NZ shares dip as NZX outage stops trading early

Vista Group International led the market lower on a subdued day for trading. Photo/Dean Purcell

New Zealand shares were slightly weaker when trading ended early yesterday as the stock market operator dealt with connectivity issues.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index decreased 14.76 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 11,226.83. Within the index, 24 stocks fell, 22 rose, and four were unchanged. Turnover was $65.7 million.

NZX halted all trading in the late afternoon Monday due to a network connectivity issue. That was before the match period when final prices are set, and a large amount of the volume goes through the exchange. Just four stocks traded on volumes of more than a million shares.

"Following today's network connectivity issue and consultation with cash market trading participants, NZX has determined not to reopen the cash markets for trading today," the stock market operator said in a statement.

NZX said it was working with its vendor to see whether it could reopen derivatives markets for evening trading.

Markets across Asia were mixed, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index the best performer – up 1.8 percent in afternoon trading – after stronger than expected Chinese data supported mining and banking stocks across the Tasman. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.4 percent and South Korea's Kospi 200 Index was largely flat.

Peter McIntyre, an investment advisor at Craigs Investment Partners, said New Zealand's market had been subdued even before the trading halt.

"It's starting to get that Christmas feel to it," he said.

Vista Group International led the market lower, down 2.7 per cent at $3.55 on a volume of 136,000 shares, less than half its 90-day volume of 455,000.

Stride Property fell 2.2 per cent to $2.20 and Tourism Holdings declined 1.6 per cent to $3.06, both on volumes of less than 100,000.

A2 Milk declined 1.3 percent to $15.14.

Auckland International Airport decreased 1.2 percent to $8.645 on a volume of 1.2 million shares. The airport operator's monthly traffic update showed a 1.1 per cent decline in October from a year earlier, with fewer international and domestic passengers.

McIntyre said while the numbers were weaker across the board, that trend could be near the bottom given Chinese visitor numbers started to drop off in October and November of 2018.

Power companies were generally weaker. Genesis Energy fell 1 per cent to $2.93, Mercury NZ was down 0.7 per cent at $4.825, Meridian Energy declined 0.6 per cent to $4.965, and Contact Energy decreased 0.1 per cent to $7.23.

Sky Network Television was the most traded stock on a volume of 2.2 million shares, about twice its 1.1 million average. The shares rose 1.4 per cent to 73 cents.

Argosy Property advanced 2.3 per cent to $1.365 on a volume of 1.4 million.

Spark New Zealand fell 0.9 per cent to $4.25 with 1.3 million shares traded. The telecommunications company said it would participate in next year's short-term of radio spectrum rights for 5G use after the government outlined auction and iwi allocations.

Infratil, which owns half of Vodafone New Zealand, rose 1.2 per cent to $4.91. Chorus, the fixed-line network operator, increased 1 per cent to $5.855.

Arvida Group rose 3.7 per cent to $1.70 on a volume of 368,000 shares, the biggest gain of the day.

Z Energy advanced 2.6 per cent to $4.34, recovering from its five-year low on Friday when it warned of lower profit and dividend payments due to the increased competition in the retail market and skinnier refining margins.

Refining New Zealand was unchanged at $1.90.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand rose 1.8 per cent $11.76 after reporting a 5.8 per cent increase in third-quarter sales.