MARKET CLOSE: Telecom, Air NZ lead shares down

Thursday 9th July 2009

New Zealand shares fell, led by Telecom Corp., as concerns a global economic recovery may take longer and the looming second-quarter earnings season prompted some investors to eschew equity markets.

Telecom (NZX: TEL ), the biggest company of the NZX 50, fell 3.6% to $2.70, leading the index lower. The stock is rated ‘hold,’ according to the recommendations of 14 analysts who follow the company, which faces a second rival in mobile calling with the marketing campaign for 2Degrees kicking off ahead of its launch next month.

Air New Zealand (NZX: AIR ) sank 2.3% to 87 cents after discount rival Jetstar ran full-page advertisements in newspapers apologising for glitches in its first four weeks of operations in New Zealand and offering $50 vouchers if its flights are more than an hour late in the next three months. Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd., Australia’s No. 2 airline, said a joint venture with Delta Air Lines would cut costs and stem losses of routes across the Pacific Ocean.

Fast food chain Restaurant Brands New Zealand (NZX: RBD ) fell 2.9% to $1.01 and fishing group Sanford (NZX: SAN ) shed 2.6% to NZ$5.16.

Guinness Peat Group (NZX: GPG ) fell 1.5% to 65 cents after reports director Gary Weiss criticised the board of CSR Ltd., in which GPG owns a small stake, for its poor performance.

Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ), New Zealand’s biggest construction company, climbed 1.4% to $6.50 after Real Estate Institute figures showed a gain in the median house price to $340,000 last month, and a reduction the average time to sell, as agents scrambled to find properties to sell to meet demand.

"The housing market is one area of ‘green shoots' for the NZ economy, with low interest rates now stimulating interest," said ASB economist Jane Turner.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZX: NZO ) fell 0.7% to $1.51 as the price of crude oil held near a seven-week low. Crude for August delivery was at US$60.85 a barrel in Singapore time. The oil company today said it bought a 10% stake in the offshore Taranaki Hoki oil prospect, which is due for drilling this summer by NZOG's Tui field partner, AWE.

"NZOG’s internal assessment is that Hoki has the potential to be a large oil-bearing reservoir," said managing director David Salisbury.

ING Property Trust (NZX: ING ) climbed 1.6% to 64 cents after saying it was more than a third of the way through its planned asset sales for 2009 after it sold a further two properties for a combined total of $17 million.

The trust has generated $37 million from asset sales since March 31, as it looks to cut back its $1.1 billion portfolio by $100 million in a move to reduce its debt.

Nuplex Industries (NZX: NPX ) gained 4.1% to $1.53, leading the index higher.

Sky Network Television (NZX: SKT ) rose 3.2% to $4.15. Paul Harrison, equities manager at BT Funds Management, said the casino and hotel company may be appealing to people favouring defensive stocks given uncertainty about the economic outlook.

The NZX 50 fell 8.91, or 0.3% to 2741.68. Within the Index, 22 stocks fell, 16 rose and 13 were unchanged. Turnover was $89.6 million.

Shares fell across much of Asia today, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index falling 1.2% to 9304.56 in early afternoon trading, amid concern corporate earnings for the second quarter will indicate a revival in the global economy is further off and as the yen strengthened against the greenback. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 17617.65 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.1% to 3763.

“Traders have to be nervous given the level of uncertainty” about the upcoming earnings releases, said Craig Brown, who helps manage about $7 billion at ING New Zealand Ltd. “It’s very hard for anyone to have a lot of confidence.”

Alcoa Inc. yesterday posted its third straight quarterly lost. The biggest U.S. aluminium producer is the first company on the Dow Jones Industrial Average to report for the second quarter and its 32 cents a share loss from continuing operations beat analysts’ estimates. The shares jumped almost 5% in after-hours trading.

Businesswire.co.nz

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