Market close: shares rise as Ryman sets record, power companies tumble

New Zealand shares rose as Ryman Healthcare hits a new record and Sky Network Television gained, helping offset a slide in TrustPower and Contact Energy in the wake of the Labour-Greens proposal to slash power prices.

The NZX 50 Index gained 2.39 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4444.50. Within the index, 24 stocks fell, 16 rose and 10 were unchanged. Turnover of $226 million was boosted by higher-than-usual volumes of Ryman Sky TV.

Ryman, which is rated 'outperform' in a Reuters analyst poll, rose 3.4 percent to $5.71 as 6.1 million shares traded. The retirement village operator has been a market darling on the back of its consistent earnings growth. The stock is up 78 percent in the past year.

"Ryman is the best of both worlds with defensive, secular exposure to baby boomers and healthcare, coupled with rare exposure to the NZ housing market, which is benefitting from the benign interest rate environment," says James Schofield, vice-president, equity research, at First NZ Capital.

Rival resthome operator Metlifecare rose 0.3 percent to $3.23 and has gained 39 percent in the past 12 months.

Sky TV rose 1.5 percent to $5.44 and was the most heavily traded on the NZX on value of trading. The pay-TV company is benefiting from having shed its former 46 percent owner News Corp, bolstering the pool of shares available to trade.

OceanaGold, operator of the Macraes gold field, rose 7.7 percent to $2.25, recovering from a selloff as spot gold gained from a two-year low. NZ Oil & Gas was up 1.2 percent to 83 cents.

Telecom, often held for its relatively attractive dividends, rose 1.8 percent to $2.53. At today's price it has a dividend yield of 14.97 percent. Chorus, the network company, fell 0.4 percent to $2.64.

Warehouse Group, the biggest retailer on the exchange, rose 1.9 percent to $3.80. Restaurant Brands rose 1 percent to $2.98.

TrustPower, which is 50.7 percent owned by Infratil, fell 5 percent to $7.18, leading decliners as fallout from the opposition parties' plan to centralise buying of electricity and split generators from their retail arms weighed on utilities.

Contact Energy fell 2.8 percent to $5.31 and lines company Vector slid 2.1 percent to $2.82. Infratil dropped 1.3 percent to $2.30.

Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the NZX 50, fell 0.4 percent to $8.41.

(BusinessDesk)