BROKER COMMENT Slow trading in last week of January

Press, 1 February 1986, Page 22

BROKER COMMENT Slow trading in last week of January

The New Zealand 1 sharemarket opened the 1 final week for January on i a slow note because of the anniversary day in Auck- i land, said Mr Max J Mathias, of Lawrence, , Millton and Howarth, the i Christchurch sharebroker, i However, it must have i been a record turnover I for the month as a whole, y.l he said. “

Trading remained flat for much of the week, with much of the turnover attributed', to Rada rights and special situation issues, such as Carter Holt where a renewed bid at 320 c attracted Interest. Large parcels of Fletcher Challenge, Kingsgate, and the two insurance companies, NZI Corporation and National Insurance, also marked trading. “The market has continued to divide itself into performing and non-per-forming stocks and in the investment sector particu- , larly some of the high flyers of 12 months ago such as Charter, Invest-: ment Finance and Qtron > must have their supporters wondering.” New Zealand Marine, Farms arid Robt Jones Investments? continued their habit of recent times of surging up in price and coming back just as fast, he said. The coming week, punctuated by the sharemarket being closed for Waitangi Day on Thursday, should see a directionless market again with issues such as Carter Holt the “fringe” investor stocks, Goliath, and Petro Taranaki likely to attract volume. The debut of Capital Markets will gain centre stage with the suggested listing price of 300 c for a 25c share mentioned in

the business pages likely to well and truly test the market, Mr Mathias said. Mr Nigel Scott, the market operator for Paine Belcher and Company, Auckland, said that the market had traded on moderate volume with institutions interested only in parcels of shares in .blue-chip companies. ‘ This; had been

highlighted by the, bid for Carter Holt Harvey, which had finned up the various forestry sector companies. Dull trading in secondline ' shares continued, most shares trading on thin margins and volume. The possible lack of buying interest might be because of the Australian market continuing to show strength. New Zealand investors were moving into the Australian market to capitalise on the firm nature of the market because of recent take-over activity. , > Investors in the blood-, stock sector had marked down companies in sharemarket activity after the Waikato and Trentham sales. Factors responsible were, the disappointing, sale prices -‘for the geny of the stallion, imposing, and a share placement in Blandford, he said. Recent Government stock tenders had contributed to a finning in interest rates which also had a dampening effect on the sharemarket. The interim period before the March tax drain had been the traditional period of Indecision in equity ■ and fixed-interest markets. “Sharemarket activity

in the near future will be highlighted by the listing of Capital Markets, Ltd, after all its Horizon trading late last year.”