Market commentaries

AUCKLAND: New Zealand shares fell for a second day yesterday.

Meridian Energy lower as the power company confronted dry conditions, and exporters Comvita and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare faced a stronger kiwi dollar.

The S&P/NZX index declined 34.62 points, or 0.4%, to 8803.45. Within the index 26 stocks fell, 19 gained, and five were unchanged. Turnover was $174.2 million, Ryman Healthcare accounting for $99.2 million of that. Ryman fell 0.8% to $12.70.

Meridian fell 1.7% to $3.13 on slightly bigger volumes than normal after its monthly operating update showed South Island storage 25% below average and North Island storage at 90%. National hydro storage is below historical norms, coinciding with an outage at the Pohokura gas field which has pushed up wholesale prices.

‘‘The dry conditions are having an impact, particularly in the South Island,’’ Greg Smith, head of research at Fat Prophets, said.

Genesis Energy, which has increased production from its dualfuel Rankine units at Huntly to fill the gap, rose 1% to $2.445.

Summerset Group led the market lower, down 3% to $6.89 on almost half the usual volume. The stock has gained 24% this year, the NZX 50’s best performer, and has given up 11% during the past three months.

Mr Smith said higherthanexpected inflation data ruled out the chance of an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank. However, he expected the RBNZ would keep the official cash rate at a record low for some time, supporting ratesensitive stocks.

Vital Healthcare Property Trust gained 0.7% to $2.065 on light volumes and Precinct Properties New Zealand increased 0.7% to $1.42.

The higher inflation figure boosted the kiwi, which was trading at US65.68c and A92.13c at 5pm in Wellington. That reduces the revenue exporters earn.

F&P Healthcare fell 1.7% to $14.03 on lighter volumes than usual, while Comvita was down 1.5% to $5.91 on just 5100 shares changing hands. Kathmandu, which counts Australia as its biggest market, dropped 1.4% to $2.88.

Sky Network Television posted the biggest gain on the day, up 3.8% to $2.20, with 1.4 million shares traded. The New Zealand

Herald reported the payTV operator might be a potential takeover target for NBC Universal. The company holds its annual meeting tomorrow. The stock has gained 6.3% this week and Mr Smith said it might have bottomed out, having slumped 22% so far this year.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units rose 2% to $4.65 before last night’s GlobalDairyTrade auction, at which prices were expected to decline.

Pushpay Holdings rose 1.4% after Fisher Fundsmanaged Kingfish said it had taken a stake in the payment app developer.

Ebos Group increased 0.2% to $21.30 on heavier trading than usual. The company told shareholders it expected modest earnings growth this year after a solid first quarter.

Among other active stocks, Spark New Zealand slipped 0.1% to $3.89 on a volume of 1.8 million shares.

The resurgent mining and financial sectors lifted the Australian sharemarket, thanks to stronger commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 32.8 points, or 0.56%, at 5869.9 points yesterday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 29.8 points, or 0.5%, at 5977.8.

The SPI200 futures index was up 44 points, or 0.76%, at 5862.0, while the Australian dollar was buying US71.23c, up from US71.05 on Monday. — BusinessDesk/AAP