Market's 15-day winning streak ends

Honey company Comvita was today's best performer, up 2.8 per cent to $8.02.

New Zealand shares dipped, ending a 15-day streak of gains as Fletcher Building's stock fell. Comvita, A2 Milk and retirement village stocks gained.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index edged down 7.43 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 8122.67. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 22 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover was $267 million.

Peter McIntyre, investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said there was significant volume through the market with a handful of stocks - Fletcher Building, Spark, Ryman Healthcare, Air New Zealand and A2 Milk - all having more than two million shares traded today. He said the weaker dollar had been good for exporters like A2 and Xero.

Fletcher Building led the index lower, down 3.6 per cent to $7.67. It has taken a further $125m provision against problematic construction contracts, including the Convention Centre and the Justice Precinct in Christchurch, and said its B&I unit would report a full-year loss of $160m, including $35m of overhead costs.

A trading halt was lifted on Fletcher's shares today morning after the announcement, which follows a review by KPMG. The company also announced its new chief executive today, Ross Taylor, who replaces Mark Adamson, who left this year amid cost overruns at major projects.

"It was sold off quite hard but has recovered during the day, there was a whole lot of news from them today - some parts of the market probably considered it could have been far worse," McIntyre said.

"If they can get their tendering right, they do have the ability to make significant dollars. The market is giving them a third chance."

Ebos Group dropped 1.9 per cent to $17.65 and Synlait Milk dipped 1.4 per cent to $7.98. Air New Zealand dropped 1.2 per cent to $3.355, while Spark New Zealand fell 1 per cent to $3.655.

Comvita was the best performer, up 2.8 per cent to $8.02, while Port of Tauranga gained 2 per cent to $4.57.

A2 Milk continued to make gains, up 1.7 per cent to $8.42, a record. It has now risen 289 per cent this year.

Retirement village stocks recovered today after recent sell-downs, with Ryman Healthcare rising 1.7 per cent to $9, Metlifecare up 1.2 per cent to $5.80 and Summerset Group Holdings gaining 1 per cent to $4.90.

Infratil rose 0.3 per cent to $3.16. The infrastructure investor has concluded its NZ Bus negotiations with Auckland Transport, while negotiations in Wellington are ongoing, and still expected the business will shrink by a third.

Outside the benchmark index, Skellerup gained 1.2 per cent to $1.72. The industrial rubber goods maker said first-quarter trading had been strong and it expected improved earnings in 2018.

Trading for the three months ended September 30 was strong, generating earnings before interest and tax more than 10 per cent ahead of the comparable quarter a year earlier.