Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said it was another positive day here on light volumes, driven by strong United States markets with petrochemical and defence stocks ticking up.
“There’s also been some corporate activity in Australia with a takeover bid for BlueScope Steel, which has a 14.3% stake in Steel & Tube, and we’ll see how this pans out,” he said.
In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high after rising 594.79 points, or 1.23%, to 48,977.18.
Chevron, which operates in Venezuela, increased 5.1% to US$163.85 (NZ$282.56), and oil service company Halliburton rose 7.84% to US$31.92 after President Donald Trump floated a plan for US companies to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry.
The ISM Manufacturing index reached its lowest level in 14 months with the December reading at 47.9, down from 48.2 in November and lower than the analysts’ forecast of 48.3.
The index has been in contraction mode for 10 straight months, yet this hasn’t rattled US markets. Investors there regard the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a development that could unlock future investment in the country’s oil sector, rather than an immediate escalation in geopolitical risk.
The S&P 500 was up 0.64% to 6,902.05 points, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.69% to 23,395.82. Gold increased 2.9% to US$4,458 an ounce, and crude oil was down slightly to US$61.53 a barrel.
Local stocks
Back home, Infratil – reporting the latest independent valuation for the CDC datacentres – was up 30c or 2.62% to $11.73 after gaining 3.16% the previous day, a rise of nearly 7% in two trading days.
Infratil told the market that its 49.72% shareholding in CDC was now valued at A$6.95 billion (NZ$8.05b), up A$174m from A$6.78b at the end of September.
CDC’s valuation increase in the quarter was supported by an additional 40MW of previously announced contracted capacity, the addition of 196MW of built operating capacity, and continued expansion of the build programme, Infratil said.
Fletcher Building had another strong day, increasing 6c to $3.81; Auckland International Airport was up 15c or 1.8% to $8.50; Ebos Group added 13c to $27.64; Freightways gained 17c to $14.22; Gentrack collected 14c to $8.59; and Skellerup was up 7c to $5.28.
Vulcan Steel increased 29c or 3.58% to $8.40; Napier Port added 6c to $3.78; AFT Pharmaceuticals gained 7c or 2.07% to $3.45; Rakon improved 2c or 2.27% to 90c; and Move Logistics rose 6c or 21.43% to 34c.
Steel & Tube increased 3c or 4.69% to 67c and awaits developments across the Tasman.
Seven Group Holdings (SGH), controlled by prominent businessman Kerry Stokes, launched a multibillion-dollar takeover bid for BlueScope at A$30 a share. BlueScope shares surged 20.85% to A$29.55.
If successful, SGH would divest BlueScope’s North American operations -specialising in flat rolled and coated steel products – to its bidding partner, Steel Dynamics, the fourth-largest steel producer in the US. Steel Dynamics had made two takeover offers over the past two years.
The dual-listed banking stocks had a weak day, with Westpac down $1.18, or 2.6%, to $44.14, and ANZ down $1.10, or 2.59%, to $41.31.
Colonial Motor Co was down 29c or 3.38% to $8.30; Eroad decreased 5c or 3.97% to $1.21; Green Cross Health declined 4.5c or 4.29% to $1.00; Winton Land shed 8c or 3.64% to $2.12; and Hallenstein Glasson eased 16c to $9.67.
In the recovering property sector, Argosy was up 2c to $1.25, Goodman Trust gained 3c to $1.99, and Property for Industry increased 6c or 2.5% to $2.46.
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