Market close: NZ shares slump on Wall Street worries

Wall Street had its worst day since June, prompting the NZ market to follow it lower. Photo / AP

New Zealand shares slipped 1 per cent after Wall Street's worst day since June.

CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said Wall Street had a broad-based sell-off because of risk aversion ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium this week.

The annual meeting of the Kansas City Federal Reserve is attended by central bankers, economists and policymakers from across the world.

This year, Federal Reserve officials may provide clues about the Fed's future rate hike path and Teng said a jump in bond yields had suggested a more aggressive interest rate increase next month might be on the table.

The S&P/NZX 50 index fell 120.7 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 11,643.21. Turnover on the main board was $116.5 million.

Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said Wall Street had a "major influence" on New Zealand's market, even though it clawed back some ground by the close.

Media company NZME, publisher of the Herald, reported its interim result, announcing it had boosted its profit by 37 per cent as advertising revenue recovered to pre-Covid levels despite generally weak consumer confidence. It reported net profit of $8.5m in its half-year period, up from $5.6m in the prior comparable period.

However, NZME shares fell 3.2 per cent to $1.22 at the close of trading.

Shares in aged-care company Summerset Group rose 0.4 per cent to $11.59 after it released its half-year result for the six months to June 30. Summerset said its underlying profit was $82.5m, up 9.2 per cent on the year – but net profit of $134.6m was down 49 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Ryman was down 2.4 per cent to $9.33 and Radius Residential Healthcare was flat at 36 cents.

Telecommunications company Spark was down 1c at $5.29 ahead of its full-year result.

Wholesale broadband provider Chorus, which reported Monday, was down 1.5 per cent to $7.86.

Heartland Group shares were flat at $2.12 after it posted a record full year net profit of $95.1m.

The bank said it plans a $200m equity raise to help retire debt used to fund its recent Australian acquisition, as well as fund growth for its business.

Westpac fell 1.7 per cent to $23.65 and ANZ Bank was also down 1.7 per cent to $25.
Ebos was down 1.3 per cent to $38.02, and Move Logistics was up 1.5 per cent to $1.33, ahead of their respective results.

Freightways was up 3.1 per cent to $9.85. McIntyre said Freightways was the best performer on the index, helped by the firm revealing Monday that it had acquired Australian courier business Allied Express for A$160m in cash and shares, alongside its full-year result.

Index heavyweight and medical device manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 2.5 per cent to $19.95.

On the currency front, the NZ dollar was sitting at 61.90 US cents at 3pm today, down from 62.31 US cents yesterday.

- BusinessDesk