Stocks to watch: BTU, CHA, GFF, NZO, TEL, WHS

Stocks to watch: BTU, CHA, GFF, NZO, TEL, WHS

Jan. 17 (BusinessDesk) – The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading. All prices are in New Zealand dollars unless specified.

Themes of the day: Government is set to release data on the December food prices today. The cost of groceries, which declined fell 0.6% in November, may come under pressure after commodity prices reached a new record high in the month according to the ANZ Commodity Price Index. The Real Estate Institute housing data is expected to show more weakness in the property market. Global equity markets are likely to be focused on the U.S. financial sector, with banks set to start releasing their third quarter earnings this week. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.7% on Friday, while in Europe the Stoxx 600 fell 0.1%.

Bathurst Resources Ltd. (BTU): The NZX and ASX-listed coal miner told the Australian Stock Exchange strong rises in the price of premium hard coking coal and a continued growing interest in the metallurgical coal market are most likely behind the rapid rise in its share price. Shares on the NZX rose 0.9% on Friday to $1.15, and have risen 25% in value since listing on Dec. 13.

Charlie’s Group (CHA): The juice and soft drinks manufacturer rose 6.2% on Friday to 19 cents after supermarket Coles announced it was extending the company's products across its 750 Australian stores. "It does appear to be a small cap stock on a growth path," said Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene.

Goodman Fielder Ltd. (GFF): The food ingredient manufacturer said its manufacturing facilities in Queensland had not been affected by the flooding, and full-scale production expected to resume shortly. Shares fell 1.1% on Friday to $1.73.

New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO): Global energy prices continued to rise amid signs that the global economy is tracking towards recovery, with Brent Crude last trading at US$99.74 a barrel. Shares in the energy exploration and production company were unchanged on Friday at 86 cents.

Telecom Corp. (TEL): New Zealand's biggest phone company is investigating whether sales staff at Slingshot, a mobile marketing company, fraudulently accessed customer information on its Wireline database. Shares were unchanged on Friday at $2.28.

Warehouse Group (WHS): New Zealand's biggest listed retailer played down speculation chief executive Ian Morrice would be stepping down over the retailers’ weak performance. The Auckland-based company cut its forecast first-half profit to a range of between $51 million to $54 million in the six-months ended January 30, compared to the $57 million reported in the same period a year ago, following weaker sales over the key Christmas retailer period. Shares rose 0.6% on Friday to $3.54.

(BusinessDesk)

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