Market close: F&P Healthcare lifts NZX into positive territory

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A leading stock like Fisher and Paykel Healthcare doesn't stay down for long. The global medical devices manufacturer rebounded strongly with a 5 per cent gain and drove the New Zealand sharemarket into positive territory.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 12.61 points or 0.10 per cent to 12,264.52, after falling 1.75 per cent the day before – a 1.85 per cent swing in two days. There were, however, 100 decliners and 44 gainers over the whole market on strong volume of 50.12 million shares worth $216.78 million.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, making up more than a half of the index's gain, climbed $1.80 or 5.2 per cent to $35.95 on trade worth $34.8m, after falling to $34.61 the day before.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said "if Fisher and Paykel, and/or a2 Milk, moves in a big way, then so does the index. If it wasn't for Fisher and Paykel, and to a lesser extent Chorus and Pushpay, the market would have been struggling today."

He said Fisher and Paykel is producing what the world wants as Covid cases continue to increase overseas. Even post-coronavirus, the company will have supplementary demand as governments stockpile respirators in case of another pandemic of some nature.

Chorus, which announced a change to its executive team, increased 23.5c or 2.82 per cent to $8.565, Pushpay Holdings was up 19c or 2.07 per cent to $9.39, and a2 Milk gained 11c to $15.23.

There was action in the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund which rose 15c or 3.39 per cent to $4.58. Sullivan said some of his farmer clients "were buying and squaring up their wet shares with the expected production next year."

Synlait Milk was up 10c to $5.43, Freightways increased 5c to $8.29, Hallenstein Glasson gained 11c to $6.09; while Ryman Healthcare fell 42c or 2.9 per cent to $14.08, Port of Tauranga was down 15c or 1.99 per cent to $7.40, and Ebos Group lost 13c to $25.55.

Tourism Holdings, which operates in the United States and New Zealand, is one of the stocks badly affected by Covid. Its share price fell 15c or 6.17 per cent to $2.28.

Kiwi Property, which owns Sylvia Park, LynnMall and half of The Base Hamilton shopping centres, reported a mixed revaluation performance and its share price fell 2.5c to $1.23. Argosy Property was also down 2.5c cent to $1.44.

Kiwi's mixed-use portfolio's fair value decreased 0.9 per cent or $13.5m to $1.55 billion, mainly due to seismic strengthening; office properties increased 4.3 per cent or $38.9m to $950m; and the retail portfolio fell 3.3 per cent or $16.2m to $469m, again driven by seismic upgrades. But Kiwi Property said average capitalisation rates had firmed.

Freight forwarder QEX Logistics told the stock exchange that about $4m worth of inventory has been removed from its warehouse in the Shanghai free trade zone, and the company is assuming the goods were stolen. Its share price slumped 17c or 36.17 per cent to 30c.

The company organises packaging and customs clearance and delivers New Zealand products, mainly health supplements, infant formula and dairy products, bought from stores, online and e-commerce sites by individual consumers from China or through a daigou.

QEX Logistics said if it didn't recover the lost inventory, this event will have an adverse impact on its gross margin and net profit, and its subsidiary New Y Trading which owns the inventory will not meet three of its bank loan covenants.

Sullivan said "clearly QEX didn't have insurance and the market wasn't too impressed. It's unlikely the bank will pull the stumps on them and instead help them trade their way out."