New Zealand sharemarket dips as F&P Healthcare, Infratil shares fall – Market close

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare had its share price fall again after an investor day in Melbourne. Photo / NZME

The New Zealand sharemarket closed down today as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Infratil lost ground, while Sky TV continued to lift on yesterday’s TV3 acquisition news.

On the main board, the S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 0.31% or 39.67 points, falling to 12,794.06, with 33,260,422 shares changing hands to the value of $118.2 million.

The S&P/NZX 20 index closed at 7493.76, down 0.37%, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,494.02, falling 0.55%.

There were 72 gainers on the main board and 64 decliners.

Salt Funds Management managing director Matt Goodson said the market was down in contrast to the Australian market, noting they seem to be performing in reverse to each other.

New Zealand’s largest stock, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, fell for a second day after it hosted an investor day in Melbourne, although Goodson said there was no real news for Kiwi investors.

F&P shares fell 28c to $36.41, after 328,025 shares changed hands, worth $11,918,976.27.

Meanwhile, Infratil shares fell 2.45% to $11.17.

“The other key name in the index was down. In the Australian close last night Infratil entered the ASX 200 index, so buying in anticipation of that may now be absent and that could perhaps explain that decline,” Goodson said.

Elsewhere, Sky TV continued its positive momentum following the news it had agreed to purchase TV3 for $1 on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Today, analysts at fund manager Octagon said the business will be worth 35c per share to its new owner – or just over $48m.

Sky TV’s share price climbed 6c to $3.12.

“It’s hardly operating in growth markets. By bolting on a business like that and hopefully extracting some cost and revenue synergies in the future, they may be able to stem some of the structural pressures that they face,” Goodson said.

He also pointed out the Colonial Motor Company, one of New Zealand’s longest-listed companies. It had $125,212.55 worth of shares trade on light volume.

The business, which owns a number of Ford dealerships and franchises around the country, released a guidance upgrade to its second-half results, saying it is shaping to contribute to a more positive outcome for the full-year trading profit after tax than was anticipated in February.

“It’s not a reflection of the overall economic environment, rather pockets of the wider vehicle market. I think it’s pointing to what’s becoming fairly clear in this economy, which is that large parts of the rural sector are having a pretty good year or two, but that’s yet filtering through to town,” Goodson said.

Global markets

The Nasdaq retreated from a record Tuesday on a mixed day for stocks as markets looked ahead to upcoming earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet and Tesla.

The two reports on Wednesday are the first of Wall Street’s “Magnificent Seven” equities to report this season. The group was mixed, with drops in Nvidia and other semiconductor equities consistent with profit-taking after earlier gains, analysts said.

The tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.4% to 20,892.69, snapping a six-day streak of record high finishes.

But the broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 6309.62, finishing at a record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 44,502.44.

Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management described the market as in a “wait-and-see” mode ahead of earnings from the most influential equities.

– Additional reporting AFP

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.