Market close: Covid uncertainty knocks travel and leisure stocks, again

Air New Zealand fell 4.5c or 2.86 per cent to $1.53, as travel and leisure stocks took another hit. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand sharemarket followed the direction of its overseas counterparts, falling more than half a per cent with the travel and leisure stocks coming unstuck because of the Covid uncertainty.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell sharply in the afternoon and closed at 13,095.77 down 97.23 points or 0.74 per cent, after reaching a morning high 12,210.20. The index has now fallen 1.7 per cent in two days, following a 4.6 per cent gain in August.

There were 53 gainers and 87 decliners across the whole market on steady volume of 48.99 million share transactions worth $199.19 million.

Mark Lister, head of private wealth research with Craigs Investment Partners, said it was a soft day for the market. "That's the theme all around the global markets – it's not just us in that mood.

"There's a lull in corporate news and the market has nothing to latch on to. Instead it is dominated by the rhetoric of slowing economic momentum across the world, and growth coming in softer than expected.

"The European Central Bank is meeting overnight and has signalled it may start pulling back on quantitative easing – as have other central banks – with inflation being strong."

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 1.91 per cent to 7368.60 points at 6pm NZ time. At the same time, the Hong Kong Hang Seng had fallen 1.9 per cent to 25,820.75 and the Japan Nikkei 225 had declined 0.73 per cent to 29,960.33 points.

Overnight on Wall Street, all three leading indices were down. But Rocket Lab had another liftoff on the Nasdaq Composite after announcing a five-launch contract with European satellite data company Kineis, with missions starting in the second quarter of 2023.

Rocket Lab's share price closed at US$15.09 ($21.28), up 59c or 4.07 but in after-hours trading the price increased a further 66c or 4.37 per cent to US$15.75. Rocket Lab has climbed 45 per cent since going public in the United States on August 25.

Back at home, travel and leisure stocks Serko fell 20c or 2.5 per cent to $7.80; Air New Zealand was down 4.5c or 2.86 per cent to $1.53; Auckland International Airport declined 7c to $7.32; SkyCity Entertainment shed 8c or 2.35 per cent to $3.32; and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand was down 7c or 2.88 per cent to $2.36.

Market leader Fisher and Paykel Healthcare dominated the day's trading with $49.6m worth of sales changing hands, and closed at $32.80, down 20c, after reaching as high as $33.28 during the day.

Fletcher Building was down 17c or 2.28 per cent to $7.30; Freightways fell 25c or 1.94 per cent to $12.65; Port of Tauranga dropped 12c to $6.98; Ryman Healthcare shed 35c or 2.32 per cent to $14.76; Summerset Group Holdings decreased 12c to $15.02; and a2 Milk declined a further 11c or 1.91 per cent to $5.64.

Turners Automotive, the biggest car dealer in the country, declined 12c or 2.65 per cent to $4.41 after holding its annual meeting. The company told shareholders the first four months of the 2022 financial year saw a continuation of its positive momentum and prior to the lockdown was trading comfortably ahead of the comparable periods in 2020 and 2021.

After a solid run, Heartland Group Holdings fell 7c or 2.98 per cent to $2.28. Vital Healthcare Property Trust lost 8c or 2.5 per cent to $3.125; and AMP was down 4c or 3.54 per cent to $1.09.

Other decliners were Vector, down 8c or 1.9 per cent to $4.14; Restaurant Brands falling 20c to $15.60; Scales Corporation losing 8c to $5.05; Kathmandu Holdings decreasing 6c or 4.05 per cent to $1.42; and Plexure Group shedding 5c or 7.46 per cent to 62c.

Pacific Edge, having to defend itself over misinformation provided to the ASX market, was down a further 3c or 2.07 per cent to $1.42. My Food Bag continued to slide, down 2c to $1.39.

Seafood company Sanford picked up 20c or 4 per cent to $5.20 as it settled in with its new cornerstone shareholder Ngai Tahu Holdings.

Sky Network Television and NZME, with American investor Osmium Partners increasing its shareholdings, had good days, rising 1c or 4.88 per cent to 21.5c and 4c or 4.12 per cent respectively.

The Carbon Fund had another strong rise, up 13c or 6.6 per cent to $2.10; South Port New Zealand increased 20c or 2.17 per cent to $9.40; Marsden Maritime Holdings gained 15c or 2.34 per cent to $6.56; and Solution Dynamics climbed 9c or 3 per cent to $3.09.