SHAREMARKETS Holidays keep buyers away

Press, 26 January 1988, Page 24

SHAREMARKETS Holidays keep buyers away

The normal summer holidays, coupled with special holidays in Wellington (Anniversary Day) and Australia (Australia Day) kept buyers away, and share prices fell again yesterday on the lowest turnover for some years.

The Barclays index of industrial shares fell 23.76 points to 1925.40 — only 7.63 points above its low for 1987, the 1927.77 set just before Christmas. The NZSE capital index fell 5.77 points to an all-time low of 684.70. There were five falls for every two rises. Turnover was exceptionally low as only 3.5 million shares changed hands for $2.9 million an average of just 83c a share.

“A lack of buying interest coupled with a

Wellington holiday saw what buying interest there was give way to any selling,” said a spokesman for the Wellington broking firm, Francis Allison Symes. Rada Corp — its suspension lifted together with Prorada — closed unchanged at 9c after releasing an updated balance sheet showing negative shareholders’ funds. In the morning session a small parcel of shares sold at 10c. Most Prorada shares sold at 12c, 2c below its previous price, although at the close a small parcel sold at 14c a share. N.Z. Forest Products shares sold at 300 and 301 c, down 6c at the close.

Investment companies were hardest hit, although most falls were small. Brierley Investments

eased 2c to 151, while its Hong Kong subsidiary, I.E.P. lost 6c to 140 and its U.K. offshoot, TozerKM dropped 2c to 200.

Chase Corporation and Equiticorp lost 4c each to 96 and 146, while Capital Markets eased 1c to 115, Renouf Corporation also 1c to 45, and NZ Equities gave up 2c to 118. Euronational and Omnicorp were unchanged, as was Crown at 32 after being down to 30 at one stage. Among banks, BNZ was steady while countrywide put on 3c to 116. Jarden Corporation was 5c off at 80, Judge Corp slipped 1c to 12, and Kupe was steady at 50c. Property companies were generally unchanged, but Robert Jones Investments lost 6c to 102, Wellesley 4c to 80, Mayfair 5c to 90, and Rich-

mond 2c to 88. Goodman Fielder Wattie had the biggest fall among blue-chip industrials — He to 232. N.Z.I. Corporation lost 6c to 190, Fletcher was 2c lower at 435, but Fisher and Paykel, Carter Holt, Steel and Tube, Newmans, and Waitaki were unchanged.

The nation’s two brewers, Lion and Magnum, were both easier. Lion fell 1c to 615, and Magnum 3c to 425. Among retailers, L. D. Nathan was sold down 1c to 608, and Smith City Group 3c to 82. Amuri Corp put on 2c to 52, while Mair and L.W.R. were steady,

The Dunedin companies, Wilson Neill, and Donaghys both lost 5c to 70 and 100, but Skeggs recovered the same amount, to 85. Newspaper proprietors were unchanged with the exception of I.N.L. which dropped 5c to 395. Mr Shane Edmond, of the Christchurch sharebroking firm, Hamilton Hindin and Greene, said that with half Friday’s turnover — itself a very quiet day — trading was extremely thin and directionless. However, the feeling among market watchers was that it might bounce back today, he said.