FINANCE & COMMERCE

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27985, 4 June 1956, Page 14

FINANCE & COMMERCE

Review Of Week’s Stock Exchange Transactions

Turnover on the sharemarket in Christchurch last week was the lowest for a five-day week since the first week’s business of the year. The large miscellaneous section of the quotation list showed the biggest drop in turnover—from 13,500 shares to 4500—and the Aus-tralian-domiciled shares in this section had less than their usual volume of business.

Five of the six lower prices recorded during the week were paid for Australian companies’ shares, and the generally lower prices for these shares no doubt contributed to the decline in their turnover. For the first time in five weeks, rises outnumbered falls by two to one. With the exception of Australian securities, all sections of the market shared the higher prices, though unchanged prices outnumbered price variations.

Australian and London prices eased during the week. On Wall street Thursday’s trading produced the first sustained rally for two weeks. The latest Dow Jones index figure for industrial common stocks shows that prices have receded about 8 per cent, from their April peaks. Details of transactions on the Christchurch Stock Exchange, with the figures for the previous week in parenthesis, are as follows: Government stock, £5340 (£5450); local, body and company debentures, £2BOO (£1700); banks, 320 (838); breweries, 567 (165); frozen meat, 200 (746); gas, 3630 (3404); insurance, 240 ( 300); loan and agency, 1060 ( 700); timber, 100 (nil); woollens, 830 ( 600); miscellaneous, 4535 (13,483); Australian mining, 300 (100); unlisted, 521 (555); total, 12,303 ( 20,891). Gilt-edged Yields Four of the six Government loan issues traded in Christchurch last week showed higher yields than they did at the previous week’s prices. There are indications now that Government stock yields, which have fallen steadily since the end of March, are more stable. The yield on long-term stock has shown a slight upward tendency since the second week in May, and the yield on medium-term securities has fallen only slightly since then. . x x> Short-term stock has been consistently in demand. Since the beginning of the month, the average yield on these securities has fallen frcm £4 9s 6d per cent, to its present level of about £4 6s 2d per cent. This sharp decline was halted abruptly about 10 days ago, but it is too soon to say whether the demand will hold stocks at their present level. Yields on Government stock traded in Christchurch last week were as follows: 3 per cent., 1955-58, £3 16s 2d per cent.; 32 per cent.. 1958, £3 19s 5d per cent.; 3 per cent., 1956-59, £4 8s Id per cent, and £4 6s 8d per cent.; 32 per cent., 1959, £4 6s 8d per cent.; 1959-61, £4 8s 5d per cent.; 3 per cent., 1963-65, £4 12s 9d. Two parcels of Otago Hospital Board debentures, maturing in seven years, changed hands. A 4 per cent, loan, this issue was sold at a discount of £5 2s 6d. Among the preference issues on the sales list, Skellerups and Gadsdens each gained 6d to sell at par. Andrews and Beaven and Feltex, N.Z., sold unchanged at 19s and 20s respectively. New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative B preference and Tekau preference, neither of which has

been recently sold in Christchurch, were , sold at 16s 6d and 19s 6d respectively. Commonwealth Bank of Australia sold j; unaltered at 14s 6d. New Zealand Breweries made a good ■ gain to sell at 40s. Ballins, in first local business for some time, sold for 28s 3d. H New Zealand Refrigerating gained 6d to 1 sell at 28s 6d. Christchurch Gas, paid and contribut- ; ing, were again active. Each improved ■ fractionaHy early in the week to sell at 24s Id and 19s Id, and subsequent busi- . ness was all written at these prices. : N.Z. Insurance Firmer New Zealand Insurance had first Christchurch business for four weeks and reached their highest price—BBs—since the capital increase last year. The only business in the timber section recorded in Christchurch this month was the sale of one parcel of Kauri, new, on Monday, at 22s 9d. Dalgety A and B each gained 3d m sales at 9s 9d and 10s respectively. C.F.C.A. sold unchanged at 33s 9d. Tekau sold unchanged at 245. Bonds Hosiery changed hands at 16s after a long absence from the sales list. The miscellaneous section was comparatively neglected throughout the week. Coles opened unchanged at 14s Id, a later sale being made at 14s. A single sale of Woolworths was recorded at the higher figure of 13s 6d. Electrolytic Zinc, ordinary, dropped sharply in business at 37s 6d and 36s 6d. Broken Hill Proprietary improved to sell at 33s 3d. Colonia] Sugar changed hands at the lower price of £3l 15s. Herald and Weekly, a little-traded stock, sold for 15s 3d. N.Z. Shares National Electric was the only New Zealand-domiciled share in the miscellaneous section which sold at a lower price. The £5 17s 6d paid on Friday represented a drop of 2s 6d on the price paid in Christchurch a month ago. Fletcher Holdings, cum div., sold unchanged at 38s. Golden Bay Cement, rights, had light business at the fractionally higher price of 3s Id. Forest Products sold unchanged at 19s. Watties Canneries made a good gain to sell at 21s 6d. Reid Rubber were also dearer, in a sale at 26s 3d. A small parcel of C. and A. Odlin sold at 425. New Zealand Newspapers were steady in business at 34s 6d. Hay’s had light business at the unaltered price of 24s 6d. Mount Lyell eased to sell at 23s 6d. Canterbury Saleyards, a little-traded share, sold for 555. Kaiaooi Woollen were ' steady in business at 235.