MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall as investors wait for leads   26 Jan 2016

MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall as investors wait for leads

By Sophie Boot

Jan. 26 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares followed Asian markets lower as the Australia Day holiday left the local bourse short of its traditional lead. Xero and Kathmandu Holdings declined, while Tower rose.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 33.08 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6142.16. Within the index, 29 stocks fell, 14 rose and seven were unchanged. Turnover was a lighter than usual $87 million.

Stocks across Asia fell, following Wall Street's lead, as weak oil prices continue to erode investors' appetite for riskier assets such as equities. China's Shanghai Composite index was down 2.1 percent in afternoon trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was closed for the national Australia Day holiday.

"Australia being closed today has led to pretty quiet trade on the local market," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene in Christchurch. "Overall, we're a little bit weaker in reaction to the pull-back on Wall Street last night. The market's just not getting any direction this afternoon - investors are sitting on their hands waiting to see what happens tonight when those foreign markets open again."

Xero led the index down, falling 3.5 percent to $16.80, and has dropped 12.1 percent this year. Kathmandu fell 2.6 percent to $1.52, Goodman Property Trust dropped 2 percent to $1.25, and New Zealand Refining declined 1.9 percent to $3.72.

Ryman Healthcare dropped 1.8 percent to $8.01, while Summerset Group shed 1.7 percent to $3.95 and Trade Me Group slipped 1.6 percent to $4.19.

SkyCity Entertainment Group fell 1.1 percent to $4.56, slipping from yesterday's high of $4.61, a price last seen in December 2007. Last Tuesday, New Zealand's only listed casino company said it expected first-half profit to rise as much as 30 percent.

"There's just a little bit of profit-taking in that stock today," Williamson said. "It has had a particularly good run following a positive earnings announcement."

Tower was the biggest gainer, rising 2.8 percent to $1.84. The stock has fallen 5.8 percent this year. Coats Group rose 2.1 percent to 48 cents, Port of Tauranga gained 1.1 percent to $18.61, and Sky Network Television advanced 1.1 percent to $4.57.

Air New Zealand rose 0.9 percent to $3.225. Chief executive Christopher Luxon today told a parliamentary select committee that prices would fall substantially on cheaper fuel costs, a drive to fill the airline's increased capacity, and more competition coming into the local market.

The stock price has rallied as oil prices have floundered, having last been that high in September 2001.

"It's had a spectacular run, low oil prices have given that company quite a bit of assistance," Williamson said.

Outside the benchmark index, SeaDragon was unchanged at 1.4 cents. Director Stuart Macintosh and former chief executive Ross Keeley sold 7.8 million shares, or 0.2 percent of the company's stock, after they inadvertently breached the Takeovers Code when they acquired stock in last year's rights issue.

Macintosh and Keeley told the Nelson-based company they had been required by the Takeovers Panel to sell the shares acquired in last year's rights issue, which breached the Takeovers Code, SeaDragon said in a statement. Keeley, who left the company last year in an overhaul of SeaDragon's board and management, had also sold shares to invest in his other business interests.

(BusinessDesk)

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