Fletcher Building also recovered some of its recent losses, rising 3.5 per cent to $2.99 after announcing Martin Brydon will step down from the board at the company’s annual meeting in October in the latest shake-up to its governance and management team.
Meanwhile, other building materials firms extended their recent declines with Vulcan Steel down 0.8 per cent at $7.44 and Steel & Tube falling 5.5 per cent to 86c. Metro Performance Glass was unchanged at 7 cents.
Warehouse Group also rallied after saying it’s slimmed down its executive team to focus on its Red and Blue Sheds and Noel Leeming brands. The shares climbed 3.7 per cent to $1.12.
Other retailers were mixed after data showed consumer sentiment near historic lows, with Michael Hill International up 2.1 per cent at 48c, Briscoe Group unchanged at $4.10, Hallenstein Glasson unchanged at $5.45 and KMD Brands sinking 3.5 per cent to 41 cents.
The dual-listed Australian banks held on to gains running into the RBA meeting, with ANZ Group up 2.5 per centat $31.75 and Westpac Banking Corp advancing 1.5 per cent to $29.40. Heartland Group Holdings, which this year completed its acquisition of Australia’s Challenger Bank, rose 1 per cent to 97 cents.
Exporters were generally stronger as the kiwi dollar remained subdued, trading at 61.16 US cents at 5pm in Wellington. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 1.8 per cent to $31.04, winemaker Delegat Group advanced 4.3 per cent to $4.85 and A2 Milk increased 0.1 per cent to $7.22.
Air NZ was unchanged at 53.5c after announcing plans to boost capacity on its Auckland-Tokyo route during the prime minister’s delegation to Japan. Auckland International Airport rose 1.6 per cent to $7.545.
Argosy Property fell 0.9 per cent to $1. 5 after telling shareholders at today’s annual meeting that it’s still facing challenging trading conditions and increased tax obligations on the government’s building depreciation rules.
Among other property companies, Investore Property fell 4.8 per cent to 99 cents, Stride Property declined 1.6 per cent to $1.21, Property For Industry was down 0.2 per cent at $2.18, Kiwi Property was unchanged at 80.5 cents, Goodman Property was unchanged at $2.12, and Precinct Properties NZ rose 1.8 per cent to $1.5 on a volume of 1.1 million shares.
Power companies remained under pressure after yesterday’s operating metrics showed hydro lakes storage below historical averages. Mercury NZ fell 1.9 per cent to $6.36, Genesis Energy declined 1.6 per cent to $2.16, Meridian Energy decreased 0.3 per cent to $6.25 and Contact Energy slipped 0.2 per cent to $9.15.
Carbon Fund units fell 1.4 per cent to $1.44 ahead of this week’s auction, which will offer almost 4.1 million NZ units.
Among the more heavily traded companies, Spark NZ was unchanged at $4.03 with 4 million shares changing hands and Smartshares Global Aggregate Bond ETF units fell 0.6 per cent to $1.176 on a volume of 1.1 million.