MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares snap 4-day advance

Tuesday 1st June 2010

New Zealand shares snapped a four-day advance as equity market across Asia weakened after a report showed Chinese manufacturing grew less than expected. Westpac and Nuplex led the decline.

The NZX 50 Index fell 6.466, or 0.2%, to 3054.759 after four days of gains that lifted the index from a 10-month low. Within the index, 19 stocks fell, 14 rose and 17 were unchanged. Turnover was a lower-than-average $51.8 million, reflecting holidays that closed markets in the U.K. and the U.S.]

Westpac (NZX: WBC ) fell 3.1% to $28 and ANZ (NZX: ANZ ) slid 1.8% to $27.51.

Nuplex (NZX: NPX ) dropped 2% to $3.01.

China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, a measure of manufacturing, fell to a seasonally adjusted 53.9 last month from 55.7 in April, according to the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. The figures stoked speculation the world’s fastest-growing major economy may be cooling, sapping demand for exports from Australasia.

Rakon (NZX: RAK ) fell 2.1% to 93 cents and jeweller Michael Hill (NZX: MHI ) dropped 2.8% to 69 cents.

Pyne Gould (NZX: PGC ) rose 2.3% to 45 cents after announcing it in talks to merge its Marac finance unit with Canterbury Building Society and Southern Cross Building Society to create a bank with $2.2 billion of assets.

Restaurant Brands (NZX: RBD ) rose 3.1% to $2.32 after announcing a 4.2% increase in sales on the back of sustained growth in its KFC brand, making up for weaker performance at its Starbucks Coffee and Pizza Hut outlets. KFC accounted for $54.3 million of the $75.9 million sales, the highest quarterly total since the inception of Restaurant Brands in mid 1997.

Telecom (NZX: TEL ) fell 1.6% to $1.87. The company’s long-term outlook could improve if it hives off its network assets to participate in the government’s $1.5 billion roll-out of high-speed broadband, Moody’s Investors Service said today.

Allied Finance (NZX: ALF ) dropped about 2% to 5 cents. The company’s Allied Nationwide Finance unit said it has completed a review of loan provisioning in preparation for the 30 June 2010 year end accounts. It expects to recognise about $10.7 million in loan provisions in the second half.

Methven (NZX: MVN ) rose 1.3% to $1.60. The company posted a 22% decline in full-year earnings, missing its guidance, after taking an impairment charge in the UK, where it lost DIY chain Wickes as a major customer. It will focus on premium products and those targeting hotels, it said.

Businesswire.co.nz

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