COMMERCIAL London Investors Start Year Well

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29716, 9 January 1962, Page 14

COMMERCIAL London Investors Start Year Well

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

LONDON, January 7.

Stock markets made a generally satisfactory start to the New Year with investors hiking the long-term rather than the short-term view.

Industrials made good progress although leading stock attracted most attention. There was a marked expansion in business but it would appear that a good deal of the buying was the result of New Year optimism stimulated by press references to the outlook for 1962, there being very little in the economic picture to encourage investors to commit themselves to any great extent.

Heavy electrical equipment shares were in demand and moved to better levels. Steel shares, however, cafne under pressure following some rather depressing statements from company chairmen. Engineering shares made good progress, especially shipbuilding issues.

Gilt-Edged Gilt-edged securities encountered a moderate demand on hopes of a further reduction in the British bank rate in the not too distant future.

In the foreign market Greek bonds went ahead on some speculative buying. Interest in South African gold shares was small and after holding selectively harder values throughout the week reacted to close mainly easier.

Coppers were quiet but tins made some headway. Australian mining shares were a few pence better in places, while in pastoral shares Dalgety rose slightly. Most oil shares moved narrowly and towards lower levels but Australian Oil and Gas after falling sharply at the beginning of the week due to a lack of further development news staged a good recovery and most of the earlier loss was regained.

Testing Progress At Glentulloch (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) MELBOURNE, Jan. 8. The Associated Australian Oil Group today reported that production testing in the Glentulloch No. 1 well is in progress. The interval, 2490 to 2530 ft, which produced 1.75 m cubic feet a day, on drill stem test, has been on production for 63 hours and is now producing 2.1 m cubic feet of natural gas a day and a small quantity of water. Further testing of the intervals which yielded 2m and 2.9 m cubic feet a day on drill stem test will be commenced in the next few days.