SHAREMARKET Firm on final full day

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 14

SHAREMARKET Firm on final full day

New Zealand Stock Exchange completed its final full day’s trading for 1988 on a firm, but quiet, note yesterday. The market has only a morning call today to complete a year which has been marked by the fall-out from the October, 1987, sharemarket crash.

The Barclays industrial index gained 8.13 points to 1842.69, but little is read into this by analysts as the trading was a thin 1.4 million shares, down slightly on Wednesday’s 1.7 million turnover. The firm trend of the last two sessions is considered to be caused by a scrip shortage.

The New Zealand Stock Exchange’s capital index closed at 610.70 for a 2.07point gain after being ahead 2.26 points after the morning call. Rises outstripped falls by more than two to one.

There was little New Zealand business news or overseas market news to influence trading. The Tokyo stockmarket closed for 1988 at a record high on Wednesday, and on Wall Street a late spurt helped the Dow Jones average finish 3.75 points up at 2166.43 in quiet trading overnight. Mr Peter Halligan, a market operator for Buttle Wilson, an Auckland sharebroker, said that on-market trading was up slightly on Wednesday’s when most of the major crossings had been off-market. Trading remained in a narrow band on thin volume. Some brokers had only recorded half-a-dozen trades all day. “It would be hard to call it a real market,” he said.

Another operator said it was the solicitors, trust companies and institutions that usually created the demand, but with the majority of these being on holiday little could be read into the trend.

The private investor might be prepared to go that cent higher in chasing a small Brierley parcel, however, that was not the case when institutions were

buying 1 million Brierley shares at a time. Brierley Investments topped the issues on turnover, 242,700 shares changing hands and gaining 2c to 130. Wilson and Horton continued to firm, rising 5c to 555 c, in reaction to taking over the remaining printing and publishing interests of N.Z. News. Elders Resources NZFP jumped 6c to 339, adding to Wednesday’s 3c lift.

Not all market leaders fared well. Fletcher Challenge eased Ic, and Waitaki International, which reported a S97M total loss last week, eased 3c to 25. Mount Cook Group continued to show some volatility, jumping 12c yesterday after losing 7c in the previous session. Equiticorp, Goodman Fielder Wattie, and Magnum Corporation all held their ground. The ANZ Banking Group, which holds a courtesy listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, jumped 12c to 740 possibly in reaction to its purchase of Postßank from the Government. The ANZ rose Aust4c on the' Australian sharemarket. Other banking issues were mixed — Countrywide falling 2c and the Bank of New Zealand unchanged at 140. Among second-liners, Crowe Corporation, the listed Christchurch-based goat company which is in receivership, stood out on a non-market purchase of 13c a share. The company, now controlled by Kearns Corporation, a Christchurch investment group, last sold for 5c onmarket. Dunbar Sloane, the listed Wellington art dealer, gained 2c and Renouf Corporation firmed 1c to 18. The mining and oil sector was quiet. Kiwi Gold traded unchanged at 30 on a late sale. The miner announced a loss last week, but it is proposing to sell its gold interests to Kiwi Oil in return for control of the oil company. Mineral Resources ended steady at 55 and New Zealand Oil and Gas rose 1c to 80 on a late sale.