Market close: Volatile heavy hitters drag sharemarket down, but new highs for four stocks

Briscoe Group closed at a record high of $5.70 after reporting record sales and profit. Photo / File

Briscoe Group, Freightways, Tilt Renewables and Trustpower, operating in fashionable sectors, all raced to new highs, but the volatile heavy hitters again dragged the New Zealand sharemarket down by nearly 1 per cent.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index continued to slide as the day wore on, closing down 126.18 points or 0.97 per cent at 12,927.69 on reasonable volume. A total of 58.3 million shares worth $178.33 million were traded, with 68 gainers and 74 decliners over the whole market.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment adviser with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said there were positive announcements from Briscoe and Precinct Properties but that was not enough as the blue chip stocks led the market down.

"It's not long to go before the major companies start reporting and the market has been in a holding pattern till then," he said. Contact Energy is the first to report its latest financial result on Monday, followed by Ebos Group, Fletcher Building and NZX next Wednesday.

Sullivan said the Reserve Bank move to tighten loan-to-value (LVR) ratios for buying houses won't unduly worry the market, though it may flow into the retirement village sector if property investment activity is curtailed. On the other hand, the tougher LVRs don't affect new houses and this can benefit Fletcher Building.

The heavy hitters taking a fall were Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, down 93c or 2.78 per cent to $32.57 on trade worth $26m; Meridian declining 15.5c or 2.22 per cent to $6.835; Contact Energy decreasing 15c or 1.84 per cent to $8; and Mercury losing 23c or 3.22 per cent to $6.92.

Auckland International Airport shed 9c to $7.10; Ryman Healthcare retreated 30c or 1.89 per cent to $15.55; and Spark was down 8c to $4.67 on trade worth $18.9m.

Courier and information management company Freightways swept past its previous high of $11 (achieved on January 29) by surging 45c or 4.19 per cent to $11.20.

Briscoe Group reached $5.91 during the day before settling at a record high of $5.70, up 10c or 1.79 per cent for the day, after reporting record sales and profit. The retailer passed its previous high of $5.60 achieved last Friday, and it has climbed consistently from its low of $2.46 on March 24 last year on the back of strong consumer spending.

Sullivan said the retailers "scrambled pretty quickly to get their offering to the masses during the Covid lockdown, and it's been all gravy for Briscoe and others since then as people spent money on their homes."

Briscoe's total sales for the 53 weeks ending January increased 7.47 per cent to $701.8m, compared with $653m for the previous corresponding period (which had 52 weeks). Net profit for the full year will be at least $70m. Briscoe's fourth-quarter sales including the Christmas trading period, climbed 18.3 per cent to $248.1m, with homeware up 12.62 per cent and sporting goods 10.68 per cent.

Tilt Renewables climbed 35c or 5.34 per cent to $6.90 and Trustpower gained 7c to $8.97, eclipsing their previous highs of $6.55 and $8.90 established at the end of last week. Both stocks operate in the highly favoured renewable energy sector and are both the subject of possible merger and acquisition activity.

Precinct Properties New Zealand rose 4.5c or 2.68 per cent to $1.725 after reporting a 5.1 per cent or $149m revaluation gain on its $3 billion property portfolio for the half-year ending December. Precinct is also selling its 50 per cent interest in the Auckland ANZ Centre for $177m, and its financial gearing is close to 26 per cent.

Sky Network Television continued its resurgence, gaining a further 0.005c or 2.73 per cent to 18.8c after reaching a low of 10.1c on March 23 last year. Gentrack gained 6c or 4.17 per cent to $1.50; Metro Performance Glass climbed 2.5c or 5.95 per cent to 44.5c; and The Colonial Motor Company rose 24c or 2.72 per cent to $9.05.

Air New Zealand slipped 0.005c to $1.625 after coming under pressure for confirming one of its business units, Gas Turbines, has been supporting the Royal Saudi Navy through a works contract.