NZ shares drift lower on light turnover

Holidays stem interest while dual-listed banking stocks help drag market down

New Zealand shares fell in quiet holiday trading as dual-listed banking stocks Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp weighed on the local market, while positive earnings spurred some buying interest in stocks including Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Investore Property.

The S&P/NZSX 50 index dropped 28.8 points or 0.4 per cent to 7412.74. Within the index, 30 stocks fell, 16 rose and four were unchanged. Turnover was a light $79.2 million. Trading was thin due to the two-day holiday in China and holidays in Britain and the US overnight, said Nigel Scott, a director at Craigs Investment Partners.

A2 Milk,

which is traded heavily by Australian investors, led the market lower, shedding 3.2 per cent to $3.32 as investors continued to take some profits. While the stock has come under some pressure in recent sessions, it is still up 61 per cent so far this year.

Among other sectors, dual-listed bank ANZ fell 2.5 per cent to $29.20

Westpac

while shed 2.3 per cent to $31.51. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading down 0.5 per cent in afternoon trading, partly weighed by financial stocks.

Metro Performance Glass

dropped 2.9 per cent to $1.35. The stock remains out of favour after it delivered a $19.4 million net profit for the year to March 31, down from $21.3m a year earlier.

In the other direction, was the biggest gainer on the day, adding 1.8 per cent to $5.55 as bargain hunters moved in. The stock has fallen 32 per cent this year on concerns about its access to the Chinese market and, more recently, the potential impact of the myrtle rust fungal disease on its manuka honey supply.

According to the latest press re-

Comvita

lease from the Ministry of Primary Industries, the number of properties infected with the disease now stands at 25.

Investore Property

— the property investors spun out of Stride Property last year — added 0.7 per cent to $1.36 after it posted an inaugural full-year profit as a listed company that beat its prospectus forecast. Real estate group

added 0.5 per cent to $1.015. Investors remain upbeat on the stock after it lifted its annual distributable earnings by 4.6 per cent last week.

also continued to attract interest after its result last week, adding 0.9 per cent to $10.70. The company posted an 18 per cent increase in full-year net profit but

erty F&P Healthcare Argosy Prop-

more importantly, according to Scott, it provided clarity on the cost of its litigation costs over a patent dispute with ResMed and “that clarity is being rewarded by the market,” he said.

benefited after the company announced a tie-up with ASXlisted Afterpay Holdings, an Australian “buy now, pay later” online payments provider, adding 0.6 per cent to $5.32.

Trade Me Orion Health Group

jumped 15 per cent to $1.2 ahead of its results today, which are also expected to provide clarity on the software developer’s capital needs. The stock has fallen 48 per cent so far this year. Among smaller caps, added 1 per cent to was un- $1.02. changed at 3.1 cents.

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