THE MARKET Firm but very dull

Press, 13 November 1985, Page 49

THE MARKET Firm but very dull

Prices firmed a little on a very dull sharemarket yesterday, as 4.7 million shares worth $7.9 million changed hands and Barclays’ index of industrial shares rose 3.64 points to 1643.50. “The most restful day we’ve had for quite some time,” said Mr David Dott, of Chamberlain, Sturge and Company, Christchurch sharebroker. “It was so quiet, you’d wonder if all investors were out at Addington Raceway,” he said.

Mr Garth Williams, of the Auckland sharebroking firm Creagh, Harriman, McKenzie and Company, said that there was no excitement in the market at all: “it needs a bomb under it."

Tuesdays had been a quiet day for three weeks now, he said. Yesterday some regu-larly-traded stocks were not traded at all — absolutely typical of this market, Mr Williams said.

The easing of both interest rates and the New Zealand dollar may have stimulated prices, but so many investors are still on the sidelines to see

if the downward trend of interest rates continues. Off-market sales of more than a million shares were included in the total turnover.

Steel and Tube special sales comprised 223,374 shares at 158 and 426,626 at 160, brokers attributing the off-market activity to a shortfall for the company’s rights issue. On market it rose 6c to 161.

Special sales in Allflex, with Unity and Leyland Capital battling each other for 20 per cent stakes, totalled 277,743 at 280 — 5c above the market price. There were also 333,374 Independent Newspapers shares sold off-market at 303, as its market price rose 7c to 302. Continued offshore buying interest propelled NZ Goldfields upwards by 70c to 485 and sent the Barclays mining index up 11.08 points to 143.25. NZIG, which last week announced a one-for-two bonus issue and profit rise, finned 15c to 350, and Wilson Neill, which yesterday announced a doubled interim profit, added 10c to 225. Other rises of 10c were Abacus to 200, ICL to 205,

Revertex to 210, and SmithBiolab to 265.

There were, however, some big falls among second-liners, with Christchurch Press down 30c to 210, Emco down 25c to 210, and Investment Finance also down 25c to 170. Cavalier Elco, among exporters whose shares have been sold down aggressively on the strong New Zealand dollar, shed 20c to 120.

Chase firmed 8c to 388, while Feltex put on 6c to 258, and Progressive Enterprises rose 5c to 325. Other gains were recorded by Goodman, 3c to 368, Dominion Breweries 2c to 292, ANZ 1c to 262, and NZI lc to 178. Cable Price Downer, which on Monday announced a cash issue and increased interim profit, fell 5c to 285. Winstone lost 4c to 144, and Equiticorp was marked back 1.5 c to 270 on going ex-dividend yesterday. McConnell Dowell shed 3c to 115 in the wake of Monday’s announcement that it bought a 25 per cent stake in City Realties, and Carter Holt eased 2c to 208.