of London buying support. A small parcel of N.Z. Farmers’ Co-opera-tive, 1950 4Mt per cent, stock, sold at £lO3 ss. Miscellaneous Section In the miscellaneous section Fletcher Holdings ordinary shares showed a small rise to sell at 335. Hays, Ltd., also registered a slight improvement to sell at 66s 6d, and more were on offer at this figure. National Electrics were firm with business at 56s 6d, and more were wanted at the same price. Metters New Zealand were sold at the unchanged rate of 265, and closing quotations were near this figure. Rubber Distributors, which are not often traded on the Christchurch market, had a sale at 21s, Claude Neon New Zealand enjoyed a moderate turnover at the unaltered rate of 44s 6d. Consolidated Brick improved to sales at 14s, with more offering at this figure. Dunlop New Zealand ordinary shares, after business at 235, moved up to sales at 23s 6d and the company’s preference shares were steady at 21s 9d. Whitcombe and Tombs improved appreciably to sell at £9. This company’s plans for capital alterations were announced during the week. Under the proposed rearrangement the sale of the £2 10s paid shares at £9 is the equivalent of 20s 6d for the new 10s paid shares. Last year’s full dividend of Whitcombes was at the rate of 9 per cent.

Beath and Company shares had a fair turnover in reported business at 50s 3d. Booth Macdonald preference shares sold at the unchanged rate of 13s, and New Zealand Drug were also steady with business at £5 8s 6d. New Zealand Newspapers were traded at the unaltered figure of 46s 9d, and transactions took place in Donaghys Rope at 59s 6d—unchanged. New Zealand Farmers Fertilisers lost a little ground to sell at 30s 6d. New Zealand Forest Products registered a slight improvement to sell at 6s 2d. Macduffs preference shares were firm with sales at 28s 9d, and for the first week for a long time there were no sales of the ordinary shares, quotations for which were near the 13s 3d mark. Wilsons Cement improved 3d to sell at 17s, although it would appear that this improvement was not maintained in the north. Woolworths New Zealand, had business at 25s 9d, and more

were wanted at the same figure. worths, Ltd., lost ground over the vzedf to sell at 24s lid down to 24s Bd. No transactions were recorded in G. J. Cole*, which company announced during the week an increased dividend. No sales were recorded in United Provisions ordinaries, but quotations were lower and sales in Australia were recorded at 15s—the interim dividend was passed earlier in the year. Electro Zinc ordinary shares had sales at 78s 6d and the preference stock sold at 78s 3d, showing little alteration on last business. Cafe onial Sugars improved when an odd lot sold at £59 7s 6d and sales were recort" ed on the Australian exchange during the week as high as £6O 2s 6d. The Australian mining section was quiat. and there were sales until the closing stages of the week, when a parcel of Mount Lyells was traded at 31s 3d, to show a drop of 3d. In the New Zealand mining section Grey Rivers improved 6d to sell at k 6d. The shares of Austral New Zealand which have not appeared on the sale« list for some considerable time, changed hands at 6s 6d—early in 1940 these £1 shares were selling at 30s. Ngahere shar&J had their first local recorded business for some time when they sold at ss. These shares, which are £1 paids, were selling at about 29s 6d early in 1940. Andrews and Beaven preference shares were firm in the unlisted section with business at 23s 6d and 23s 7d, and Skellerup preference were firmer with sales at 23s 6d. Ngatea Forests, too, were firm with business at 3s and at some calls during the week buyers offered 3s Id. Whakatane Board Mills scored a good rise to sell at 19s, and sales in the north took place as high as 19s 6d. Preference sharrt 1 in the same company were steady with business at 22s 6d. Australian Motorists Petrol changed hands at the unaltered rate of 295.