NZ Index retreats, Auckland Airport sinks 4 %

By NZPA

Tuesday 20th November 2007

Cautious investors pushed New Zealand shares into the red today following large falls offshore, with the top-50 returning to its level at the start of the year.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 1.2%, or 47.37 points, at 4067.30 on turnover totalling $150 million. The index was 173 points above its year low struck in August.

"Obviously a pretty strong lead from offshore markets being sharply negative, the Dow Jones closing below the support level of 13,000, so we'll be watching that tonight," said Suzanne Kinnaird of Forsyth Barr.

"People are treading a little bit cautiously at the moment, and they're waiting to see that (rebound) before they start bargain hunting."

Auckland International Airport shares fell 4%, or 12c, to $2.86 after the company downgraded its annual profit forecast.

"They provided an update of trading which was a bit weaker than was expected," Kinnaird said.

The takeover target also said its four-month surplus was 1.5 % behind last year, and that chief executive Don Huse is stepping down at the next annual meeting.

The company said after the market closed that all candidates -- including Infratil's Lloyd Morrison -- were elected to the board.

Top stock Telecom was down just 0.5%, or 2c, at $4.26, while second-ranked Fletcher Building fell 1.8% to $11.55.

Contact Energy rose 2c to $8.93, after it confirmed yesterday it would develop a 20MW geothermal generation in Taupo.

Sky City was down a cent at $5.34, Sky TV fell a cent to $5.69, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lost 8c to $3.21, and F&P Appliances fell 3c to $3.62.

Children's clothing company Pumpkin Patch was down 16c, or 5.6%, at $2.72 after warning that sales in Britain remained soft and the US market was softening. The shares had hit a 2-1/2 year low of $2.65.

Rakon fell a further 24c to a nine-month low of $4.26, after losing 65c yesterday on disappointing half year results and advice it could have difficulty reaching previously forecast full year figures.

Infratil was down 6c at $2.84, Nuplex lost 7c to $7.25, Vector was down 5c at $2.27, Tower fell 4c to $2.00, Mainfreight was off 3c at $7.12, and Kiwi Income Property Trust was down 3c at $1.37.

Michael Hill was up 5c at $1.10, and Trustpower rose 3c to $8.73.

Among dual-listed stocks, ANZ was down 100c at $32.20, Westpac fell 80c to $32.20, AMP fell 27c to $11.70, and Goodman Fielder was down 5c at $2.25.

Australia's benchmark index was down 1.6% at 6430, and Japan's Nikkei average was flat.

Earlier on Wall Street, US stocks fell after a brokerage downgrade of Citigroup sparked concerns that there may be more mortgage losses to come, raising doubts about the outlook for the economy.

Comments from our readers

No comments yet