MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares drift lower after Bernanke

MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares drift lower after Bernanke; POT, HLG fall

Dec. 8 (BusinessWire) – New Zealand shares fell after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the world’s biggest economy faces “formidable headwinds” and local data showed weaker manufacturing and building work. Port of Tauranga and Air New Zealand paced the decline.

The NZX 50 Index slid 1.27, or 0.04% to 3137.30, its third daily decline. Within the index, 26 stocks fell, 15 rose and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $90.2 million.

Port of Tauranga, New Zealand’s biggest export port, fell about 2% to $6.93 while Air New Zealand slid 2.5% to $1.17.

“The economy confronts some formidable headwinds that seem likely to keep the pace of expansion moderate,” Bernanke said in a speech in Washington.

Shares were generally weaker in Asia today, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 0.6% in early afternoon trading.

Steel & Tube Holdings, the supplier of steel building products such as reinforcing rods, fell 1.5% to $2.70. New Zealand’s total building work fell 6% in the three months through September, according to Statistics New Zealand, marking the seventh quarterly decline amid a slump in new construction permits.

Skellerup Holdings, which makes rubber goods and milking equipment, fell 2% to 49 cents after figures showed New Zealand manufacturing sales weakened in the third quarter, led by meat and dairy.

Total manufacturing sales shrank a seasonally adjusted 1.4% to $13.6 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, which operates chains of clothing stores, fell 4.4% to $3.01, leading the NZX 50 lower. The shares are rated ‘hold,’ based on the average of four analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters.

Pumpkin Patch, the children's clothing chain which counts Australia as its biggest market, fell 1.5% to $1.95 after a report from Access Economics said retail sales growth across the Tasman will be “modest” in 2010, reflecting higher interest rates and tepod growth in wages.

New Zealand Oil & Gas rose 3.5% t6o $1.79, the biggest gain on the benchmark index today, as a weakening U.S. dollar helped bolster the price of crude oil, which recorded its first gain in five days.

NZX Ltd., the stock exchange operator, climbed 2.7% to $8.53, adding to its advance yesterday when the company said dividends would rise by at least 1 cent a year and announced it would quadruple shares on issue.

Rakon Ltd., which exports crystal oscillators used in mobile phones and navigation systems, rose 1.7% to $1.17.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 1.8% to 58 cents and Contact Energy, the biggest utility on the NZX 50, rose 0.9% to $5.90.

Tower Ltd., the insurer, fell about 2% to $1.99 and foodmaker Goodman Fielder declined 1.9% to 2.06.

(BusinessWire)

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