MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise; NZOG catches commodity wave
Dec. 30 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares rose in low-paced holiday trading. New Zealand Oil & Gas climbed 2.5%, its third daily gain, as commodity prices firmed.
The NZX 50 Index rose 8.64, or 0.3%, to 3334.26, the first increase in three sessions. Within the index, 18 stocks fell,
16 rose and 16 were unchanged or untraded. Turnover was $40.5 million, with more than half of that accounted for by
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, which is dual traded.
NZ Oil & Gas rose 2.4% to 87 cents. Crude oil hit a 26-month high on Monday and has held above US$91 a barrel. Commodity prices
have rallied, with copper reaching a record high and gold gaining.
Sanford Ltd., the fishing company, rose 3% to $4.74, leading the index higher.
Property trusts were among leading gainers. Property for Industry rose 2.7% to $1.14, AMP NZ Office Trust gained 2.6% to
79 cents, Kiwi Income Property Trust rose 2% to $1.02 and Argosy Property Trust, formerly ING Property, rose 1.4% to 74
cents.
Bloomberg News reported that buyout firm Blackstone Group LP had made a bid for Australian shopping-mall owner Centro
Properties Group, which manages A$18.6 billion of malls.
Warehouse Group, the biggest retailer on the NZX 50, fell 1.1% to $3.53. Retailers have been mixed since eftpos company
Paymark reported post-Christmas shopping was tepid.
Fast-food operator Restaurant Brands NZ Ltd., the second-best performer on the index in 2010, fell 1.1% to $2.62. NZX
Ltd., the second-worst performer this year, fell 1.3% to $1.53.
(BusinessDesk)