Market commentaries

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares were mixed, Trustpower and Infratil both rising after retaining a market advantage in Tauranga, while Heartland Bank and Freightways dropped.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index dipped 7.48 points, or 0.09%, to 8600.81. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 19 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $142 million.

‘‘Our market was very strong yesterday, there was quite significant buying across the leaders and that has pulled back a little today in most but not all,’’ Matt Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management, said.

The benchmark index surged 1.4% yesterday to a record.

Trustpower jumped 7.7% to $5.60, a twomonth record, making it the best performer. The Tauranga Electricity Consumer Trust has abandoned plans to become a funder for Bay of Plenty community projects after strong pushback from customers of locally headquartered Trustpower, who prefer to receive an annual cheque that helps offset their personal power bills.

‘‘It’s very clear that beneficiaries of the trust, while they receive an annual cheque, are being charged significantly above market levels for electricity in the area. They need to buy off Trustpower to keep getting that cheque, so it’s an unusual historical arrangement. The trustees were certainly on the right track, but clearly, they’ve felt compelled to withdraw what seemed to be a sensible proposal,’’ Mr Goodson said. Infratil gained 1.8% to $3.14.

Heartland Bank was the worst performer, down 2.2% to $1.78. Freightways fell 1.8% to $7.54 and Ryman Healthcare was down 1.4% to $10.95.

A The Australian sharemarket closed lower after the United States central bank lifted interest rates and forecast further rises in the years ahead.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 13.1 points, or 0.2%, at 5937.2 points, as gains among energy and materials stocks were offset by weakness in all other sectors.

The US Federal Reserve lifted its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point, and forecast at least two more rises for 2018.

Macquarie Private Wealth division director Martin Lakos said this was the beginning of an extended cycle of monetary policy tightening in the US.

‘‘The era of cheap money in the US is slowly done,’’ he said.

‘‘What is more interesting is the expressed view that rates will continue to go up into 2020, and that has not been factored in at this stage, which has impacted investors.’’

Stronger base metals prices lifted the local miners. BHP Billiton was up 2.7% to $29.70, Rio Tinto added 2.1% to $76.78 and Fortescue Metals gained 0.6% to $4.79.

Oil prices are close to sixweek highs, boosted by declines in US inventories, concerns over the nuclear pact with Iran and strong compliance on Opec production cuts.

Woodside Petroleum lifted 2.2% to $29.44, Santos gained 1.2% to $5.13 and Oil Search was 0.4% higher at $7.23.

The major banks were a weight on the market. Commonwealth Bank shed 1.2% to $74.87, Westpac lost 0.7% $29.60, ANZ dropped 0.4% to $28.18 and National Australia Bank was 0.3% weaker at $29.60.

Sigma Healthcare dropped 7.4% to 81.5c after its fullyear underlying profit fell 11%, partly on falling demand for Hepatitis C medication.

The Australian dollar hit its highest levels for the week, as the US dollar slipping after the Federal Reserve did not signal a faster pace of rate rises for this year, Mr Lakos said.

The local currency was trading at US77.50c, up from US76.96c on Wednesday.

The broader All Ordinaries index was down 9.9 points, or 0.16%, at 6043.2 points

The SPI200 futures contract was down 16 points, or 0.27%, at 5918 points

Market turnover was 3.6 billion shares traded, worth $6.2 billion.