NZ sharemarket dips as F&P Healthcare, Infratil shares fall

On the main board, the S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 0.31% or 39.68 points, falling to 12,794.06, with 33.4 million shares changing hands to the value of $119.1m.

The S&P/NZX 20 index closed at 7,493.76, down 0.37%, while the S&P/NZX 10 index ended the day at 12,494.02, falling 0.55%.

There were 72 gainers and 64 decliners on the main board.

Salt Funds Management managing director Matt Goodson said the market was down in contrast to the Australian market, noting they seem to be performing in reverse to each other.

Healthcare giant down again

NZ’s largest stock, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, fell for a second day after it hosted an investor day in Melbourne, although Goodson said there was no real news for NZ analysts.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares fell 28c to $36.41, after 328,025 shares changed hands to the value of $11.9m.

Meanwhile, Infratil's share value fell 2.45% to $11.17, after 1,057,466 shares changed hands for a value of $11.8m.

“The other key name in the index was down. In the Australian close last night, it entered the ASX 200 index, so buying in anticipation of that may now be absent, and that could perhaps explain that decline,” Goodson said.

Sky TV positive

Sky TV continued its positive momentum following the news that it had agreed to purchase TV3 for $1 on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

On Wednesday, analysts at fund manager Octagon said the business will be worth 35c per share to its new owner, or just over $48m.

Sky TV’s share price rose 6c to $3.12, after 1,068,866 shares changed hands, valued at $3.3m.

“It’s hardly operating in growth markets. By bolting on a business like that and hopefully extracting some cost and revenue synergies in the future, they may be able to stem some of the structural pressures that they face.”

Goodson also pointed out the Colonial Motor Company, one of NZ’s longer-listed companies. It had $125,212.55 worth of shares traded on light volume.

The business, which owns a number of Ford dealerships and franchises around the country, released a guidance upgrade to its second-half results, saying it is shaping to contribute to a more positive outcome for the full-year trading profit after tax than was anticipated in February.

“It’s not a reflection of the overall economic environment, [but] rather pockets of the wider vehicle market. I think it’s pointing to what’s becoming fairly clear in this economy, which is that large parts of the rural sector are having a pretty good year or two, but that’s yet to filter through to town.”

Global markets

The Nasdaq retreated from a record on Tuesday on a mixed day for stocks as markets looked ahead to upcoming earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet and Tesla.

The two reports on Wednesday are the first of Wall Street’s “Magnificent Seven” equities to report this season. The group was mixed, with drops in Nvidia and other semiconductor equities consistent with profit taking after earlier gains, analysts said.

The tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.4% to 20,892.69, snapping a six-day streak of record-high finishes.

However, the broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 6,309.62, finishing at a record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 44,502.44.

Art Hogan, of B. Riley Wealth Management, described the market as in a “wait and see” mode ahead of earnings from the most influential equities.

– Additional reporting AFP