Index eases back after strong run

Rakon rose 4.4% to 36c yesterday after flagging a return to profitability. Photo / Natalie Slade

Investors cash in profit on gains in energy stocks

New Zealand shares fell yesterday, led by Mighty River Power, Meridian Energy and Contact Energy as investors cashed in profits on recent gains in power company stocks. Rakon rose to a 21-month high as it flagged a return to profitability.

The NZX 50 index fell 25.15 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5462.74. Within the index, 23 stocks fell, 14 rose, 13 were unchanged. Turnover was $124 million.

The benchmark index has gained 6.1 per cent over the past three months, in large part bolstered by the global search for yield in a low-interest-rate environment. Energy generators and retailers, favoured for their reliable income, have advanced solidly in the lead up to and since the general election, which removed any threat of further regulation to push down retail electricity prices.

Partially privatised gentailer MRP, which has gained 27 per cent since the start of the year, dropped 2.9 per cent to $3.025. Fellow state-controlled power companies, Meridian, which has soared 38 per cent in the past three months, declined 2 per cent to $1.695, and Genesis Energy, which has gained 16 per cent, was unchanged at $2.13. Contact fell 1.4 per cent to $6.28.

"Things are easing back after a strong run," said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research for Craigs Investment Partners.

Spark, formerly known as Telecom, fell 1.5 per cent to $3.19, and has advanced 12 per cent over the past three months. Ebos Group, the healthcare and animal care company, declined 1.3 per cent to $9.62 and has climbed 10 per cent in the past month. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, the breathing apparatus manufacturer, dropped 2.2 per cent to $5.42.

Fletcher Building rose 0.1 per cent to $8.46. The construction and building supplies company's director Gene Tilbrook will step down from the board of the company in the first quarter of 2015 because of other commitments.

Outside the benchmark index, Rakon rose 4.4 per cent to 36c, its highest in 21 months, after the high-tech components manufacturer flagged a return to profitability is looming, though investors will have to wait and see if they get a dividend.