Fletcher at 14-year low in heavy trading
Trade Me the standout performer after British bid
New Zealand shares fell as Fletcher Building dropped to a 14-year low, adding to Tuesday's rout after its profit warning. Trade Me soared to a record on a potential takeover.
The S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 47.9 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8672.40. Within the index, 29 stocks fell, 14 gained, and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $195.7 million.
Fletcher fell 4.7 per cent to $4.70, the lowest level since mid-2004. That added to Tuesday's 11 per cent slump when Fletcher warned first-half earnings will fall 10 per cent and noted tougher conditions in Australia. The stock was the most heavily traded, with 7.2 million shares changing hands yesterday, compared to the 1.2 million 90-day average.
David Price, a broker at Forsyth Barr, said Fletcher struggled to capitalise on New Zealand's construction boom which is past its peak and now faces a slower market across the Tasman also.
Growth stocks were also weaker as the local market joined a worldwide decline amid fears that slower global growth will crimp earnings.
A2 Milk fell 3.4 per cent to $10 on average volumes, Gentrack Group declined 3.7 per cent to $6.45 on very light trading and Push pay Holdings was down 3.3 per cent at $2.90 on more than twice its average volume.
Price said the heightened volatility in financial markets hadn't been accompanied by volumes associated with panic selling, but the local market was drifting lower.
Trade Me was the stand-out in the market, jumping 16 per cent to a record close of $5.93. The online auction site received a non-binding offer from British private equity firm Apax Partners at $6.40 a share. Some 4.8 million shares changed hands, more than 10 times the average volume of 385,000. Spark New Zealand fell 0.8 per cent to $4.155 on volume of 4.2 million, while Freightways declined 1 per cent to $6.80 on 2.3 million shares traded. Among other companies with volumes of more than one million,
Argosy Property rose 0.5 per cent
to $1.125, Sky City Entertainment increased 1.4 per cent to $3.66, Z Energy gained 1.5 per cent at $5.97, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare slipped 0.5 per cent to $12.83 and Meridian
Energy fell 0.9 per cent to $3.22. Outside the benchmark index,
NZME slumped 18 per cent to 53 cents, a two-year low. The company yesterday warned that annual earnings will fall by as much as 21 per cent and said it probably won't pay a final dividend.