BUSINESS ON 'CHANGE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 50, 27 August 1938, Page 12

BUSINESS ON 'CHANGE

MODERATE TURNOVER

SOME PRICE VARIATIONS

"Evening Post," August 27. Business on the stock exchanges of the Dominion this week was slack, in sympathy-with conditions prevailing in Australia. Confidence in markets generally is far from being restored, and in addition, "lean kine" are making their appearance in the balance-sheetsi of some of the stock and station firms of Australia and New Zealand. For instance, the reduction of Winchcombe, Carson's dividend from 8 per cent, paid during the past two years to 7& per cent, is the result of the fall in the price of wool, by no means a unique experience this year of companies of this description.. Australia also has its great wheat trade supplementary to wool as a source of wealth, and the future of the wheat market of the world is discouraging at the moment. Prospects ;of highly-profitable returns from primary, products generally are not resassuring. In New Zealand reports of slow wholesale and retail turnovers are made with some frequency, but in the expectation of brighter business in the spring arid early summer. Reviewing conditions in Australia, which in some respects resemble those of New Zealand, the National Bank of Australasia remarks that while commodity export prices have: been moving downward continuously since April, 1937, the index figures of wholesale and retail prices are slightly higher than they were twelve months ago. The inference drawn from' the comparisons; is that unless export prices rise within the next few months a downward, movement should become evident in internal wholesale and retail prices. This natural..adjustment, however, is being retarded by.increases in wage rates.as fixed by industrial Courts and by substantial additions" to the amounts expended ■ by;-' the ■ Governments and by public bodies upon works and defence. Leaving out of account the. effects of an uneasy European situation—if they can be left out—on the stock and share markets, local conditions in Australia and New Zealand (now that the latter is so deeply interested in Aus-tralian-investments) are sufficient in themselves to. make investors more than ordinarily careful. This state of mind is reflected in the values and turnovers of shares week by week. But there is no marked eagerness to sell at bargain prices, although buyers appear so shy and far between. / GOVERNMENT LOANS. Buyers of New Zealand Government Stocks and Bonds are not offering today the prices they bid twelve months ago, as will be seen in the table hereunder, showing buyers' prices—not sales —at this time last year and during this week. Aug. 25, Last This 1937. week. week. p.C. Year. & & S, 3 15/7/41 98 SG^ 96^ 3% 15/3/39-43 102% 100 997s 3% 15/5/41-52 103^ 101 101 3% 15/1/53-57 98% 95 94% 4 15/2/46 102% 99T4 100 4 15/4/49 104% 10iy 2 101% 4 15/6/55 105. 10iy 2 101% To repeat: These are buyers' prices, not prices at which business was done. Half-yearly interest was paid on August 15 on the 4 per cent. Stock and Bonds of 1946, and it is next due on the 3§ per cent. Stock and Bonds of 1943 on September 15, and on 4 per cent. Stocks and Bonds of 1949 on October 15. It should be noted that the 1940-43 and 1949-52 loans carry interest at 3 h per cent, to the expiry of the free of income tax period, and then automatically become 4 per cent, and taxable. Thus in quotations these issues should be described as 3£~4 per cent. Sales of Government Stocks and Bonds this week were reported as follows: — • 3£ per cent. Stock (1939-43), £100 2s 6d; 3J per cent- .(1938-52), £101, £100 17s 6d, £101? £100 17s 6d; 3 per cent. (1941-43), £100 12s 6d. 4 per cent. Stock (1946), £100 ss, £100, £100 2s 6d; 4 per cent. (1949), £101 12s 6d, £101 10s, £101 15s, £101 10s, £101 7s 6d; 4 per cent. (1955), £101 12s 6d, £101 ss. 4 per cent. Rural Advance Bonds (1947)", £102, £101 17s 6d. There were sellers in Auckland of 3$ per cent. Australian Commonwealth Bonds (15/8/1943) at £98 17s 6d. LOCAL AND OTHER DEBENTURES. Business in local body debentures was relatively active this week, but buyers were not conspicuous in the market and holders' figures quoted freely. Wanganui County (1/1/1945), 4£ per cent, were in demand at £101 10s, and Timaru Borough (31/3/47) 4£ per cent., had buyers at £102. Sales of 4£ per cent, local loans as reported this week were as follows:— Dunedin City (1942), £102 ss; Westport Borough (1944), £101 7s 6d; Ashburton Power Board (1943), £101 10s; North Canterbury Hospital Board (1953), £105. Company debentures included in reported sales this week were as follows: — 6 per cent. Amalgamated Brick, Wellington (1944), £99; 6& per cent. Gisborne Sheep Farmers' (1941), £102 10s. BANKS, INSURANCE, FINANCE. Bank shares have received more attention than usual of late, but prices, if anything, were a little easier than those ruling last week for Bank of New Zealand, Union Banks, and Commercial Banks. The shares of the National Bank of New Zealand appreciated. Bank of New South Wales, cum dividend, had sellers at £31 10s. Bank of Australasia held at £10 15s until Thursday, when sales were reported at £10 10s. An interim dividend at 7 per cent, has since been announced from London. Buyers of Commercial Bank of Sydney offered £19 15s, but sellers' ideas of value were around £20 7s 6d. Bank of Adelaide had buyers at £6, but there were no declared sellers. Business in bank shares for this week reported at noon yesterday was done at the following prices:— High.' Low. Close. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. New Zealand ..230 229 22 9 Nat. of N.Z. ..2129 212 3 212 9 Union 810 6 SlO 0 810 0 Australasia 10 15 0 10 10 0 10 10 0 Bank of N.S.W. 31 5 6 31 0 0 31 0 0 Commercial .. 016 8 016 2 016 2 E.S. and A 5 3 0 5 10 5 3 0 Nat. of Aust., £5 612 0 612 0 612 0 Nat of Aust., ££Q 13 15 0 13 14 0 13 14 0 Sales of Bank of New Zealand long* term D shares were made at 29s Bd. The Bank of New South Wales sales were for shares on the Sydney Register. Interest in insurance shares was confined to New Zealand companies with sellers of Standard quoting down to 56s 6d; and there were sellers of Nationals from 17s 6d down to 17s 2d. Business reported was in New Zealand Insurance at from 56s 9d to 56s 6d, and in South British at 46s 6d to 46s 3d in that order, later recovering to 46s in the stock and station share department holders of New Zealand Loan and Mercantile quoted from £36 down to £33, but there were no buyers. Business was reported in Goldsbrough Morts at from 28s 5d to 28s Bd, the market dropping to 28s 6d and later sellers quoted 28s 2d. Farmers' Auctioneering (B pref.) had sales at 20s 4Jd. Financial companies' shares were m

but poor demand. For New Zealand Trust and Agency 8s 6d was bid but holders did not quote. Wellington Trust Loan had sellers at £5 7s 6d. New Zealand Guarantee Corporation shares changed hands at from 4s 4d to 4s sd. Traders' Finance, 7s 6d paid, were dealt in at 4s Bd. THE MET At, SHARE MARKET. .Usual.day-to-day fluctuations in the prices of metals in London have been recorded with no noticeable .effect on the Australian metal share market. Sales of. such shares in New Zealand have been very small this week/ but prices showed upward movements. Electrolytic Zinc preference advanced ] from sales at 45s 9d to business at 46s 9d; ordinary shares selling at 42s 9d to 43s 2d. Mount Lyells were steady at 28s, an advance of 9d on the week. Mount Morgans varied between. 10s 8d to 10s 9d, closing at 11s. ' North Broken Hill (cum dividend) gained 9d on the week closing at 43s 9d. Broken Hill South (cum dividend) improved from 295.6 dto 31s. BREWERIES. ' Interest in brewery shares was not very keen although considerable business was reported in the Dominion Breweries rights to new shares at from 5s down to 4s 9d. New Zealand Breweries shares opened with sales at 42s and later at down to 41s 3d, picking up to business reported at 41s 9d. j Tooths showed variation from 55s lid to 54s 10d, closing at 55s 3d; Ballin's Brewery (unlisted) sold at 11s 6d. RETAIL STORES. A fair volume of business was done in Woolworths, Ltd:, -at 20s 6d to 21s 6d. Woolworth (New Zealand) kept at 20s. Woolworths Holdings showed but little change on the week, selling at 15s 2d to 15s 3d. Woolworths Properties kept at 14s. G. J. Coles fluctuated from 78s lOd to 79s 9d during the week. McKenzie's Department Stores sold at 645, a fall of Is on the week. Farmers' Trading Co., Auckland, declined from 19s lOd to 19s 9d. Selfridges (A'asia) sold at 16s 6d; and! Self ridges (New Zealand), 16s paid," were reported as selling at 7s. INDUSTRIALS AND VARIOUS. Shares" in New Zealand industrial and other companies were not outstanding in the sales. The only business in coal reported was .Renown at 10s. Gas shares dealt in were Auckland with sales at 20s 6d rising to 20s 9d. Shipping attracted some attention with sales of Howard Smiths at 20s 4d; Huddart, Parker (ord.) at 48s; Union Steam (pref.) at 26s 3d; and Northern | Steamship (11s paid), at 3s 9d. New Zealand textile shares sold were represented by one company, Kaiapoi (17s paid), at 10s 3d. Freezing companies' shares continued on a disinterested market. Gears changed hands at 14s 4d and New Zealand Refrigerating (10s paid) sold at 8s 2d and later at 8s Id. Waitaki Farmers' Freezing shares commanded 87s 6d. The unlisted £1 paid shares of Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company had sales at 21s. Timber shares were very quiet, but sales were reported of Taupo Totaras at 5s 3d and Nationals at 8s 6d. In other New Zealand industrials there were sales of Dominion Fertilisers at 255, N.Z. Paper Mills (contrib.) at 12s; Wilson's Cement at 17s lOd, a drop of- 2d on the week. • Included in the sales were New Zealand Newspaper advancing from sales at 33s to 33s 10|d on the week. The Waikato Carbonisation (1941) stock (unlisted) sold at. £91 10s. ■'■ SOME AUSTRALIAN-SHARES.' \ Prices -for some Australian industrial and other shares now usually quoted in New Zealand showed slight reductions on rates ruling last week. Colonial Sugar, for instance, had business at £48 2s 6d, but last week sales were made at from £49 to £49 2s 6d. Australian Glass opened the week at a reduction of 6d, but recovered to 945, as last week. British Tobaccos were easier at 495, coming back from 49s 6d. Broken Hill Proprietary were steady, and a • fair amount of business was done in them at 58s 8d to 595, and later they touched 58s 4d, recovering to 58s lOd. ■■••.■■■,•• ■ . ... Burns Philps were in. demand with sales at up to 51s 9d. Dunlop-Perdriau Rubbers were steady at around 21s Bd, sales being made at from 21s 6d to 21s 9d. The preference shares of Imperial Chemical Industries (Australia-New Zealand) were in good demand on a rising market with sales reported at from 21s 4d later to 21s 7Jd, and 11s 6d paid for the 10s paid-up shares. Mort's Dock dropped from sales at 12s 4d to Us 10d; . United Provisions rose from 8s 2sd 2 OIL AND GOLD. Moturoa Oil kept at 5s 3d. Taranaki Oil improved from 11s lOd to 12s 2d; and yesterday jumped to business at 14s Id on special attention being paid to these shares in Melbourne. In gold-mining and dredging shares business included Waihi Investments at 9d- Martha, 11s 6d; Australian-New Zealand Mining,- 20s 3d; Emperor (10s paid), 12s 9d; Grey River, 13s 6d; Talisman Dubbo (2s paid), 4s.