MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares mixed; AIA gains, FPA down

MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares mixed; Auckland Airport gains, Wrightson, FPA sink

Nov. 4 (BusinessWire) – New Zealand shares ended the session mixed, with the NZX 50 Index edging higher, while more stocks fell. Auckland International Airport, which has an average ‘outperform’ rating with analysts, led gainers.

The NZX 50 rose 7.71, or 0.2%, to 3166.70. Within the index, 14 stocks gained,
17 fell and 19 were unchanged. Turnover was $85.9 million.

Auckland Airport, the nation’s busiest gateway, rose 2.6% to $1.97. Rest-home operator Ryman Healthcare rose 2.6% to $1.98 and medical supplies distributor Ebos Group gained 1.7% to $5.95.

Westpac Banking Corp. climbed 0.9% to $32.20 after the Australian lender posted a 10.7% decline in annual profit on increased bad debt provisions. Chief financial officer Phil Coffey said the bad-debt cycle may have peaked boding well for 2010.

"We are right now at the top of the credit cycle," Coffey told reporters. Credit growth may be 2% to 3% this financial year, led by demand for home loans, which would help make up for weaker home-loan activity.

Rakon Ltd., the manufacturer of crystal oscillators used in navigation systems and mobile phone, weakened 0.9% to $1.14 and is down 17% in the past three months. The company is well-placed to benefit from growing demand for GPS systems as they become standard in a wider range of mobile phones says Goldman Sachs JB Were's head of asset management Stephen Walker.

“Rakon is able to give high-spec performance to these phones, which can then perform much better than previously,” Walker told an investor roadshow in Wellington.

Fletcher Building Ltd., the nation’s biggest construction company, fell 1.5% to $7.99, the weakest since mid-October. Telecom Corp. gained 1.6% to $2.54.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances fell 3% to 62, the biggest decline on the benchmark index.

Contact Energy edged up 0.7% to $6.14 after the biggest utility on the NZX 50 said it spudded a new gas injection well at its $250 million Ahuroa underground natural gas storage facility near Stratford. Contact has been injecting gas into the field at the rate of around 40 terajoules per day since a new compressor was installed last month, managing director David Baldwin said.

Infratil Ltd. fell for a second day, declining 0.6% to $1.58 after announcing it had teamed up with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for talks on the possible acquisition of Shell’s local refining and downstream businesses.
New Zealand Refining, the oil refinery that’s 17% owned by Shell, slipped 0.2% to $5.10.

PGG Wrightson Ltd., the biggest rural services company on the NZX, fell 1.6% to 60 cents and jeweler Michael Hill International rose 1.6% to 65 cents.

(BusinessWire)

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