NZ shares fall; F&P Healthcare, Ebos drop

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New Zealand shares fell in light trading, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare giving back some of its June gains while Air New Zealand and NZX rose.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 23.01 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7,588.43. Within the index, 23 stocks fell, 18 rose and 9 were unchanged. Turnover was $105 million.

"It has been a quiet period, we haven't been getting earnings through and haven't had many leads from overseas either, but it has been a reasonable period for the NZX," Grant Davies, investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene said.

The index reached a record high last Thursday, just before the end of the second quarter, and has gained 10.3 per cent so far this year.

F&P Healthcare led the index lower, down 2 per cent to $11.22. The stock reached a record $11.57 last Thursday and has gained 34 per cent this year, so some profit-taking was to be expected following that run, Davies said.

Ebos Group dropped 1.8 per cent to $17.19, Chorus fell 1 percent to $4.585 and Vital Healthcare Property Trust declined 0.9 per cent to $2.24.

Air New Zealand was the best performer, up 1.2 per cent to $3.30, while Comvita rose 0.9 per cent to $5.85.

NZX gained 0.9 per cent to $1.13. First NZ Capital has nudged up its 12-month target price on the stock on a small upgrade to its earnings forecasts after last week's annual meeting and is closely watching for the outcome of the stock exchange operator's review of its businesses.

On Friday, NZX affirmed 2017 guidance for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of $27m-to-$30m after ebitda jumped 30 per cent in the first five months of the year. Wellington-based NZX noted if the current relatively subdued capital raising and securities trading conditions persist, it expects earnings to be in the middle of guidance but if conditions improve, it would deliver a result at the upper end.

"They've had major issues over the last few years, really cleaning out all the dead wood," Davies said. "They've put all that behind them and they've had a little bit of increased earnings guidance, which is positive. A few brokerages have given slight upgrades on their forecasts. It will be interesting to see if they can come up with a way for smaller players to get involved in the listed markets.