Market close: Fisher and Paykel Healthcare makes big gains

Fisher and Paykel recovered the previous day's losses and more. Photo / File

A suggestion that Fisher and Paykel Healthcare product could be used in home diagnosis led to a recovery in its share price and in the local stock market generally.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 70.12 points or 0.61 per cent to 11,609.22, and 48 million shares worth $154.41 million changed hands. There were 57 gainers and 78 decliners over the whole market.

Fisher and Paykel recovered the previous day's losses and more, rising $1.23 or 3.94 per cent to $32.42 on trade worth $32.42m.

Rickey Ward, JBWere head of investment strategy group, said a broker's note in the United States indicated that a study was under way to find ways of funding home medical diagnosis.

"The expectation of home diagnosis in the United States and Europe has been brought forward because of Covid," he said. "People can be tested and treated in the comfort and security of their homes rather than be put into situations of mass gatherings and higher risk.

"This benefits companies like Fisher and Paykel which produces sleep apnea and high-flow technology such as humidifiers. Home diagnosis is an enormous market," Ward said.

Fisher and Paykel's competitor in Australia, ResMed, also had a strong rise on the S&P/ASX 200 Index, climbing 71c or 3.06 per cent to A$23.86 ($25.82).

Ward said the lower trading on the New Zealand market was a sign that stocks were well owned or it is going into a holiday period and focusing on the election policies being provided by the different parties.

Mainfreight, which rose 25c to $45.85, is receiving continued support after the British government said it would remove duty free tax on some goods and services as part of the UK's exit from the European Union.

Freightways, too, is having a revival, up 14c to $7.66, and Ward said retailer Harvey Norman reported its online sales was the highest in 60 years. "If you buy online, the products have to be couriered from A to B and Freightways has benefited. There are also more people working from home – and that's another effect of Covid."

It was recovery day all around as Pushpay Holdings gained 15c to $7.75, Ryman Healthcare was up 18c to $13.68, and SkyCity increased 9c or 3.24 per cent to $2.87 with restrictions on gatherings being reduced in Auckland on Thursday morning.

Chorus fell further, down 14c to $8.66; a2 Milk had a late fall to $17.65, down 21c; and Briscoe Group lost 17c or 4.17 per cent to $3.91with shareholders reaching the recorded day of September 22 for receiving the interim dividend.

Overnight in the United States, the topsy-turvy Dow Jones Industrial Average had a 500-point fall, losing 1.84 per cent to 27,147.70 as investors worried about when Washington will agree on another Covid economic stimulus bill.

The S&P 500 Index was down 1.16 per cent to 3281.06 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.13 per cent to 10,778.80 points.

Gold is struggling to get back to its fabled US$2000 an ounce benchmark, trading steadily at around US$1912 an oz. The NZ dollar remains solid at 66.79c against the US greenback, having moved up from 57.35c in mid-May.