A2 shares slump 11% as investors call time on stellar run

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A2 Milk Co shares slumped 11 per cent as investors cashed in on a stellar run in the stock which had been up more than 300 per cent this year.

The shares dropped 92 cents to $7.75 as at 2.15pm having peaked with a record close $8.75 on October 30. A2 and its supplier Synlait Milk have been a breaking new ground since getting Chinese registration for their brands in September, and A2, in particular, has been a favourite among Australian investors for having managed to navigate through the Chinese market in much better shape than rivals such as Bellamy's. Synlait fell 5.6 per cent to $7.75.

"You have to wonder whether this is a one-day wonder," said Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene in Christchurch. "When a stock takes off like A2 it usually registers a correction at some stage."

The slump in A2 shares drove a 1 per cent slide on the benchmark S&P/NZX50 index to 8,064.32, with Australian investors also sour on Fletcher Building, which has downgraded its earnings outlook multiple times after failing to come to grips with the rapid escalation in construction costs. Fletcher shares dropped 3.8 per cent to $7.08, having slumped 31 per cent so far this year.

"Fletcher selling momentum has been building up following disappointing news," Williamson said.

Those two companies were weighing down the benchmark index, with 17 stocks up in early afternoon trading, 15 unchanged and 18 down.

Metro Performance Glass, a perennial underperformer in the construction sector, dropped 5.1 per cent to 94 cents, while Air New Zealand fell 2.6 per cent to $3.215.