A2 Milk leads higher NZ equities

New Zealand equities have followed Wall Street, with global events at the forefront of investor sentiment, underpinning A2 Milk Co growth stocks and leading companies such as Spark New Zealand and Fletcher Building .

The S & P / NZX 50 index rose 11.45 points, or 0.1%, to 8,673.82 points. Within the index, 16 stocks rose, 25 fell and nine remained unchanged. The turnover was $ 136.3 million.

Asian stocks have largely followed Wall Street's indications, as the outlook for US interest rates and trade tensions between the US and China obscures national news.

Federal Reserve Vice President Richard Clarida and President Jerome Powell's speeches and a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Meeting are eagerly awaited.

"There are plenty of great stories and key events around the world – the US is very important, as always," said Mark Lister, head of private equity research at Craigs Investment Partners.

"People are very nervous about these events because they could very well react to the market or they could not go so well."

A2 up 2% to $ 10.40 on lighter volumes than usual, while Ryman Healthcare increased by 1.6% to 11.21 dollars on average.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare extended its gain, up 1.1% to $ 13.45. The manufacturer of breathing apparatus yesterday announced a 20% increase in profits in the first half, which, according to Lister, was a solid result that investors appreciated.

Exchange me was the most traded stock with 3.4 million shares, compared to an average of 450,000 over 90 days. The price remained unchanged at $ 6, lower than the $ 6.40 price offered by UK-based private equity firm Apax Partners.

Fletcher Building up by 0.6% to reach $ 4.69 on a volume of 3.2 million euros, then Spark New Zealand earned 0.9% to 4.12 dollars on volumes of 3 million. Auckland International Airport increased by 0.1% over 2.3 million shares, more than double the average.

Precinct Properties New Zealand remained unchanged at $ 1.42 on 1.4 million volumes, double the average.

Sky Network Television fell 7.1% to $ 2.23, the biggest drop of the day in light trade. The pay-TV operator dropped the gain gained yesterday when it unveiled the new CEO, Martin Stewart.

Synlait Milk decreased by 2.3% to $ 8.43 on very small volumes before the annual meeting tomorrow. Genesis energy down 2.2% to $ 2.40 in average volume.

Arvida Group rose 0.8% to $ 1.31 after reporting a 45% rise in underlying earnings in the first half. The retired village operator said the result was boosted by a high occupancy rate and supported by good resale margins.

Fonterra Shareholder Fund The number of units sold fell 0.2% to $ 4.66, after Fonterra's head of catering and food services, Lukas Parivicini, announced his departure from January.

Outside the benchmark, Turners Automotive fell 7.7% to 2.51 USD after announcing a 28% rise in profits in the first half and a warning slowing demand for vehicles.

Green Cross Health remained unchanged at $ 1.19 after posting a 7.1% drop in earnings in the first half as the government pay equity settlement for older and home-based workers did not fully fund additional costs of the company.

Tilt Renewables earned 0.4% to $ 2.32, more than the price of $ 2.30 that a joint venture Infratil and Mercury NZ proposes to take privately. Infratil today announced being 85% insured and urged the remaining minority shareholders to sell. Infratil decreased by 0.4% to $ 3,495 and Mercury plunged 0.3% to $ 3.43.

WEL networks earnings in the first half of the year nearly doubled, driven by growth in fiber optic activity and growth in the Waikato residential power line population. The company owned by a community trust holds $ 150 million of bonds maturing in 2023 and carrying an annual interest rate of 4.9%. A small volume traded today unchanged with a yield of 4.3%.