THE MARKET Profit-taking halts four-day run

Press, 15 October 1986, Page 41

THE MARKET Profit-taking halts four-day run

Rises outnumbered falls more than three to two on the New Zealand stockmarket yesterday, but the market eased in the afternoon and closed a share weaker, with Barclays’ index of industrial shares giving up 1.51 points to close marginally lower at 3303.90. As the recent bull run appears to have been caused by heavy buying from small and especially new small investors, so yesterday’s brake on the trend appears to have been caused by selective profit-taking by the more sophisticated investor. Turnover was high, at 11.0 million shares worth $32.4 million — as the high average of 295 c a share shows, a large proportion of the turnover could be attributed to blue chip stocks. “A bit of profit-taking yesterday,” said Mr Tim Preston, market operator for the Christchurch

sharebroking firm Hamilton Hindin and Greene. "Some of the entrepeneurial stocks came off the top during the afternoon.

“The market had been steady in the morning, but had a mixed feel later on,” Mr Preston said. Some second-line stocks that had been ignored by investors lately, posted the biggest rises: Qtrom leapt 130 c to 670, Tag jumped 55c to 450, and Thoroughbred 50c to 335.

Qtron announced after the close of trading that it was forming a new trust, in partnership with Chase. Other substantial gains were made by Barclays, 35c to 410, Ceramco, lEP, and CCL, all 30c to 1080, 1080, and 380, LD Nathan 23c to 648, Ajax 25c to 220.

Command at 360, Bexley at 420, Wilson and Horton at 730, and Leyland at 400.

Chase put on 17c to 690, and next came General Properties, Unity, and Baycorp, 15c each to 260, 500, and 490. Two shares rose 13c each — Allflex at 228, and Renouf Properties at 338. Mount Cook rose 12c to 250, while 10c gains were common, and heavily outnumbered the falls of 10c.

Rainbow Properties at 335 c, shed 15c of recent gains, Transpac lost 20c to 230, and Waitaki had a 10c reversal to close at 150.

NZ Marine Farms recovered a further 3c in sales at 178, but fellow salmon farmer New Zealand Salmon lost 10c to 405.

Equiticorp and Chase were volume leaders as well as leaders by value; once again Prime West was in the top four leaders by volume as the redistribution of the shares continues apace.