The index declined more than 3.5 per cent for the week.
The New Zealand sharemarket closed the week with another day of volatility, falling nearly half a per cent – and latest company earnings were very much on investors' minds.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell right from the opening and finished down 55.75 points or 0.45 per cent at 12,279.56, though there was a turnaround in the last 45 minutes of trading.
The index declined more than 3.5 per cent for the week. There were 83 decliners and 48 gainers across the whole market on volume of 32.29 million share transactions worth $116.86m.
The NZX lost AMP, reducing the main board to 187 stocks. AMP has delisted and will maintain a sole listing on the Australian ASX. New Zealand shareholders will have their shares automatically transferred to the Australian register. AMP last traded here at $1.01.
The markets were spooked by an after-hours share price plunge from Meta Platforms, or Facebook, which reported disappointing quarter earnings and weaker revenue forecast because of increased costs and reduced growth.
For the first time in its 18-year history more than half a million users left the Facebook site in the final three months of last year, and the total number of daily users around the world fell from 1.93 billion to 1.929b.
Meta slid 26.39 per cent to US$237.76 (NZ$356.06) – one of the biggest individual single-day falls in United States corporate history. The drop chopped US$250b ($374b) off Meta's market capitalisation.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.74 per cent to 13,878.82; S&P 500 was down 2.44 per cent to 4477.44; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.45 per cent to 35,111.16.
Greg Smith, head of retail with Devon Funds Management, said the bar of expectation from investors had been lifted.
"Those companies who have disappointed with results are being harshly treated, while those who are delivering are being rewarded. Briscoe Group has shown this, like Mainfreight and Skellerup earlier in the week," Smith said.
Briscoe Group climbed 31c or 5.35 per cent to $6.10 after upgrading its latest annual result. The group, which operates Briscoes Homeware, Rebel Sport and Living & Giving, reported a 6.08 per cent increase in sales to $744.4m for the 12 months ending January, compared with $701.8m for the 53-week period the previous year.
Sales for the 13-week period ending January were $247.6m, just under the $248.1m for the 14-week final quarter of the previous year. Briscoe is now forecasting a 20 per cent increase in full-year net profit to $87m, ahead of its previous guidance of $85m.
Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 40c to $29.50; Auckland International Airport declined 14c or 1.85 per cent to $7.41; Mainfreight shed $1.26 to $88; Fletcher Building fell 14c or 2.13per cent to $6.42; Mercury Energy decreased 10c to $5.80; and Infratil was down 9c to $7.77.
Meridian Energy rose 13c or 2.79 per cent to $4.79; EBOS Group gained 75c or 1.91 per cent to $40; Freightways collected 15c to $12.60; Port of Tauranga picked up 9c to $6.52; Hallenstein Glasson increased 10c to $6.40; and Air New Zealand was up 3c or 1.92 per cent to $1.59.
Pushpay Holdings fell 3c or 2.68 per cent to $1.09 and neared its lowest level in 22 months after sitting at $1.075 on April 4, 2020.
Other decliners were Argosy Property down 4c or 2.63 per cent to $1.48; Stride Property decreasing 4c or 1.94 per cent to $2.02; EROAD falling 19c or 4.22 per cent to $4.31; Turners Automotive shedding 9c or 2.09 per cent to $4.21; and Gentrack losing 5c or 2.78 per cent to $1.75.
Synlait Milk declined 7c or 2.05 per cent to $3.35; Trade Window was down 6c or 2.52 per cent to $2.32; Move Logistics fell 5c or 3.03 per cent to $1.60; and ikeGPS shed 4c or 4.88 per cent to 78c.
New Zealand Oil & Gas increased 2.5c or 5.38 per cent to 49c after telling the market the eighth production well in the Indonesian Mahato field had been successfully drilled and was producing an average of 600 barrels of oil a day. NZOG's subsidiary Cue Energy Resources has a 12.5 per cent interest in the oil field.
Rua Bioscience gained 0.005c to 46c after picking up Frankfurt-based Nimbus Health GmbH as an exclusive customer for its medicinal cannabis products. Multi-national pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Laboratories is buying Nimbus and Rua was the first New Zealand company to form an export agreement with the German distributor.