Sharemarket gains, led by investor buying in larger stocks

Tuesday, 13 July 2021

The sharemarket lifted on the close, driven by investor buying in some of the larger stocks on the index like Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 21.536 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 12,784.94 on Tuesday.

Medical device maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, the biggest stock on the index, rose 0.7 per cent to $30.50.

“Fisher & Paykel is a major part of the index, so that would have helped drive the index up,” said Craigs Investment Partners adviser Peter McIntyre.

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Fletcher Building gained as investors took advantage of a lull in the share price.

Fletcher Building, the largest construction company, advanced 0.8 per cent to $7.28.

The stock has fallen 3.2 per cent so far this month and investors may be taking the opportunity to increase their holdings, McIntyre said.

Telecommunications company Spark gained 0.2 per cent to $4.92.

McIntyre said investors looking for income were attracted to Spark’s dividend yield.

Spark, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Fletcher Building were the three biggest stocks traded by value on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, retirement village stocks fell back following their gains on Monday.

Summerset Group slipped 0.4 per cent to $13.55. The stock touched a record $13.68 on Monday after posting the best half year of sales in its 23-year history.

Ryman Healthcare edged down 0.9 per cent to $13.18 after following its 1.6 per cent gain on Monday.

Outside the benchmark index, meal kit service My Food Bag rose 3.8 per cent to $1.38 after rival company Hello Fresh offered A$125 million (NZ$134m) to buy recently-listed Brisbane based company Youfoodz in Australia. Hello Fresh is Australia’s largest meal kits supplier and is aiming to grow its global footprint.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday after Chinese exports rose by double digits. Investors were looking ahead to United States earnings reports that are expected to show strong profits for major banks.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced.

Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.3 per cent to a new high of 4,384.63, led by banks, communications and consumer-oriented stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4 per cent to 34,996.18. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.2 per cent to 14,733.24.

The indexes have hit multiple highs lately in choppy trading.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,556.27 after Chinese customs data showed export growth in June accelerated to 32.2 per cent over a year earlier.

– With AP