Market close: NZ stocks finish higher on topsy-turvy trading day

The S&P/NZX 50 Index finished up 30.49 points or 0.27 per cent.

The New Zealand sharemarket had a late rise on a topsy-turvy trading day as the waiting game continued on Ebos Group’s latest development.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell in the morning to 11,144.22 and bounced around in the afternoon before climbing in the last hour to close at 11,207.46, up 30.49 points or 0.27 per cent.

There were 52 gainers and 78 decliners on the main board with 28.58 million shares worth $84.8 million changing hands.

Matt Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management, said the market is really in a holding pattern ahead of further Ebos information.

Ebos remained in a trading halt but indicated to the NZX that it would make an announcement in relation to the potential acquisition of Greencross which has been the subject of media speculation.

Greencross, established in 1994, is an Australian pet care and veterinary company which operates Animates stores in New Zealand and has an overall valuation of $3.5 billion. Greencross is owned by American investment fund TPG Capital, the majority shareholder, and Ontario Pension Plan and AustralianSuper.

Goodson said the difficulty is that Ebos might have been dotting the ‘i’s and adding up the sums when the media leak occurred. There could be a very material capital raise by Ebos of between $2.5b and $3b and that would be one of the biggest on the New Zealand market.

“We will have to wait and see,” said Goodson. Ebos, the leading Australasian medical products distributor, raised $845m nearly a year ago to buy Life Healthcare, which provided an entry point into Southeast Asia.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 26c to $22.23; Tourism Holdings increased 13c or 3.82 per cent to $3.53; and Auckland International Airport gained 12c to $7.85.

The airport’s weighting on the MSCI Index will be increased at the end of the month after its shares became more liquid following the sell-down of Auckland Council’s shareholding.

Global marketer a2 Milk continued its revival, up 16c or 3.72 per cent to $4.46; Seeka increased 15c or 6.52 per cent to $2.45; Sky TV added 7c or 2.59 per cent to $2.77; and Allied Farmers improved 2c or 2.47 per cent to 83c.

Genesis Energy, down 2.5c to $2.34, has selected utilities software firm Gentrack, up 11c or 2.14 per cent to $5.25, for providing digital transformation to its customer services.

Gentrack has been the best-performing stock on the NZX, rising nearly 209 per cent from $1.60 over the past 12 months. It reached a peak of $7.15 on September 1, 2018, and fell as low as $1.50 to $2.12 during 2020-22 before beginning its rise in October last year on gaining new contracts.

Amongst other energy stocks, Meridian was up 9c or 1.8 per cent to $5.09 and Vector declined 9c or 2.41 per cent to $3.65.

Mainfreight was down 55c to $64.50; Port of Tauranga decreased 7c to $5.30; Vulcan Steel fell 47c or 5.82 per cent to $7.61; Serko declined 8c or 1.86 per cent to $4.21; and Arvida Group shed 4c or 3.7 per cent to $1.04.

Retailers were weaker, with Briscoe Group down 13c or 2.8 per cent to $4.52; Hallenstein Glasson declining 23c or 3.85 per cent to $5.75; The Warehouse shedding 5c or 2.94 per cent to $1.65; and KMD Brands decreasing 2c or 2.47 per cent to 79c.

Other decliners were Sanford, down 8c or 2.05 per cent to $3.82; Synlait Milk decreasing 4c or 2.96 per cent to $1.31; Move Logistics falling 3c or 5.17 per cent to 55c; Smartpay down 5c or 3.13 per cent to $1.55; ikeGPS giving 3c or 5.36 per cent to 53c; and Blackpearl Group shedding 4.5c or 8.33 per cent to 49.5c.

Tower, down 1c to 62c, told the market that from February it will no longer insure commercial farms which have generated gross written premiums of $9m a year. Tower will concentrate on personal and small business insurance that will include lifestyle blocks.