NZ shares dip; Summerset sales fall short of expectations

New Zealand shares edged lower in light trading, led lower by Summerset Group after quarterly sales figures kept investors wary about the outlook for retirement stocks.

Monday, July 8th 2019, 6:39PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index decreased by 9.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,605.98. Within the index, 24 stocks fell, 20 rose, and six were unchanged. Turnover was $79.2 million, with four companies trading on volumes of more than a million shares.

Summerset led the market lower, down 3.3 percent at $5.55 on a volume of 238,000 shares, after reporting a 9.6 percent decline in second-quarter sales. The retirement village operator tried to allay investor fears, saying the property market was showing signs of stabilising. However, the downbeat figures weighed on rival Metlifecare, which fell 2 percent to $4.45 with 164,000 shares changing hands.

"The pressure is on the retirement village sector on continuing concerns around property," said Grant Davies, an investment advisor at Hamilton Hindin Greene. "Resales and new sales are not quite living up to expectations."

Some exporters were also among those under pressure, with Gentrack down 3.1 percent at $6.20, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare falling 1.7 percent to $16, and Skellerup also dropping 1.7 percent to $2.36.

Spark New Zealand was the most traded stock on the benchmark index on a volume of 1.2 million shares, well down on its 90-day average around 5 million. It decreased by 0.4 percent to $3.97.

Genesis Energy increased by 0.3 percent to $3.51 on a volume of 1.1 million shares, and Kiwi Property Group was unchanged at $1.615 with 1.1 million shares changing hands.

Precinct Properties New Zealand rose 1.1 percent to $1.79 on a volume of one million shares after saying the value of its portfolio rose 6.2 percent to about $2.8 billion.

A2 Milk Co posted the day's biggest gain, up 2.2 percent at $15.33 on a volume of 483,000 shares. Fonterra Shareholders' Fund continued their recovery, up 1.9 percent at $3.75.

Vista Group International rose 1.2 percent to $5.95 after appointing Matthew Cawte as its new chief financial officer, starting on Aug. 7.

New Zealand Refining rose 1.4 percent to $2.11 after saying it was considering installing a 26-megawatt solar electricity generation array alongside the Marsden Point refinery.

The New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency's 2022 bond paying annual interest of 2.75 percent was the most traded debt security on a volume of 719,000. The notes closed at a yield of 1.52 percent, down 24 basis points.

Tags: Market Close