MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks fall; Warehouse, retailers decline

Tuesday 10th August 2010

New Zealand stocks fell for the second time in seven sessions, after tepid credit and debit card spending data weighed on the Warehouse, Pumpkin Patch and Hallenstein Glasson.

The NZX 50 fell 9.39 points, or 0.3%, to 3045.1. Within the index 24 stocks fell, 18 rose and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $74.8 million.

The NZSX Consumer Index edged down 0.2% to 1572.3, after Statistics New Zealand said the value of total electronic card transactions fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in July, ending five months of growth.

Hallenstein Glasson (NZX: HLG ) fell 1.3% to $3.90, Pumpkin Patch (NZX: PPL ) fell 0.6% to $1.72 and the Warehouse fell 0.6% to $3.51. Kathmandu (NZX: KMD ) fell 1.2% to $1.67.

“The whole of the consumer sector has been a bit in the doldrums of late, and while the numbers haven’t helped, I don’t think one month’s decline is enough data to is make a call for the rest of the year,” Milford Asset Management's Alan Moore said. “The real question which will determine the trend going forward is how consumers will behave as we approach the GST change– will they hold back or buy ahead of time?”

Pacing decliners on the NZX 50, Goodman Fielder (NZX: GFF ) fell 2.5% to $1.59, Mainfreight (NZX: MFT ) fell 2.1% to $6.58, and Rakon (NZX: RAK ) fell 1.8% to $1.09.

Shares in NZ Farming Systems Uruguay (NZX: NZS ) were unchanged at 55 cents after the company’s board urged investors not to sell their stock pending to Olam International, saying it disagrees with some assertions made by the Singaporean company which is looking to acquire the company at its current market price.

Telecom (NZX: TEL ) fell 0.5% to 2.07. The company had earlier announced that board member Rod McGeoch will retire from the board after more than nine years.

PGG Wrightson (NZX: PGW ), the rural services company that has agreement to sell its 11.5% stake in Farming Systems to Olam International, rose 1.8% to 57 cents, pacing gainers on the NZX 50.

Michael Hill (NZX: MHI ) rose 1.5% to 66 cents, and ING Property Trust, (NZX: ING ) rose 1.5% to 69 cents.

Businesswire.co.nz

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