COMMERCIAL Review Of Week’s Stock Exchange Transactions

Press, Volume C, Issue 29437, 13 February 1961, Page 8

COMMERCIAL Review Of Week’s Stock Exchange Transactions

[By Out Commercial Editor] The firmer market in Australia, the continued improvement in the wool market, and the announcement of two large mergers all contributed to heavier trading and higher prices on New Zealand stock exchanges last week.

A feature of the week’s business in Christchurch was the long list of shares traded at steady prices; thirty issues showed no change, compared with thirty which showed some variation.

Of the price variations, 17 were upward and 13 downward, compared with 14 upward and 18 downward the previous week. Eight rises and nine falls were recorded in the New Zealand section, but overseas-domiciled shares were mainly firmer.

Turnover recorded by the Christchurch Stock Exchange rose appreciably. New Zealand industrials were particularly active, more than 17,000 “New Zealand miscellaneous” shares and rights changing hands. The range of shares traded in this category was the widest for many months.

Economist’s Warning

The flrm tenor of the market was in contrast to the sombre note struck by a Wellington economist, Mr A. J. L. Catt, last week, when he claimed that New Zealand was facing a serious economic crisis. The situation, he said, called for prompt official measures to check the drift in the balance of payments position and rising internal inflation.

He claimed that the longer remedial measures were delayed the more severe they would need to be. If his diagnosis is correct the outlook for the sharemarket later in the year is not encouraging. Government stock yields would rise. New Zealanddomiciled shares would be weaker, and the premium on Australian shares would be reduced (providing the Government’s measures were severe enough to prevent speculation against the £N.Z.).

The speculative rise in the price of Bycroft shares was explained on Friday by the announcement of the merger with Aulsebrook. There were buyers in Christchurch on Thursday at 655, compared with business at 60s on January 31. Formation of the holding company will, for the first time, give ordinary shareholders in Aulsebrook the chance of applying for a stock exchange listing.

The merger of Alex. Harvey and J. Gadsden (New Zealand) was a well-kept secret and_ neither of these companies’ shares had shown any sharp movement in the weeks preceding the announcement. Transport (Nelson) on Friday announced their intention to make a bonus issue of shares—the first in the company’s nine-year history. In 1957 a par issue of one-for-9 was made, bringing paid capital to £349.322. Authorised capital is £400,000. so that unless authorised capital is to be increased, a bonus issue could not exceed one-for-7. Shareholders can expect more generous terms than this, however, for the 8 per cent, dividend payment in the last four years has been matched by profits which have averaged more than 17 per cent. Details of transactions on the Christchurch Stock Exchange last week, with figures for the previous week in parenthesis, are as follows: Government stock. £3715 (£7750); local body and companv stocks and debentures. £2OO (nil); banks. 280 (40): breweries. 4800: building societies, nil (200): frozen meat. 236 (927); gas. 700 (100): insurance. 400 (1125); loan and agency. 2452 (550): woollens 5250 (2379); miscellaneous (Australian). 11.679 (15.647): miscellaneous (New Zealand). 17,129 (10.073); overseas listings, 100 (nil): mining. 350 <100>: preference. 300 (1075): unlisted. 900 (2300); total. 44.576 (39,866). Gilts Weaker Government stock yields tended to rise. Yields to matturity on issues traded in Christchurch were as follows: —3 per cent. 1961-63, £4 8s Id per -cent.; 3 per cent. 1961-64, £4 8s 3d per cent.; 3J per cent. 1965, £4 13s 5d per cent.

New Zealand Forest Products preference shares were steady at 21s 3d. No other fixed preference shares were traded.

Overseas-domiciled shares which rose in Christchurch last week were:— Ampol, to 13s 9d (a rise of 2d), Clyde Industries 13s 6d (8d), and rights 4s 6d (6d). Colonial Sugar £7l (755), H C. Sleigh rights 5s lOd (Id) Repco rights 2s lOd (Is), W R. Carpenter 26s 6d (6s), Reid Murray 8s (2d). Mount Isa 55s 6d (2s 6d), and Woolworths (South Africa) 35s (6d). Broken Hill sold at 57s (a drop of 6d). E.Z. Industries at 18s (3d), G. J. Coles at 12s lOd (Id) and Bank of New South Wales at £32 10s (ss). New Zealand gains were made by Christchurch Gas contributing in a sale at 13s (a rise of 3d), Wright. Stephenson 56s 3d (3d), Cyclone Fence 38s (3d). Fletcher Holdings 41s 9d (3d). McSkimming 40s 6d (2s), Transport Nelson 12s (2s), Farmers Trad-

ing 85s 6d (Is 2d) and Hay’s rights 14s 6d (3d).

Ballins Industries fell 2d to 13s 4d, New Zealand Breweries 2d to 12s Bd, South Otago Freezing 6d to 62s 6d, New Zealand Insurance 3d to 68s 9d, South British Insurance B 3d to 52s 9d, New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative 6d to 22s 6d, Burnett Holdings 5d to 6s 6d. McKenzies 3d to 17s and Whitcombe and Tombs Is 6d to 565.

Twenty-two other New Zealand listings were traded locally, at unchanged prices.