SHAREMARKET Week begins on easier note

Press, 8 December 1987, Page 29

SHAREMARKET Week begins on easier note

The New Zealand sharemarket began the week yesterday where it left off on Friday, on an easier note with quite high volume. Jarden and Company, the Wellington sharebroking house that was a heavy buyer on Friday, continued to report good buying orders for the two top market leaders, Fletcher Challenge and Brierley Investments. “We are firmly of the opinion this market is oversold, with many sound companies selling well below asset backing,” a Jarden spokesman told NZPA. But few market observers are prepared to try and pick the bottom of this bear market: it still looks pretty fragile. Barclays’ index of 40 industrials lost 16.68 points to 1973.22 while the NZSE capital index was down 5.88 points to 703.32.

Trading was active as 19.0 million shares changed hands for $22.4 million — an average of 118 c a share. There were two falls for every one rise. Brierleys fell back to its issue price of 200 (down 4c) in spite of concerted buying by Jardens. The turnover was 4.8 million shares. Most price movements were small. Exceptions included a 50c fall by EuroPacific to 550, 40c by Pacer Pacific to 1010, 30c by Magnetics, to 35, a 25c drop by General Properties to 70, and losses of 15c by Tozer KM at 115, Rank (30) and Aurora (210). Lanes at 65 lost 20c, and Baycorp posted a 17c loss to 68. Among the investment companies Capital Markets lost 8c to 139, Chase also 8c to 82, Equiticorp 7c to 120, Jarden Corp 2c to 83, Paladin also 2c to 32, Omnicorp to

65, and Robert Jones Investments 6c to 102. Falls of 5c were numerous: Newmans at 130, Prorada (30), Unigroup (100), Nat Pacific (35), BNZ Finance (110), CPD (260) and Investment Finance at 30, among others. Goodman Fielder slipped 3c to 315, Feltex was 7c lower at 275, Lion 10c to 540, Against the trend, Mount Cook put on 25c to 205, Wilson and Horton 10c to 425, L. D. Nathan 5c to 580, Bank of New Zealand 7c to 125, Fletchers 6c to 421, and lEP 5c to 120. Mr John Hutchinson, of the Christchurch sharebroking firm Chamberlain Anderson Sturge, commented: “The market again lacked direction despite the substantial drop by the benchmark 5year Government stock yield to new lows, and calls for the Government to take steps to stimulate the economy and restore confidence.”