NZ sharemarket lines up for strong finish to the year - Market close

Shares in wine exporter Delegat Group continued to slide, down 19c or 3.07 per cent to $6.

The New Zealand sharemarket continued its Santa rally and is on track for its eighth successive week of gains.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index had another solid afternoon and closed at 11,627.99, up 48.19 points or 0.42 per cent after falling to a morning low of 11,544.85.

The index has gained 1.3 per cent so far this year and has risen nearly 8 per cent since the start of November.

There were 65 gainers and 69 decliners on the main board, but trading so close to Christmas was light with 26.52 million shares worth $70.84 million changing hands.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the local market bucked the trend with weaker prices offshore, but in the United States it was profit-taking following their strong rally.

“Our rally has been more about a revised gross domestic product, lower interest rates forecast and the pivot by the Federal Reserve [to cutting rates next year] than the mini-Budget.

“Wholesale interest rates continue to drift lower and this is flowing into mortgage rate cuts. There is some light at the end of the tunnel for mortgage holders,” said Sullivan.

The NZ 10 Year Government Bond yield was down 4.9 basis points to 4.44 per cent. The ANZ and BNZ banks have trimmed their longer fixed-rate home loans.

The major US indices had their worst day since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index was down 1.27 per cent to 37,082 points, S&P 500 declined 1.47 per cent to 4698.35, and Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5 per cent 14,777.94.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had declined 0.42 per cent to 7506.5 points at 6pm NZ time.

But in London, the FTSE 100 Index rose 1.02 per cent to 7715.68 points following a surprise fall in inflation to 3.9 per cent in November, down from 4.6 per cent in the previous month. The market there is now talking about an earlier interest rate cut next year.

At home, Spark put on 6c to $5.14; Summerset Group increased 20c or 2 per cent to $10.20; Ryman Healthcare gained 9c to $5.60; Mainfreight was up 25c to $69; Auckland International Airport collected 6c to 8.56; and NZME rose 4c or 4.21 per cent to 99c.

Other gainers were Ventia Services rising 15c or 4.89 per cent to $3.22; Marsden Maritime Holdings adding 10c or 2.27 per cent to $4.50; Scott Technology increasing 10c or 3.03 per cent to $3.40; Winton Land up 7c or 2.75 per cent to $2.62; Green Cross Health collecting 6c or 5.56 per cent to $1.14; and Pacific Edge improving 0.005c or 5.81 per cent to 9.1c.

Among property companies, Investore was up 2c or 1.8 per cent to $1.13; Kiwi gained 1.5c or 1.75 per cent to 87c; and Vital Healthcare Trust added 5c or 2.35 per cent to $2.175.

Among the retailers, Michael Hill increased 3c or 3.3 per cent to 94c; Briscoe Group was down 9c or 2 per cent to $4.42; Hallenstein Glasson declined 8c to $5.52; and KMD Brands shed 3c or 4.05 per cent to 71c.

Leading wine exporter Delegat Group continued its slide, down 19c or 3.07 per cent to $6 and has fallen 38.66 per cent over the past 12 months. Delegat sat at $10.20 on January 4.

Ebos Group was down 65c or 1.79 per cent to $35.70; Gentrack declined 14c or 2.11 per cent to $6.48; Serko shed 12c or 2.88 per cent to $4.04; Restaurant Brands decreased 7c or 1.96 per cent to $3.50; Scales Corp gave up 8c or 2.52 per cent to $3.09; and Heartland Group was down 3c or 2.03 per cent to $1.45.

Enprise, unchanged at 60c, has been publicly censured and fined $60,000 by the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal for breaching an NZX listing rule relating to the disclosure of its Kilimanjaro Consulting dispute with MYOB.

Rua Bioscience was down 0.003c or 2.54 per cent to 11.5c. Rua has recently signed a two-year distribution agreement with UK pharmaceutical distributor, Target Healthcare. Fellow medicinal cannabis producer Cannasouth was up 0.004c or 3.13 per cent to 13.2c.

Cervical cancer screening developer TruScreen Group, up 0.001c or 4.76 per cent to 2.2c, was recently named as one of the top two in the Polish Mother and Child Institute start-up challenge for innovative technology focusing on artificial intelligence in healthcare.