Market close: Investors pull handbrake on rising NZX

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 89c or 2.49 per cent to $34.86. Photo / File

Investors pulled the handbrake on the rising New Zealand sharemarket, and its 11-day bull run came to an end on solid trading.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 56.87 points or 0.45 per cent to 12,486.73, after hitting an intraday low of 12,456.37. There were 68 gainers and the same number of decliners over the whole market, and 50 million shares worth $178.56 million changed hands.

Further profit-taking in the market heavyweights drove the market down. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 89c or 2.49 per cent to $34.86 on trade worth $17.5m, and a2 Milk shed 51c or 3.14 per cent to $15.75 on trade worth $23.3m.

Other leading index stocks fell in tandem. Chorus was down 16c to $8.61, Ryman Healthcare lost 26c to $14.85, Port of Tauranga declined 11c to $7.56 and Restaurant Brands decreased 17c to $12. Apple exporter Scales Corporation was down 5c to $5.10.

Meridian Energy reported its September retail sales were 12.7 per cent higher than the same month last year, and its share price increased 22c or 3.87 per cent to $5.90.

Sam Dickie, a senior portfolio manager with Fisher Funds, said there were still some interesting dynamics in the market. "You have the retirement village sector on fire, Mainfreight has almost too much demand on its plate, and you have stocks like Serko kicking on."

Summerset Group Holdings and Oceania Healthcare both reached new highs, their share prices having tripled, or nearly tripled, since the market's low day of March 23. Summerset climbed 30c or 3 per cent to $10.30, after sitting at $3.71 in late March. Oceania rose 9c or 6.92 per cent to $1.39, from 40c in late March.

Dickie said the retirement village operators are the beneficiaries of the strong housing market but they showed during the Covid lockdown that they can look after vulnerable clients. "Summerset contacted 7000 people daily to make sure they were safe and well. I think you will start seeing an acceleration of people moving into retirement villages."

Mainfreight picked up another 75c and surged to $52.05, the highest price on the market. "Mainfreight hasn't cut costs nor let their people go. The company has taken on market share at the fastest pace in its history. Their people have gone the extra mile and have been inundated by competitors' customers."

Online travel provider Serko climbed 9c to $5.04, the beneficiary of a "permanent change" in its industry. Dickie said the big travel agents have reduced staff and are never going back to hiring more, and they have turned to Serko to fill the labour gap – "it has the best online technology in the world."

The Warehouse, which also owns Noel Leeming and Torpedo7, confirmed a 32 per cent fall in net profit for the 53 weeks ending August 2, and its share price slipped 4c to $2.17. The Government wage subsidy of $67.8m saved The Warehouse from a $4.3m loss.

Robotics firm Scott Technology was one of the day's biggest movers, rising 13c or 7.43 per cent to $1.88 after announcing it is designing and building an X-ray boning system for high-value cuts at the Alliance Group's Lorneville processing plant near Invercargill.

Eftpos provider Smartpay rose 2.5c or 3.88 per cent to 67c after reporting its Australian revenue increased 72 per cent in the September quarter and its New Zealand business continued to show resilience with consistent revenue contribution.

The gold price continues to slip away from its US$2000 an ounce peak, falling more than 3.5 per cent during trading to hit US$1897.73 an oz at 5.45pm.