Stocks to watch: AIR, AIA, NZF, NZX, OGC, PGW

Stocks to watch: AIR, AIA, NZF, NZX, OGC, PGW

March 4 (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: The New Zealand dollar fell to a 19-year low against the Australian dollar ahead of next week’s expected interest rate cuts, with the kiwi last trading at 72.93 Australian cents from 73.23 cents yesterday. That could be a shot in the arm for local exporters looking to sell their goods in Australia, New Zealand's largest trading partner. Global equities gained amid signs that the political unrest in Libya may not escalate into a full-blown civil war after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered to mediate between the government and protesters. That saw oil prices ease back from recent highs, with Brent Crude last trading at US$114.65 a barrel. On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.8%, while Europe's Stoxx 600 rose 0.3%.

Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR): The national carrier announced that Jan Dawson, the local chief executive and chairman of accounting firm KPMG, will join its board from April. She will replace outgoing director John McDonald as part of the national carrier’s board renewal process. The shares fell 1.5% to $1.28.

Auckland International Airport Ltd. (AIA): The outlook for New Zealand's busiest gateway is "favourable", according to First NZ Capital analyst Rob Bode, quoted on the ShareChat website. The airport is investing heavily in air service development marketing and promotion to drive growth, and international capacity additions at Auckland of over 750,000 seats per annum have been announced, which is likely to boost capacity by just over 7%. He said this should underpin traffic growth of about 5% over the second half and a further lift of 5% in the year ending June 2012 before allowing for any boost to traffic from the Rugby World Cup. The shares rose 1.7% yesterday to $1.27.

NZF Group Ltd. (NZF): The financial services company fell 16.7% yesterday to 5 cents after Standard & Poor’s slashed the credit rating on its deposit taking unit. NZF Money Ltd. was cut to CCC/C and put on CreditWatch Negative by the ratings agency, who described the financier’s liquidity position has “weakened and is delicately placed” with an increase in past-due loans.

NZX Ltd. (NZX): The securities market operator continued to see improving share trading in February, according to its latest figures, which show the 2474 average daily trades last month were 15.3% ahead of the same month last year, while the daily average value traded was up 22.5% to $113 million. Total equity raised was $20 million, taking the year-to-date figure to $30 million. Only $6 million of debt was raised, making the total for the first two months of 2011 $82 million. The shares rose 1.1% yesterday to $1.85.

OceanaGold Corp. (OGC): The miner fell 2.5% yesterday to $3.50 after gold prices slipped from a record high, with the metal last trading at US$1411.80 from US$1434.55 previously. Demand for the hedge asset fell after Venezuela offered to mediate a truce between Libyan government and protestors.

PGG Wrightson Ltd. (PGW): Zuellig, a potential bidder for the company, said it would look to thwart a bid for control from Chinese suitor Agria Corp. Zuellig will seek permission to undertake due diligence on Wrightson when they meet the company’s board tomorrow, and said it is after a 19.9% stake and would seek to ensure control of the company remains in New Zealand, potentially by partnering with New Zealand institutional or agriculture sector investors. The shares were unchanged yesterday at 51 cents.

(BusinessDesk)

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