SHAREMARKET Going right way

Press, 26 July 1989, Page 34

SHAREMARKET Going right way

The New Zealand sharemarket lifted yesterday, the Barclays index rising 15.9 points to 1953.60, and the number of issues to rise in price heading falls, 25 to 23. The lift came after share prices in New York eased after their big runup. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.38 points to 2584.98. With New York apparently settling into consolidation on Friday after reaching its highest since the 1987 crash. London prices also eased, the FT 100 dropping almost 24 points. The caning of Fletcher Challenge paused. The shares rose 3c on high volume (915,955), which is just 3c above their low of the year. Feltcher’s has lifted only 13c (2.9%) this year. This compares with the 6.3% lift in the Barclays industrial index from the beginning of the year to yesterday. Brierley Investments led the market in volume (2.47 M shares) and value of turnover ($4.6M). It lifted 4c to 189, up 18c this month (10.5%). Brierley’s is 45% up this year.

The leaders dominated total market turnover of $16.88 million on 11.28 M shares.

Stocks listed in both Australia and New Zea-

land rose despite a firming in the currency cross rate with Australia, as the New Zealand dollar settled above Aust77c. Mr Derek Howarth, of the Christchurch broker, Lawrence, Millton, Howarth, said market watches witnessed a burst of energy as buyers returned with vigour to a market recently lacking in direction. It was particularly strong in the afternoon session. Strong rises were seen across the board as leaders tested the psychological barriers: Fletcher’s, 360 c; lEP, 300 c; Brierley’s, 190 c; Lion Nathan, 350 c; and Goodman Fielder Wattie, 390 c. That the movement was contrary to world markets strengthened the belief that the Budget tomorrow evening would favour market investment, and possibly expose some institutions which were underweighted in New Zealand equities, Mr Howarth said.

Cavalier Corporation, the wool and carpet firm, rose 1c to 165. It has risen 25c (almost 18%) this month, and is 80c (94%) up this year. The Auckland broker, Ord, O’Connor, Grieve, recently singled it out as the

second best capital-growth performer on the New Zealand market. (The top performer on this measure was Waitaki International, yesterday down 1c at 47, which is 22c higher than at the beginning of the year, or 88%; the broker’s calculation was made at an earlier date.) Smiths rose another 1c to 57c on sales of more than 50,000 shares. This follows interest in the issue all last week, culminating in the sale of 1.3 M shares on Monday. Lane Walker Rudkin eased 3c to 172, which is below the offer of 75c by Brierley Investments for the 43.87% of the shares it does not already own. The AMP Society has lifted its stake in LWR to above 10% to block Brierley’s from reaching the compulsory acquisition threshold Wilson and Horton eased 7c to 713 and its run of rises, and the country’s other main newspaper publisher, Independent Newspapers, eased 1c to 437.

Magnum lifted 3c, bringing its gain for the month to 15c (5%), which compares well with the run-up of its competitor, Lion Nathan, now at 350, up 26c (8%).