Ups and downs but shares finish near where they started

Mainfreight recorded one the most stand-out performances of the year. Photo / Sarah Ivey

As another year of global financial markets draws to a close, the total value of shares listed on the New Zealand sharemarket ended little changed from where it started at the beginning of the year.

With the NZX closing early ahead of the New Year holiday weekend, the NZX-50 index of leading stocks closed 0.28 per cent lower than where it opened the year, although it rose 0.88 per cent in trading over the course of the day to 3274.71.

Total turnover was a little over $29 million, making it another light day in the traditionally quiet, short week between Christmas and New Year.

Over the course of the year, the NZX-50 went as high as 3577.44 on May 20, only to hit the year's low point three months later at 3097.11, on August 9, in the midst of global gloom brought on by the United States tortuous agreement to a new federal debt ceiling and a credit rating downgrade for the world's most powerful economy.

Over the course of the year, stand-out performances were recorded by two international logistics companies, Mainfreight and Freightways, which rose 23.08 per cent and 15.77 per cent to $9.90 and $3.68 a share respectively. Port of Tauranga shares also had a strong gain, up 30.2 per cent to $9.95, as it benefits from strong commodity exports and industrial woes at its main competitor, Ports of Auckland.

However, the largest single rise for the year went to the stock exchange operator itself, NZX, whose share price rose 51.63 per cent to $2.26. The chief executive over the past decade, Mark Weldon, announced his intention to resign in 2012.

Hard hit over the year were retail stocks such as The Warehouse, Hallenstein Glasson and Pumpkin Patch, while market heavyweight Fletcher Building shed 21.93 per cent to end the year at $6.11. Shares in Contact Energy, the largest listed energy company, lost 16.84 per cent over the year, closing at $5.27.