Blue-chip stocks drag sharemarket down - Market close

Blue-chip stock Spark was down 9c to $5.20. Photo / Greg Bowker

The New Zealand sharemarket went against offshore trends and fell more than a half per cent, dragged down by a clump of blue-chip stocks.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index drifted all day and closed at 11,872.33, down 79.84 points or 0.67 per cent.

There were 58 gainers and 76 decliners on the main board with 29.4 million shares worth $108.6 million changing hands.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the S&P 500 in the United States is heading for a record close but it was very quiet on the local market.

“I think investors are sitting on their hands waiting for the reporting season to begin next week and seeing the latest company financial results,” he said.

Vulcan Steel (Tuesday), Fletcher Building (Wednesday), Vital Healthcare and Skellerup Holdings (Thursday) are first up next week.

In the US, the S&P 500 was on the verge of cracking 5000 points for the first time after gaining 0.82 per cent to 4995.06. It has put on 1000 points since April 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 per cent to 38,677.36 points and Nasdaq Composite increased 0.95 per cent to 15,756.64.

The Australian S&P 200 Index was up 0.3 per cent to 7638.4 points at 6pm NZ time, and the Shanghai Composite had rebounded 1.15 per cent to 2862.31.

A Chinese state investment fund Central Huijin has boosted the sagging local market by pledging to increase its stock purchases to counter heavy selling pressure. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also meeting with market regulators. The Chinese markets have been trading at five-year lows.

At home, blue chips Spark was down 9c to $5.20; Fisher and Paykel Healthcare declined 40c to $24.55; Ebos Group shed 91c or 2.47 per cent to $35.99; Mainfreight decreased 33c to $70; and Auckland International Airport gave up 7c to $8.43. All those market leaders fell on light trading volumes.

In the energy sector, Meridian was down 4c to $5.66; Mercury also declined 4c to $6.85; and Vector was up 6c to $3.80.

In the retail sector, KMD Brands shed 2c or 2.94 per cent to 66c, The Warehouse was down 6c or 3.85 per to $1.50; Briscoe gained 7c to $4.60; Hallenstein Glasson was up 8c to $5.68; and Michael Hill gained 1c to 92c.

Other decliners were Move Logistics decreasing 2c or 4 per cent to 48c; South Port NZ down 12c or 1.79 per cent to $6.60; Arvida Group shedding 2c or 1.82 per cent to $1.08; Paysauce giving up 1.5c or 6.12 per cent to 23c; and Vital falling 2.5c or 9.26 per cent to 24.5c.

Freightways was up 14c to $8.44; ANZ Bank increased $1.11 or 3.92 per cent to $29.46; Chorus gained 10c to $7.98; Colonial Motor Company added 17c or 1.93 per cent to $8.97; and NZME was up 2c or 2.04 per cent to $1.

Scott Technology increased 8c or 2.48 per cent to $3.30; Smartpay was up 4c or 2.64 per cent to $1.56; Tower gained 1c to 62c; Serko added 5c to $4.20; NZX collected 2c or 1.92 per cent to $1.06; and ArborGen improved 0.007c or 4.42 per cent to 17.2c.

Property stocks Stride increased 3c or 2.22 per cent to $1.38, and Investore was up 2c or 1.71 per cent to $1.19.

Cooks Coffee has nearly doubled its share price in three weeks after picking up a further 1.5c or 5 per cent to 31.5c. Cooks sat at 16c on January 16.

IkeGPS, which monitors pole and overhead assets, gained 1c or 1.89 per cent to 54c after reporting a 34 per cent fall in revenue to $15.3m for the first nine months of the 2024 financial year. Subscription revenue was up 24 per cent compared with the previous corresponding period, and transaction revenue fell 65 per cent to $5.1m.

WasteCo, up 0.001c or 2.04 per cent to 5c, has appointed David Peterson as its new chief executive. Peterson was previously Boral Construction Material general manager concrete across Victoria, and General Cable’s managing director for Oceania and China.