NZ stocks fall as investors grapple with soft trading updates - Market close

Mainfreight was down $1.42 or 1.98% to $70.23.

The New Zealand sharemarket declined more than 1.5% for the week as it continued to grapple with a series of soft trading updates and the uncertainty of the US presidential election.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell sharply at the opening after a sell-off on Wall Street but traded more steadily in the afternoon to close at 12,559.28, down 79.62 points or 0.63%.

The index eased nearly 1.7% for the week and is now ahead 6.8% for the year. The index traded at a year’s high of 12,923.22 on October 21.

Trading was lighter with 25.4 million shares worth $115 million changing hands.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said the market has had to deal with a lot of information from annual meetings and earnings updates and is a little cautious.

“The market did well to rally over the last month but it has given back some of the performance this week. Globally we are seeing nervousness going into the US election and Chinese economic policy statements soon after. And bond yields have continued to rise.”

Solly said the big US tech stocks’ quarterly results were okay, but they weren’t enough for investors.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 512 points or 2.76% to 18.095, and S&P 500 was down 1.86% to 5705.45 – their biggest single-day falls since September 3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.9% to 41,763.46 points.

At home, Ebos Group decreased 64c to $35.86; Mainfreight was down $1.42 or 1.98% to $70.23; Skellerup declined 13c or 2.65% to $4.78; Spark eased 3c to $2.88; and a2 Milk gave up 10c to $6.25.

In the energy sector, Mercury declined 13c or 1.97% to $6.48; Meridian was down 8.5c to $5.87; Contact shed 15c to $8.44; and Manawa decreased 9c to $5.42.

AFT Pharmaceuticals fell 24c or 7.5% to $2.96 after warning of an operating loss of just under $2m for the six months ending September, mainly due to lower orders from some of the largest international customers. A doctors’ strike in South Korea impacted Maxigesic IV sales.

AFT said sales and operating profits in New Zealand and Australia achieved double-digit growth in the first half, and it expects a recovery in sales momentum in the stronger second half of the financial year.

Tower was down 4c or 2.99% to $1.30 after chief executive Blair Turnbull said he was stepping down on February 11 after four years. He plans to contest an ultra-running race around Mt Kilimanjaro before deciding his next career move.

Other decliners were Briscoe Group down 15c or 2.93% to $4.97; Vista Group decreasing 8c or 2.78% to $2.80; Synlait easing 2c or 4.94% to 38.5c; and T&G Global shedding 3c or 2.01% to $1.46.

Vulcan Steel rebounded 26c or 3.09% to $8.68 after telling shareholders at the annual meeting that first-quarter revenue fell 13% to $263.1m and operating earnings (ebitda) were down to 30% to $33.1m compared with the same period last year.

Sales tonnes per day declined 10% with a lower average selling price. Vulcan said it was now more optimistic about next year, with interest rate cuts having boosted business confidence and pre-sales activity among customers.

Infratil was up 11.5c to $12.715; Ventia Services increased 29c or 6.03% to $5.10; The Warehouse collected 2c or 1.94% to $1.0; Steel & Tube improved 2c or 2.2% to 93c; Green Cross Health increased 3c or 4.11% to 76c; and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ added 5c or 2.82% to $1.82.

Fletcher Building, unchanged at $3, said it will vigorously defend the Commerce Commission’s High Court action against Winstone Wallboards for historical use of volumes rebates, which the commission says contravened the Commerce Act.

General Capital, unchanged at 26.5c, has completed the purchase of Bridges Financial Services, a Waikato-based insurance premium funding business.