Market close: NZ dollar rise pinches big exporters

The NZ dollar was sitting at 62.42 US cents on Monday and was up almost 2 US cents to 64.57 by the end of today. Photo / 123RF

Big exporters struggled on New Zealand's benchmark index today thanks to the NZ dollar lifting against the greenback while the overnight fall from the tech-heavy Nasdaq also bled into technology stocks across the board.

The NZ dollar was sitting at 62.42 US cents on Monday and was up almost 2 US cents to 64.57 by the end of today – up from 63.95 US cents on Thursday.

The S&P/NZX 50 index fell 29.4 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 11,730.52. Turnover on the main board was light at just $81.1 million.

Jarden wealth management director Greg Main said it had been a mostly quiet week for the market and investors were waiting for Monday to roll around so earnings season could finally kick off.

Export stocks to feel the pinch today were manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and logistics firm Mainfreight. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 3.2 per cent to $20.84 while Mainfreight was down by 0.43 per cent to $78.90. Fletcher Building was also down 1.1 per cent to $5.40 by the end of the day.

On the technology front, travel booking software company Serko was down for most of the day before ending up 0.56 per cent to $3.62. Church management software firm Pushpay fell 1.6 per cent to $1.27.

Cinema software provider Vista Group dropped 2.7 per cent to $1.90. Software company Rakon fell by 3.2 per cent to $1.51. The electronic components design and manufacturing company told shareholders at its annual meeting that its annual earnings could fall by as much as a third as a global shortage of chips eases.

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund shot up by 4.4 per cent to $3.10 after Fonterra told the NZX today that the dairy co-op's upcoming annual results announcement was looking positive. The co-op said earnings for the year to July 31 were at the top end of the 25c-to-35c per share guidance it had signalled. Main said it was a "good upgrade" from Fonterra and the market was feeling positive about it.

Dairy exporter A2 Milk was up 1 per cent to $5.37 and Synlait Milk ended the day down 0.9 per cent to $3.21.

Contact Energy is the first company out the gate with its full-year earnings on Monday and the energy company was up slightly by 0.13 per cent to $7.71 by the end of the day. Genesis Energy shares were flat at $2.99 as were Meridian Energy at $5.16, while Manawa Energy rose 0.8 per cent to $6.23.

Cannasouth announced that it's hoping to raise $4.1m by selling shares at a 23 per cent discount to help fund the medicinal cannabis company's distribution and manufacturing.

The company will sell shares at 30c each in a 1-for-10 pro-rata renounceable rights offering, a discount to the 39c the stock closed at yesterday. Its shares ended the day up 3.9 per cent to 40.5c.

- BusinessDesk