New Zealand shares edge higher – Market close

Gentrack and Infratil were among the leaders on the sharemarket today.

New Zealand shares bucked the trend across Asia as they edged higher, with Gentrack and Infratil among the leaders after being added to an Australian index, meaning passive investors will have to track the local companies.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index increased 6.11 points, or 0.1%, to 12,621.62. Across the main board, 48 stocks rose, 99 fell and 32 were unchanged. Turnover was $66.6 million, less than half the $137m daily average traded through August.

The local market outperformed many of its peers across Asia, clawing back earlier losses on fears about the health of the US economy after jobs data on Friday in the US raised fears about whether the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut track will bring the world’s biggest economy in for a soft landing.

“We’ve been down further during the day and it looks like the US market will open positively, based on the futures,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “Some parts of the market are expecting a 25-basis point cut from the Fed next week and there’s concerns about what it means if they cut even deeper.”

Gentrack led the benchmark index higher, rising 4.4% to $10.88 and Infratil advanced 1.6% to a record close of $12.09 after both companies said they’d been included in the S&P/ASX 300 Index from September 23. The inclusion means any passive investor tracking that index will need to buy a relative stake in each of those companies.

Infratil has been buoyed over the past week by the A$24 billion ($26b) acquisition of Australian data centre operator AirTrunk, while Gentrack has surged 63% this year as the utilities software developer continued its turnaround from several years ago.

Outside the benchmark index, insurer Tower climbed 3.5% to an eight-year high of $1.18 after reaffirming its earnings guidance and signalling plans for a $45m (or almost 12c per share) mandatory share buyback. The insurer’s board wrapped up a nine-month strategic review, deciding to stick to its current plan.

Synlait Milk was unchanged at 41c after wrapping up its review of its Pōkeno facility, deciding to keep the factory for plant-based products and diverting its 54 dairy farmers’ supply to Open Country. The a2 Milk Co fell 1% to $5.98, while Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units increased 0.2% to $4.49.

Retailer KMD Brands posted the day’s biggest decline on the benchmark index, falling 7.3% to 51c. Retailers will start reporting their earnings this week, with Briscoe Group due to post its first-half earnings on Wednesday. Briscoe was unchanged at $4.75.

Tech companies were broadly weaker, taking their lead from the Friday sell-off on Wall Street. Serko fell 4.6% to $3.15, Eroad declined 1.6% to $1.20 and Vista Group International slipped 2.6% to $3.01.

Fletcher Building extended its decline so far this month to 8.1% as it slipped 0.7% to $2.81 in Monday trading. Macquarie analysts downgraded their price target on the building materials firm to $2.21 from $2.43 while maintaining their “underperform” rating as they raised their contingent liability estimate on the leaky pipes issue in Western Australia.

Spark NZ slipped 0.3% to $3.51 on a volume of 1.7 million as investors continue to weigh up the mobile and broadband retailer’s reliable income against its expensive plans to build data centres.

Arvida Group was the most heavily traded stock on the day with a volume of 2.2 million. The shares slipped 0.6% to $1.65.

Kiwi Property Group fell 3.1% to 93.5c on a volume of 1.4 million, Contact Energy slipped 0.2% to $8.33 on a volume of 1.1 million and Vital Healthcare Property Trust declined 0.5% to $1.925 on a volume of 1 million units.