New Zealand stocks rally in shadow of Air NZ fundraising


New Zealand stocks joined a global rally as investors grew increasingly optimistic about the prospect of peace in Ukraine, amid the local backdrop of Air NZ’s upcoming $1 billion fundraising .

Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 7:32 p.m.

by Business Desk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 179.34 points, or 1.5%, to 12,098.80. Turnover was $282.3 million across the main board, with Mercury NZ accounting for an unusually high $100.1 million.

The local market was already following its international peers higher as investors welcomed positive talks between Russia and Ukraine, propelling stocks on Wall Street and Asia higher. The benchmark had a tailwind after Air NZ halted trading in its shares at 4pm ahead of a briefing on its plans to raise what some analysts estimate at around $1.1 billion.

Shares of the national carrier fell 1.8% to $1.375 with 2.3 million shares changing hands before trading halted, in what turned out to be the biggest drop of the day. Auckland International Airport rose 0.7% to $7.70.

“Air NZ’s capital raise has been under discussion since the onset of Covid, so it’s certainly no surprise that they’ve finally announced it,” said Mark Lister, head of research at private wealth at Craigs Investment Partners.

“There was a general expectation that now that the borders are starting to reopen and the restrictions are easing and that New Zealand will have a little more clarity on what its future looks like, which makes sense that it can eliminate that and move on to the next phase.

“We’ll just have to watch with interest how it looks,” he said.

Healthcare and technology stocks led the gains in the Australian and New Zealand markets, with companies like New Zealand accounting software firm Xero and US location-based app maker Life360 among the top performers. on the ASX

Eroad led the local market higher, climbing 9.9% to $4.43, extending its recent gain since extending a bank facility. The telematics hardware and software maker’s Australian business is also expected to benefit from the Australian federal government’s budget decision to cut fuel taxes in Tasmania.

Logistics company Mainfreight, which has significant operations in Australia, rose 2.9% to $84, while chemical maker and logistics company DGL Group rose 1.2% to 3.52 dollars.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose for the second day, up 4.3% to $24.83, as it recovers from last week’s strong selloff on its downgraded earnings outlook. Biotech company Pacific Edge advanced 4.3% to 97 cents.

Resurgent investor sentiment about the possibility of an end to Russian hostilities supported a rally in risk-sensitive currencies such as the New Zealand dollar, which climbed to 69.47 US cents at 3 p.m. in Wellington from 68, 92 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index rose from 74.28 to 74.63.

This currency strength did not weigh on exporters, who joined the broad-based rally, with fruit exporter Scales up 4.1% to $5.14, rubber goods maker Skellerup in rose 4% to $5.93, honey products maker Comvita up 3.9% to $3.48 and seafood group Sanford up 3.2% to 4.78 $.

Genesis Energy rose 1.4% to $2.86 after being cleared of any wrongdoing during last August’s blackouts by the Electricity Authority. Mercury was up 2.3% at $5.97 on unusually high volume, Contact Energy was up 1.6% at $8.08 and Meridian Energy was down 0.8% at $4.95.

Tags: Market close

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