Investor uncertainty creeps back in, a2 Milk’s golden run stalls - Market close

The New Zealand sharemarket fell 0.42 per cent to 11,873.67, giving up some of the strong gains from last week.

The New Zealand sharemarket gave up some of the strong gains from last week as investor uncertainty crept back over the condition of United States inflation.

After a down day on Wall Street at the weekend (NZ time), the S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 50.05 points or 0.42 per cent to 11,873.67, though there was a late rise in the matching session.

The index increased 1.5 per cent last week and is up 0.9 per cent so far this year.

There were 80 decliners and 51 gainers on the main board with 21.7 million shares worth $73.1 million changing hands in light trading.

Mark Lister, investment director with Craigs Investment Partners, said it wasn’t surprising the market “gave back a little bit after a very good week”.

“Markets are nervous about the latest US inflation report after the January consumer price index (CPI) was stronger than expected. If we see another strong rise, this might just take the wind out of the sharemarkets’ sails and delay interest rate cuts,” he said.

The US February CPI will be released on Wednesday morning (NZ time) and in January the index increased 3.1 per cent on an annual basis. The forecast is that the index will stay steady at 3.1 per cent. The Federal Reserve meets next week to consider its next monetary policy move.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was taking a tumble, having fallen 1.81 per cent to 7704.8 points after breaking through the 7800 level for the first time.

The Japan Nikkei 225 Index, one of the star performers this year with a rise of 15 per cent, was down 2.92 per cent to 38,528.91 points.

At home, the golden run of a2 Milk stalled with a fall of 26c or 3.98 per cent to $6.27. There was profit-taking in other recent gainers.

Mercury Energy was down 19.5c or 2.75 per cent to $6.905; Meridian declined 7.5c to $5.885; Skellerup Holdings shed 15c or 3.37 per cent to $4.30; and the leading banks ANZ and Westpac decreased 63c or 1.97 per cent to $31.32 and 66c or 2.23 per cent to $28.94 respectively.

Meridian Energy told the market it is offering a $200m six-year green bond with the ability to accept over-subscriptions up to $100m.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare declined 33c to $24.55; PGG Wrightson fell 16c or 7.08 per cent to a four-year low of $2.10; Allied Farmers declined 5c or 6.25 per cent to 75c; Tourism Holdings was down 6c or 1.75 per cent to $3.36; and Winton Land shed 10c or 4.26 per cent to $2.25.

Among finance companies, Geneva Finance decreased 1.5c or 4.76 per cent to 30c and General Capital was down 0.009c or 12.16 per cent to 6.5c.

Channel Infrastructure was down 3c or 2 per cent to $1.47; Rakon declined 4c or 3.1 per cent to $1.25; Green Cross Health decreased 2c or 1.82 per cent to $1.08; and Steel & Tube shed 2c or 1.75 per cent to $1.12.

Freightways increased 22c or 2.58 per cent to $8.76; Comvita rebounded a further 16c or 6.9 per cent to $2.48; Ebos Group added 65c or 1.76 per cent to $37.55; Ryman Healthcare was up 13c or 2.91 per cent to $4.60; and Restaurant Brands collected 8c or 2.54 per cent to $3.23.

Lister said Freightways has performed well for a company linked to the ebb and flow of the economy, which is presently sluggish.

In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson was up 12c or 2.07 per cent to $5.92; Briscoe Group gained 5c to $4.60; and The Warehouse increased 4c or 3.08 per cent to $1.34.

Vulcan Steel gained 13c to $8.40; Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund increased 8c or 2.28 per cent to $3.59; T&G Global was up 3c or 1.71 per cent to $1.78; CDL Investments collected 4c or 5.41 per cent to 78c; and Vital added 2c or 8.33 per cent to 26c.

Software firm ikeGPS, unchanged at 45c, announced its second agreement in a week – this time with the second-largest electric utility group in North America, using the new PoleForeman analysis platform.

The five-year agreement amounts to a total subscription fee of $2m, or $400,000 in annual recurring revenue.

Shell company Ascension Capital, currently suspended from trading, has sent information to shareholders on the reverse takeover involving Hong Kong-based artificial intelligence company Being AI.

Following shareholder agreement, trading will resume on the NZX in the renamed Being AI stock.