MARKET CLOSE: NZX50 gains, construction strong

MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks rise as U.S. house data buoys local construction companies

By Jason Krupp

July 21 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand stocks rose for a second day as an increase in American building permits stoked investors’ appetite for New Zealand’s construction sector, with Nuplex Holdings, Steel & Tube Holdings, and Fletcher Building Ltd. all gaining today.

The NZX 50 rose 8 points, or 0.3%, to 3,003.40. Within the index 23 stocks rose, 13 fell and 14 remained unchanged. Turnover was $76 million.

Nuplex, the industrial chemical and resin maker, advanced 2.4% to $2.98, Steel & Tube, the steel manufacturer, rose 0.5% to $2.11, and Fletcher Building, the largest stock on the exchange, gained 0.1% to $7.70. The three firms make up the NZSX Building Materials & Construction Index, which increased 0.4% to 1517.5. Stocks on Wall Street gained as American building permits climbed 2.1% from the previous month amid expectations of more soft housing data in the U.S. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%.

“The focus has been offshore, so any positive news over is generally well received over here,” said Alan Moore, who helps manage $600 million for Milford Asset Investment Ltd. “This is particularly case when you consider that markets have been dominated in recent weeks with negative outlooks.”

Mainfreight Ltd., the global supply chain company, paced gainers on the day, jumping 3.2% to $6.40. Commercial property investors were also up on the day, with Goodman Property Trust up 2.2% to 93 cents, and Kiwi Income Property Trust increasing 2.2% to 95 cents.

Shares in Air New Zealand Ltd., the national carrier, rose 1.9% to $1.06 on news that New Zealand’s tourist numbers reached 2.5 million for the first time in a 12-month period in June as Australians kept coming across the ditch for a cheap holiday.

Visitor arrivals climbed 8% to 145,800 in June from the same month a year ago, according to Statistics New Zealand. The data showed an annual 2.501 million people visited New Zealand, topping the previous record of 2.497 million in the 12 months through March 2008. Some 45% of the visitors came from Australia.

Retailers Kathmandu Holdings climbed 2% to $2.05 and Warehouse Group climbed 1.4% to $3.61 after Reserve Bank data showed a 1.5% increase in June’s credit card billings from a month earlier.

Shares in gold miner Oceana Gold Corp. rose 1.6% to 3.91 after the company released its second strong indication this month of extensions to known resources at its Frasers Underground mine in Otago. The company said early indications of new mineralization areas are "very encouraging”.

New Zealand Refining Co., the Marsden Point oil refinery operator, fell 3.8% to $3.15 leading decliners on the day. The company announced a drop in refining margins to US$3.83 per barrel in May and June, following a recovery from last year's slump earlier in the year, on throughput of 6.4 million barrels.

Pike River Coal Ltd., the coal exploration and production company, fell 3.1% to 93 cents, after the government yesterday backed down on opening up sensitive conservation land to mining.

Rakon Ltd., the crystal oscillator manufacturer, fell 2.1% to 93 cents and Pumpkin Patch Ltd., the children’s clothing retailer, fell 2.1% to 1.89.

(BusinessDesk)

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