MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares mixed; Spark, Fletcher join Asian rally, Xero drops as Drury trims stake

New Zealand shares were mixed, with the NZX 50 Index gaining but more shares down than up. Fletcher Building and Spark New Zealand joined an Asia-wide rally, while Xero fell after founder Rod Drury trimmed his stake.

The S&P/NZX 50 rose 18.76 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6087.9. Within the index, 20 stocks rose, 21 fell and 9 were unchanged. Turnover was $220 million.

US markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, which typically thins out trading desks and leads to lower trading volumes. Stocks across Asia rose, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1 percent on afternoon trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index 0.7 percent higher and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 up 0.6 percent.

Z Energy led the benchmark higher, rising 1.7 percent to $6.71. Among other companies whose shares also trade on the ASX, Spark rose 1.4 percent to $3.31, Meridian Energy gained 1.3 percent to $2.395 and Fletcher Building climbed 1.3 percent to $7.15.

"When the Australian market's a bit stronger, like today, some of the dual-listed stocks, which tend to have a greater weight of Australian fund managers investing in them, can perhaps mirror the Australian market," said Matthew Goodson, managing director of Salt Funds Management.

Xero fell 1.5 percent to $20.57. Founder Rod Drury and directors Craig Winkler and Sam Morgan sold shares on market in a multi-million dollar payday, taking advantage of a 35 percent rally in the stock this year.

"Management selling is not normally taken as a positive signal, with the caveat being that it is a large percentage of their personal wealth and perhaps understandable that they might like to diversify," Goodson said. "That sell-down does follow quite a strong run Xero's had from recent lows."

Kathmandu Holdings dropped 4.1 percent to $1.63. Last week, the outdoor clothing retailer affirmed its guidance for 2016 profit growth after lifting gross margin in the first quarter.

Genesis Energy fell 2.8 percent to $1.94.

Orion Health shed 2.7 percent to hit $3.60, after yesterday posting a wider first-half loss it said was in line with expectations, while a weaker kiwi dollar and recurring revenue in North America lifted sales by 26 percent.

"The brokers who cover Orion had some modest downgrades in the research that came out today," Goodson said. "They're loss-making, they've got a reasonable amount of cash in the bank but they are not generating cash, they're using cash. Any valuation depends on a view of where they're going to get to in the future."

Outside of the benchmark index, Gentrack Group rose 5.9 percent to $2.16. The company, which provides software for airports, energy utilities and water companies, reported full-year results that were largely in line with its 2014 prospectus although revenue was below forecast.

Arvida Group rose 1.2 percent to 87 cents. The national retirement village group, which operates 21 retirement villages and aged care facilities, posted first-half profit of about $7.4 million, putting it on track to beat its prospectus forecast for full-year earnings, which Goodson said was "ahead of expectations."

Pumpkin Patch fell 12 percent to 11.5 cents, after the children's clothing chain affirmed guidance for weaker earnings in the current financial year.

Pacific Edge dropped 2.2 percent to 44 cents. The Dunedin-based developer of cancer-detecting technology widened its first-half loss, spending more on the roll-out of products across North America where it ramped up sales of its Cxbladder non-invasive bladder cancer test.

Energy Mad was unchanged at 4.6 cents, with shares having dropped 52.5 percent this year.The unprofitable light-bulb maker, which counts NZX's SuperLife as its biggest shareholder, almost halved its first-half loss, after slashing staff costs and winding back sales commissions and other external fees.

(BusinessDesk)