Market close: Heavy selling slows but property stocks take a hit

Fletcher Building, which will report its latest financial result tomorrow morning, was down 5c to $6.28. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand sharemarket steadied as selling pressure eased, but some stocks associated with the slowing housing sector again took a hit.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed almost flat at 11,938.32, down 11.81 points or 0.1 per cent, after reaching a high of 11,991.61 in the morning.

There were 46 gainers and 85 decliners over the whole market and volumes were steady with 35.76 million shares worth $154.14 million changing hands.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said the market closed with a more positive tone, and even staged a small rally at one stage.

"We've seen some heavy selling in the last few days but the pace of that selling slowed. The speculation is that an overseas investment fund has been moving its portfolio out of New Zealand," Solly said.

The latest REINZ statistics revealed that the national house price index fell 0.6 per cent in January, a second successive monthly decline. ANZ Research said the housing market has well and truly turned a corner but robust household incomes, supported by the very tight labour market, suggest there are limits to how large the 'correction' is likely to be.

Solly said the sharemarket is a little wary of the housing market and what the slowdown means.

Fletcher Building was down 5c to $6.28 on the eve of reporting its latest financial result, and developer Winton Land declined 7c or 2 per cent to $3.43. Ryman Healthcare was chopped a further 20c or 2.14 per cent to a 23-month low of $9.15.

Fellow retirement village operators Summerset Group Holdings declined 23c or 1.99 per cent to $11.30; Arvida was unchanged at $1.63; and Oceania Healthcare gained 2c to $1.09.

So far this year, Fletcher Building's share price has fallen nearly 14 per cent, Ryman 24 per cent, Summerset 16 per cent, Arvida more than 17 per cent, and Oceania 20 per cent. "That's been a very rapid de-rating," said Solly.

Infratil rose 13c to $7.75 after providing a message of growth opportunities during its Investor Day. The utilities investor said infrastructure was one of the hottest asset classes globally, especially in its focus sectors of digital, renewable and healthcare.

Infratil said it was very well positioned with a strong balance sheet including $800m of cash, and it narrowed its full-year operating earnings (ebitdaf) guidance to $500m-$520m, from $500m-$530m.

Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare gained 10c to $28.11. But EBOS Group, expected to be included in the FTSE Global index, was down 18c to $38.02; Auckland International Airport declined 13c or 1.8 per cent to $7.10; Mainfreight shed $1.04 to $82; and Chorus decreased 6.5c to $6.715.

Trustpower was down 1c to $7 after telling the market the unsettled and dry weather and outage at the Waipori hydro scheme has put pressure on earnings for the second half of the 2022 financial year.

The Tauranga-based energy company has revised its full-year operating earnings (ebitdaf) guidance to $205m-$220m, from $210m-$225m. The sale of its retail business to Mercury for $441m is expected to be completed by June, and Trustpower will be renamed Manawa Energy and concentrate on electricity generation.

Among other energy companies, Vector was down 6c to $3.73; Meridian was up 5c to $4.94; and Mercury gained 3.5c to $5.825.

Other decliners were Port of Tauranga falling 12c or 1.92 per cent to $6.13; Napier Port shedding 10c or 3.24 per cent to $2.99; EROAD down 9c or 2.05 per cent to $4.30; Rakon decreasing 10c or 5.41 per cent to $1.75; and Sky Network Television losing 8c or 3.14 per cent to $2.47.

DGL Group fell 20c or 6.19 per cent to $3.03; Vista Group was down 4c or 1.91 per cent to $2.05; Steel and Tube decreased 4c or 2.52 per cent to $1.55; Just Life Group declined 5c or 7.14 per cent to 65c; and Plexure Group shed 2.5c or 6.1 per cent to 38.5c.

Retailers Briscoe Group declined 4c to $6.33, Hallenstein Glasson was down 14c or 2.09 per cent to $6.55; Michael Hill International decreased 3c or 1.97 per cent to $1.49; and The Warehouse Group shed 4c to $3.04.

Among the gainers, Air New Zealand was up 3c or 1.94 per cent to $1.58; SkyCity Entertainment collected 8c or 2.76 per cent to $2.98; Pacific Edge rose 3c or 2.86 per cent to $1.08; South Port New Zealand increased 11c to $8.50; and Tourism Holdings was up 4c to $2.70.

Penny stock Promisia Healthcare, wanting to reinvent itself as a residential operator for the elderly, told the market it has received an extension to satisfying the finance conditions for buying Aldwins House in Christchurch to February 28. Promisia's share priced declined 0.001c or 50 per cent to 0.001c.