NZ sharemarket outperforms others

File photo / NZ Herald

The New Zealand sharemarket fell today but to a lesser extent that other markets and diversified industrial company Skellerup provided a bright spot.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed down 18.583 points at 3006.055. This was a 0.614 per cent decline, which was less than the 1.33 per cent decline in the Australian market at the time.

The declines in the New Zealand market were across the board with 39 stocks falling and 29 stocks rising in market in which $75.36 million worth of stocks traded.

"It is pleasing that we relatively out performed other bourses. We turned down when the aussie market started heading south," said James Smalley at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

He said 1.6m Skellerup shares traded, high turnover for the stock. The price rose 7c, or 9.6 per cent, to 80.

The company which has supplied farmers and industries with products for 100 years reported a full year profit which beat guidance after a recovery in second-half trading.

"It was a good result, particularly with their guidance going forward," Mr Smalley said.

"It was the shining light in the market today."

Shares in Michael Hill International rose 3c to 68, after the Hill family said it wanted to consolidate its shareholding into a single entity, and lift its shareholding in the company to about 50.1 per cent from about 48 per cent now.

"It is generally a good sign when you have the major shareholder wanting to increase their stake," Mr Smalley said.

New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay shares rose 2c to 72, which is above the boosted 70c a share offer from Olam International.

Pike River Coal shares were unchanged at 97 after the company reported a loss as investors looked forward to when the company will hit full production at its mine.

Port of Tauranga fell 5c to 665 on a day it welcomed a Shippers' Council report favouring it as a North Island hub port.

Investors will know a lot more about how many companies are performing tomorrow when Ebos, Nuplex, Air New Zealand, Auckland Airport, Tourism Holdings, Hellaby and Pyne Gould Corp all reporting.

Telecom fell 4c to 199, Mainfreight fell 9c to 672 and Contact Energy fell 1c to 572.

Fletcher Building fell 4c to 749, reversing some of yesterday's 13c gain.

Around the world, stocks fell, with the gloom deepened by a report showing July sales of existing homes in the US dropped a record 27.2 per cent from June to an annual rate of 3.83m units.

The Dow Jones industrial average slumped 1.3 per cent to 10,040.45, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 1.5 per cent to 1051.87, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.7 per cent to 2123.76.

- NZPA