Sharemarket up sharply: trends look promising

Press, 18 March 1988, Page 12

Sharemarket up sharply: trends look promising

By NEILL BIRSS The sharemarket made its strongest lift of the year i yesterday. Confidence is increasing that the low of February 29 was a bottom of the October crash. Volumes are up and the market has been able to take reverses such as the poorer Brierley’s interim without going back into a dive. The economic trends look promising, too, with the free-marketeers regaining some confidence in the Government. The Barclays industrial index rose 75.98 points to 1969:25. This is its highest since January 19. It is also higher than the index for the last two weeks of December. The Stock Exchange’s

indices also rose significantly. The gross index, which excludes the effects of dividends, rose; 22.63 points to 709.92. The capital index rose 21.40 pointsto 671.34. I j Rises outnumbered falls ; 74 to 21 (about 3.5| to 1). i Volume was 16,421,085 ($16.32M),ja typical precrash level. Mr Patrick Lee, a market | operator with the ■I Christchurch; broker, Chamberlain, Anderson, i Sturge, said yesterday (St ; Patrick’s Day) was for the bulls, not the leprechauns. Buyers | pursued all leading stocks, many recording healthy gains as sellers were noticeably absent. ( | “There appears to be ( renewed institutional ac- ■ tivily in I the market,

Coupled with i some situation stocks this has stimulated demand,” Mr Lee said. . J "Friday is (traditionally a positive day for [ the market so we expect another good day’s Trading today.” 'h Fletcher Challenge, in turnover of more | than half a million shares,! rose 12c to 470 after a check of 4c on Wednesday. Fletcher shares have risen 22 per cent since the market touched bottom after the crash on February 29. | Carter Holt rose 18c to 175 and Carter Holt options] rose 10c to 45. The ’ ordinary shares and the options I have been climbing f steadily (since bottoming out at 108 c and 8c respectively in the fourth week of February. The shares have risen 71 'per cent| in a month, and the options 462 per cent. ,

Omnicorp rose 4c to 54 on turnover of 1.4 M, but Omnicorp options fell to I2C on turnover of 1.6 M. The Sales suggest the new majority holder in Omnicorp, the Swiss firm, Omni Holdings, ; AG, continues to sweep up offerings. Meanwhile substantial institutional I minority shareholders seek an extraordinary meeting. They:want the Swiss to buy them out at the same price they •paid Chase for its majority holding (123 - shares at 65c in a 583.76 M i deal including 13.58 M options at 28c each). Brierley Investments \ rose 9c to 129, still below the 135 c on Monday before the interim profit announcement, but still l more than 19 per cent up on its post-crash low of 108 on'February 29, when the market vultures circled, waiting for the issue to fall below a dollar. Industrial Equity (Pacific),

the Hong Kong-based international investment arm of the Brierley empire, rose 18c to 195. Since its post-crash low of 115 on February 4, lEP has now risen almost 70 per cent. j Its good showing comes after the interim profit report on Monday, which showed a big lift in earnings per share.

Robt Jones Investments continued its bounce-back from February 29 with a 10c rise to 130. The lift since the low last month is now 71 per cent, i Goodman Fielder rose 15c to 285. The issue;has risen 31 per cent since its low’'of 217 on February 29. Good news recently has included resolution of; some of Wattle’s export problems to Australia.

i Feltex rose 15c to 270, continuing its lift from the February 29 bottom of 215. It has risen 25.5 per cent in this month’s climb from the postcrash pit.