Market close: NZ sharemarket lower as technical issue cuts trading short

T&G Global reported a 64 per cent fall in net profit to $3.41m for the six months ending June. Its share price was unchanged at $3. Photo / NZME

Trading was cut short by nearly two hours because of technical issues with a hesitant New Zealand sharemarket having made a significant fall on the eve of the latest reporting season.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index was down 42.96 points or 0.34 per cent to 12,754.33 when trading stopped mid-afternoon. It never resumed, except the derivatives market later on.

NZX first reported it was experiencing network connectivity issues, and then at 5.25pm it said "we have validated stable connectivity".

When the market shut down, there were 65 gainers and 72 decliners and volume had reached 27.55 million share transactions worth $89.41 million.

The NZX confirmed with the Herald "that the NZX Main Board, NZX Debt Market, and Fonterra Shareholders Market will open as usual tomorrow morning. The NZX Derivatives Market is now trading in a normal session state."

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said "I hope the trading halt is a technical issue rather than something longer term."

He said the market is always quiet and choppy leading into the reporting season. It was also pensive about some regulatory reviews and the Reserve Bank's next moves concerning interest rates.

The Commerce Commission has suggested a retail service quality code for telecommunication companies, and a review of the energy sector is also being undertaken. "There's a little bit of regulatory question marks creeping in," said Solly.

Telcos Spark fell 8c to $4.75, and Chorus was down 6c to $6.12. Energy companies Contact shed 13c to $8.28, and Mercury declined 11c to $6.84.

Like a true Olympic champion, Mainfreight continued to reach new peaks – rising $1.35 to $85.35. At last week's annual meeting, Mainfreight told shareholders that revenue for the first 17 weeks of the present financial year was up 41 per cent to $1.675 billion and gross profit was 97 per cent ahead to $105.9m compared with the previous corresponding period.

Skellerup Holdings gained 11c or 2.16 per cent to $5.20; Ebos Group picked up 13c to $31.70; The Warehouse Group rose 10c or 2.82 per cent to $3.64; South Port New Zealand climbed 23c or 2.9 per cent to $8.15; and SkyCity Entertainment increased 3c to $3.20.

Harmoney recovered 13c or 7.14 per cent to $1.95; Gentrack was up 6c or 2.9 per cent to $2.13; New Zealand King Salmon Investments increased 4c or 2.84 per cent to $1.45; and ArborGen Holdings gained 2c or 6.56 per cent to 32.5c.

DGL Group surged 24c or 14.04 per cent to $1.95 after buying Western Australian chemicals manufacturer Opal Australasia for $8.6m. The acquisition increases DGL's manufacturing capacity to more than 150,000 tonnes.

Retirement village operators Summerset Group Holdings was up 4c to $13.15, and Ryman Healthcare was down 11c to $13.34.

Fast food operator Restaurant Brands fell 19c to $15.61; a2 Milk was down 7c to $6.34; Z Energy lost 4c to $2.89; EROAD declined 14c or 2.2 per cent to $6.21; Argosy Property shed 2.5c to $1.595; Vista Group decreased 3c to $2.25; and Evolve Education was down 2c or 2.6 per cent to 75c.

My Food Bag is expanding into the grocery market and adding up to 75 kitchen food products for meal kit customers. Its share price was down 1c to a new low of $1.30.

T&G Global reported a 64 per cent fall in net profit to $3.41m on revenue of $652.06m, down 29 per cent, for the six months ending June. T&G said the supply chain disruption had "more of an impact than we experienced proportionately last year". The global fresh produce supplier paid an interim dividend of 6c a share on July 8, and its share price was unchanged at $3.

On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 323 points or 0.92 per cent to 34,792.67 on a disappointing jobs report, with non-farm private employers adding 330,000 workers last month, well below the forecast of 700,000.