Busy trading in Como

Press, 27 September 1988, Page 29

Busy trading in Como

Como Holdings shares traded actively on the Stock Exchange yesterday, ahead of the announcement that the company was in receivership. More than one million Como shares were traded in the morning session at a steady Ic, and a further 100,000 went through at the same price in the afternoon call. The receivership announcement was not made to the Stock Exchange until 4.30 p.m., after trading had closed. Prodigal Gold, a Como subsidiary, was ranked second on turnover after 614,000 shares were sold at a steady Ic. Prodigal was not among the eight Como companies put in receivership. The market was weaker yesterday, leaders sliding on a quiet volume. The Barclays industrial index lost 15.61 points to 1955:04, re-

fleeting the lack of buying support. Turnover was only a moderately active 7.3 M shares, and falls almost outnumbered rises two to one. New Zealand investors had little to go on from overseas exchanges. The Australian market ended lower and the Tokyo exchange was also easier, the’ Nikkei index losing 59.17 points to 27,330.95. The Tokyo market continues to be affected by uncertainty about the health of the Japanese Emperor. Mr Derek Howarth, market operator for Lawrence Millton Howarth, a Christchurch sharebroker, said that buyers stood on the sideline as most leaders were pegged back by the increasingly dominant sellers. Market watchers were focusing their attention on Thursday’s Industrial Equity result, followed

by Monday’s Brierley Investments profit. Brierley ended 4c down on its low of 131 having sold as high as 134 c earlier in the day. Fletcher Challenge was another 4c loser, NZI Corporation easing 3c, and Carter Holt Harvey 2c. Renouf Corporation dropped 4c to 20 after reporting a S4OIM loss on Friday, but Canterbury Roller Flour Mills gained 5c to 140 in spite of reporting a slightly lower final result. Lasercorp Holdings was firmer ahead of today’s annual meeting in Christchurch. Associated British Cables was untraded after issuing a “don’t sell" notice on Friday. Abcal was quoted buy 230 c; no sellers; compared with a last sale price of 230 c. Mair Astley retreated 6c to 184 on its lower final result