NZX trading tumbles in lacklustre June

NZX trading lacklustre in June as value and volume tumbles

July 6 (BusinessDesk) – NZX Ltd., the listed stock market operator, reported a drop in both the value and volume of trading last month, amid signs the domestic economic recovery is running out of puff.

The total value of trades was down 24% to $1.716 billion from June 2009, and the average number of daily trades slipped 18% to 1,994. Liquidity conditions in New Zealand and globally are still challenging, the company said in its operational report.

That comes as concerns about Europe’s sovereign debt weigh on financial markets and fears linger about the pace of the U.S. economy, sapping investors’ appetite to return to the market after the global financial crisis in 2008. The NZIER quarterly survey of business opinion showed a fall in business confidence in the three months through June, as New Zealand’s recovery stumbled amid a fragile outlook for the economy.

One of the few bright spots for June was the 0.4% increase in the number of real time data terminals to 7,335, the fourth straight gain as onshore and offshore end users of market data such as commercial and investment banks continue to increase their focus on markets in New Zealand and Asia Pacific, NZX said.

The NZX’s indices performance notes that its NZX 50 at 2,972 is up 6% on June 2009, though on the calendar year it has fallen by the same amount.

There was only $35.48 million raised as new equity in the month, for a year to date total of $610 million. No new debt was raised through the NZX in June, though $1.18 billion has been raised during 2010.

Reporting back about its energy market, NZX said electricity prices fell steadily over the month. This is due largely to high hydro storage levels in the South Island, increasing storage levels in the North Island and stable oil prices. The total national hydro storage is currently at 74% of maximum, which is above normal for this time of year.

The energy hedge market trades fell 11% in June to 82 compared with May, while their total value slipped 6% across the same period to $3.49 million.

The shares rose 3.9% to $1.62 in trading today.

(BusinessDesk)

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