MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares mixed, Spark drops while Kiwi Property, ANZ, Westpac gain

New Zealand shares were mixed as investors moved towards cyclical stocks, with Spark NZ down while property vehicles and banks gained.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 0.2%, or 15.2 points, to 7064.31. Within the index, 30 stocks rose, 17 fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was $167.2 million.

"Across the region, there's a continued shift from defensive to more cyclical stocks – that's being driven by bond yields rising somewhat in the US market, and Japan looking to take ever-more aggressive action on the fiscal front," Salt Funds Management managing director Matt Goodson says.

Spark New Zealand led the index lower, down 3.7% to $3.68.

"Spark had a meteoric rise as people were chasing yield, all of a sudden there's been a rotation," Mr Goodson says, although he cautioned that the volumes on the downward shift were very light given it is school holidays in Australia and New Zealand.

Mighty River Power fell 2.6% to $3.01, Tower dropped 1.9% to $1.32, and Genesis Energy declined 1.6% to $2.105.

Kathmandu Holdings gained the most, up 3.6% to $1.75. It's risen 32% since raising its annual earnings forecast at the end of June.

"There had been some fears for Kathmandu in that it has been quite a warm early winter across Australia and New Zealand but it appears to have successfully navigated through that," Mr Goodson says.

Kiwi Property Group gained 2.3% to $1.54 and Vital Healthcare Property Trust rose 1.9% to $2.195.

Investore Property, the Stride Property offshoot, advanced 1.2% to $1.63. The stock climbed after it was added to the NZX at $1.49. Stride Property rose 0.5% to $1.99. "There appear to be some investors who are looking at the long term of Investore's leases, and are happy to put its shares in the bottom drawer," Mr Goodson says.

The banks continued to rebound. Heartland Bank gained 1.6% to $1.27, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group rose 1.2% to $25.70 and Westpac Banking Corp advanced 1% to $31.

Mr Goodson says the banks "have made quite a recovery, they're hard hit by lower interest rates affecting profitability but showing modest signs of respite there."

Outside the main index, Moa Group gained 13.5% to 84c. Its executive director David Poole, who heads up the brewer's Australian sales team, has been buying shares on market in the company's recent share rally, which prompted a "please explain" from the stock market operator. The shares have increased as much as 48% since June 28.

Pushpay Holdings gained 7.6% to $2.41. The company, whose mobile payment app allows churches to raise money from parishioners, lifted annualised committed monthly revenue (ACMR) to $US27.3 million ($NZ38.77 million) over the quarter to June 30, up nearly 40% on the previous quarter.

(BusinessDesk)