MARKET WRAP: NZ shares rise on Pushpay gains and PGW speculation
Australian media report a takeover bid is in the works for PGG Wrightson.
New Zealand shares rose today on Pushpay gains and as new reports emerge of a potential PGG Wrightson takeover bid.
The NZX50 index rose 17.89 points to 8,637.72, on turnover of $146 million.
“We’ve seen Pushpay play a bit of catchup but the large cap story is PGG Wrightson, with its potential takeover information in the Australian marketplace,” says Craigs Investment Partners senior investment adviser Nigel Scott.
Pushpay was up 20c today to $4.28.
The Australian Financial Review reports “a potential $A600 million-plus takeover” of PGW is emerging, with Australian agribusiness Elders looking to raise capital for a deal.
PGW shares were up 3c, or 4.84%, to $0.65 giving the company a market capitalisation of nearly $491m.
Westpac rose 70c to $32.43, while ANZ climbed 55c to $30.25.
“The Australian banks have been pretty well smashed over the past couple of months, but with the royal commission having a bit of a break before their next conversation, there’s a little bit of a relief rally,” says Mr Scott.
A2 Milk was up 12c to $13.01. Shareholders will find out if the company has scored a place in the benchmark MSCI index next Tuesday.
On the ASX, Xero was down 1.31% to $A40.74 at 5pm NZST.
The company today reported a full-year net loss of $27.9m, an improvement on its year-ago loss of $69m.
“Obviously moving from the NZX to the ASX a few months ago delivered on expectations,” says Mr Scott.
Fletcher Building fell 5c today to $6.40.
Air New Zealand was up 1.36% to $3.355.
Mr Scott says the New Zealand share market hasn’t reacted to budget announcements and is likely to instead focus on rising oil prices.
Mackenzie Smith
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
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MARKET WRAP: NZ shares rise on Pushpay gains and PGW speculation
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