Market commentaries

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell as Fletcher Building slumped to a nineyear low after the country’s biggest listed construction firm warned of weaker profit, and as growth stocks such as Pushpay Holdings followed Wall Street lower.

The S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 72.63 points, or 0.8%, to a threeweek low of 8720.30. Within the index, 21 stocks fell, 20 gained, and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $180.8 million, of which a2 Milk accounted for $41.9 million and Fletcher made up $24.2 million.

Fletcher Building was the day’s biggest decliner after it announced firsthalf operating earnings will be 10% lower than last year. The shares fell 11%, or 62c, to $4.93, its lowest level since the depths of the GFC in 2009. It was the most traded stock with 4.8 million shares changing hands.

But Nigel Scott, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said Fletcher was not alone.

‘‘If you look at Boral, James Hardie, Lend Lease, Adelaide Brighton, their charts look remarkably similar,’’ Mr Scott said, adding that story was about the weak Australian housing market.

Outside the benchmark index, Metro Performance Glass dropped 3.1% to a new record low of 62c. The glass products supplier has been struggling with an Australian acquisition during the past two years. Yesterday its shares sank 24% on news of a new entrant in the domestic market.

Building products firm Steel & Tube Holdings fell 3.1% to $1.24. Both the steel products maker and the Commerce Commission yesterday said they would appeal a record $1.89 million fine imposed on the company for misrepresenting steel mesh products it sold.

Mr Scott said the New Zealand dollar’s recent strength, rising from below US65c last month to more than US68c, has hurt exporters such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, whose shares fell 0.5% to $12.90.

However, a number of the yield stocks have been relatively unscathed.

Pharmaceuticals distributor and veterinary company Ebos Group shares rose 0.9% to $21.99, Genesis Energy gained 0.8% to $2.50 and Meridian Energy was up 0.2% at $3.25.

In a global sense, ‘‘the key thing you’re seeing at the moment is you’ve had a decade of strength, effectively a buildup of tech around the globe,’’ Mr Scott said.

But now US interest rates were rising, the trade war between the US and China was a major concern and oil prices were tumbling.

‘‘The repricing of the tech sector doesn’t happen overnight.’’

The trade war threat weighed heavily on tech stocks in the US overnight, with the Nasdaq down 3%. That weighed on local growth stocks such as Pushpay, which extended its decline, falling 4.8% to $3 on higher than average volume. Tourism Holdings, another growth stock, dropped 4.6% to $4.60 on lighter volume than normal.

A late rally from banking stocks kept the Australian sharemarket from the doldrums reached in October, but broadbased losses still dragged the indices lower and Australian tech stocks followed the fortunes of US counterparts.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 21.9 points, or 0.38%, at 5671.8 yesterday, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 0.47%.

The tech sector fell nearly 3% after seemingly taking the lead from Wall Street, where sliding Apple shares wreaked havoc — Afterpay and Xero lost 4.8% and 5.4%, and Altium fell 9.4%,

The Australian dollar was buying US72.76c at 1630 AEDT from US73.06c on Monday.

The S&P/ASX200 index closed down 21.9 points, or 0.38%, at 5671.8. The All Ordinaries closed down 27.2 points, or 0.47%, at 5759.2. At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was down 13 points, or 0.23%, at 5678.0. — BusinessDesk/AAP

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