Market commentary

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell yesterday, led lower by ongoing weakness in Pushpay Holdings and as construction sector fears weigh on Fletcher Building.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 27.4 points to 8875.73. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 15 rose and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $124.8 million.

Pushpay led the index lower, down 3.7% to $3.70. The stock has dropped 10.8% since August 1, when the company delivered firstquarter revenue within guidance and reshuffled its senior management after another abrupt executive exit.

‘‘Certainly since their announcement they’ve traded lower. Obviously, it disappointed the market somewhat and has put the share price under a wee bit of pressure,’’ Hamilton Hindin Greene broker Grant Williamson said.

Fletcher Building fell 2% to $6.90 as policymakers continue to grapple with skinny margins in the wider construction sector. Freightways dropped 1.9% to $7.75 and Port of Tauranga declined 1.8% to $4.85.

SkyCity Entertainment Group fell 1.2% to $3.98 ahead of today’s earnings announcement, which is generally regarded as the start of the season.

The major story of the day was outside the benchmark index, with Steel & Tube Holdings in a trading halt at $1.46. The steel supplier, whose shares have lost almost a third of their value this year, plans to raise about $80.9 million at a steep discount to repay debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

Summerset was the best performer, up 1.2% to $7.69. It has bought land to develop its second New Plymouth retirement village.

Kiwi Property Group rose 1.1% to $1.365 and Stride Property gained 1.1% to $1.87.

NZX rose 0.9% to $1.09. The stock market operator will recognise an $800,000 charge on the sale of its remaining agri businesses to GlobalHQ, which recently bought the Farmers Weekly publication.

The Wellingtonbased company will close its Feilding office after selling the red meat and forestry components of AgriHQ for an undisclosed sum, it said. GlobalHQ will take on 10 staff and nine casuals.

Also in a halt was online travel booking software developer Serko, at $2.84. It plans to raise $15 million to speed up its growth trajectory. — BusinessDesk