MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks fall on Greek worries; AMP leads

MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks fall on Greek worries; AMP leads decliners, NZ Oil & Gas rises

By Jason Krupp

Sept. 12 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand stocks tumbled, snapping four days of gains, as fears that a default by Greece would trigger a wider run on confidence in the euro zone sapped investors' appetite for equities. AMP Ltd. led decliners and New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. rose.

The NZX 50 Index fell 60.12 points, or 1.8%, to 3,263.80, its lowest point since Aug. 15. Within the index, 33 stocks fell, seven rose, and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was a lower than usual $65.7 million.

The kiwi fell to 81.55 U.S. cents at 5pm from 82.08 cents at 8am and was down from 83.33 cents on Friday in New York. It fell to 71.62 on a trade-weighted index of major trading partners' currencies from 72 this morning.

All major Asia Pacific share markets fell in afternoon trade amid rumours that Germany is bracing for a Greek default, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index recently trading 3.5% lower at 4,047.20, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index down 3.4% at 19,194.58, and Japan's Nikkei down 2.4% at 8,525.29.

A last minute move by Prime Minister George Papandreou to approve a range of spending cuts and tax increases did little to quell speculation, with yields on Greek two-year government bonds approaching 57%. The yield on the equivalent New Zealand security is 3%.

"Greece has been taking a lot of the headlines but the fear now is how a default will affect confidence in the wider euro zone," said Karl Williscroft, a dealer at Direct Broking.

Dual-listed stocks took the brunt of the selling pressure today, with Australian wealth manager AMP falling 6.9% to $5 on the NZX.

Westpac Banking Corp., the Australian lender, fell 4.7% to $24.49. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, the county's biggest lender, fell 3.6% to $24.45.

Nuplex Industries Ltd., the industrial chemicals and resins manufacturer, fell 3.1% to $2.80.

Rakon Ltd., the maker of crystal timing components used in electronics, fell 6.4% to 73 cents.

Contact Energy Ltd., the country's biggest listed electricity retailer, fell 3.1% to $5.25, as investors reacted negatively to the announcement that the company was using big discounts to keep customers on its books, with associated costs tallying up to $14 million a year highly placed sources told BusinessDesk.

Fletcher Building Ltd., the country's biggest construction firm, fell 2.9% to $7.62.

New Zealand Oil & Gas, the energy exploration and production company, rose 4.4% to 71 cents, leading gainers on the exchange after the receivers of Pike River Coal Ltd. negotiated an $80 million full and final insurance payout deal which will see priority creditors paid in full.

NZOG, a secured creditor, has facilitated an early payment plan for the mine’s 465 unsecured creditors which will see contractors receive the first $10,000 owed to them, and 20 cents on the dollar thereafter up to a capped aggregate of $10.5 million.

Argosy Property Trust, the listed property investment vehicle, rose 1.3% to 80 cents. Kiwi Income Property Trust, the country's biggest real estate investment vehicle, rose 1% to $1.04.

Steel & Tube Holdings, the construction materials supplier, rose 1.2% to $2.54. Port of Tauranga Ltd., the country's biggest export hub, rose 0.8% to $9.70.

Southern Travel Holdings, the NZAX listed travel agency, was unchanged at 5 cents after it reported a narrower full-year loss of $638,000 from a loss of $932,000 a year earlier, saying disruptions from the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes pushed back its quest for profitability.

(BusinessDesk)

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