Ebos, Ryman lead sharemarket down
Trading volumes are subdued as political uncertainty on the world stage keeps investors on the sidelines Dollar unchanged
New Zealand shares fell in subdued trading, led by Ebos Group, Ryman Healthcare, Air New Zealand and Fletcher Building. Comvita fell after a profit warning while A2 Milk gained on news of a deal in South Korea.
The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 8.42 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8406.35. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 14 gained and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was $89 million.
Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said trading volumes had been low in the absence of much corporate activity and as global geopolitical uncertainty kept some investors on the sidelines.
Ebos dropped 2.7 per cent to $18 and Ryman, which has gained 27 per cent in the past 12 months, fell 2.6 per cent to $10.66.
Air New Zealand fell 2.2 per cent to $3.305. The airline said early engine maintenance checks would prompt some changes to its international flight schedule, but did not expect a hit to earnings.
Fletcher Building fell 1.1 per cent to $6.27. The building materials and construction group surged on Friday after a news report that Wesfarmers was building a stake in preparation for a takeover. However, Australian fund manager Ellerston Capital announced it had built up its holding to 5.1 per cent.
“Fletcher could well be right for potential corporate activity,” Williamson said.
A2 rose 2.2 per cent to $12.47 after the milk marketer said it had signed an exclusive distribution deal with Yuhan Corp in South Korea, more than a decade after an earlier foray into that country that ended in litigation. Synlait Milk rose 1.1 per cent to $9.48.
Comvita, the NZX-listed manuka honey company, rose 0.6 per cent to $7.01 having see-sawed during the day. Comvita said yesterday that a third party was undertaking due diligence in what may be a precursor to a takeover. The company also said its after-tax operating earnings for the year to June 30 are expected to be $8m to $11m, down from an earlier forecast of more than $17.1m as adverse weather hurt its honey harvest.
Spark New Zealand rose 1.5 per cent to $3.46. The company said yesterday it has bought broadcasting rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and several other competitions for an undisclosed sum and has tapped TVNZ to provide free-to-air coverage.
SkyCity Entertainment Group fell 1.5 per cent to $3.93 and Mercury Energy rose 1.4 per cent to $3.305.
— BusinessDesk The New Zealand dollar was largely unchanged against the greenback with investors fairly sanguine about the US-led strikes on Syria. The kiwi dollar traded at US73.54 cents late yesterday versus US73.57c late Friday. The trade-weighted index was at 75.41 from 75.40. The kiwi decreased to A94.61 from A94.72c on Friday and traded at 78.86 yen from 78.97 yen. It slipped to 59.63 euro cents from 59.69 cents and traded at 51.58 British pence from 51.67 pence. It increased to 4.6207 yuan from 4.6166 yuan on Friday.