SHAREMARKET Big trades in Smiths City

Press, 27 July 1989, Page 36

SHAREMARKET Big trades in Smiths City

Smiths City Group, the Christchurch-based retailer, topped the market in turnover yesterday, another 3.1 million shares changing hands at a total of SUM.

Smiths City shares have been trading in volume since the beginning of last week. On Monday, 1.3 M changed hands, and 50,000 traded on Tuesday. Last Friday, more than 3M shares traded. Mr Craig Boyce, the executive director of the group, said yesterday that the sales were a realignment of holdings among the institutions which hold more than half of the shares of the group. The institutions include Government Life, National Mutual, Colonial Mutual Life, NZI Life, and Prudential.

Mr Boyce said they were squaring off holdings with sales to each other. There was no hint of a take-over bid by outside parties.

The sharemarket as a whole had another good day, the Barclays index edging up another 6.68 points to 1960.28, and rising prices outnumbering falls about five to four.

Overnight, Wall Street was steady, the Dow Jones industrial index easing less than two points, but rises in prices outnumbering falls nine to eight

The Australian sharemarket closed sharply higher yesterday, the all-ordinary index 11.3 points up at 1617.7. This foUows the Australian June quarter Consumers Price Index rise of 2.4 per cent regarded by the markets as being "right in the slot.” In Tokyo yesterday, investor selling after a five-day rally had the Nikkei index slipping 23.07 points to 34,515.83, compared with the record on Tuesday of 34.538.90.

Mr Kerry Porter, a client adviser with Forsyth Barr, Christchurch, said the N.Z. market acted independently of offshore markets yesterday and against the impact of a firming New Zealand dollar. "A positive feeling about tonight’s Budget, which is expected to reinforce current economic policy, provided the impetus for the market’s rise,” he said.

Adding to the positive sentiments was a very firm bond market, on the back of offshore buying. This saw the benchmark 11/93 Govt stock yield fall to 12.9%. A number of second-line issues stood out, particularly Ceramco and Cavalier, Mr Porter said. “Provided offshore markets remain stable and there are no shocks in the Budget we would expect the firming trend to continue.”

BNZ shares added 3c to 88, 943,100 changing hands, and BNZ rights were up 1c at 14 as 1.4 M sold, probably from the Government

Fletcher Challenge eased 1c to 459, which is 2c above its low for the month, and the year.