MARKET CLOSE: Shares fall, led by A2, Kiwi Property, Xero

New Zealand shares fell, led by A2 Milk Co and Kiwi Property Group as the local market joined a global sell off. Xero declined as investors looked to crystalise profits after recent gains.

The NZX 50 Index fell 6.105 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5896.96. Within the index, 26 stocks fell, 15 rose and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $125 million.

The local stock market didn't fall as far as offshore markets after Wall Street tumbled on Friday after the US Federal Reserve indicated it may raise rates sooner than expected. Asia-Pacific markets followed the decline, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index down 1.3 percent in afternoon trading while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index declined 0.6 percent.

"The New Zealand market once again has shown that it's not going to be overly influenced by those offshore markets," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. "From the robustness of our economy, the economic data that has coming through all quite positive and investors like the New Zealand story, which is showing on a day like today" and keeping the index from falling as sharply as offshore.

A2 Milk, the milk marketing company, dropped 3.6 percent to 53 cents. Kiwi Property, the property investor, slid 3.7 percent to $1.28. Vector, the Auckland lines company, fell 1.3 percent to $2.97. Summerset Group Holdings, the retirement village operator, declined 2.6 percent to $3.35. Kathmandu Holdings, the outdoor goods retailer, slipped 2 percent to $1.48. Spark New Zealand, formerly Telecom Corp, was unchanged at $3.30.

Xero fell 3 percent to $23.95 as investors looked to secure recent gains in the stock. The cloud-based accounting software firm's share price has climbed after it announced a $147.2 million cash injection from US tech investors, which it will use to fund its growth ambitions in the US and globally.

"It had a very good run up following that placement of shares and quality of the new investor," Williamson said. "Certainly at some stage we were going to have some profit taking."

New Zealand's bourse has gained some 6 percent since the start of the year, driven by its relatively high dividend yield and investor demand for income paying equities in the face of globally low interest rates. Stocks which have been underperforming the benchmark gained, as investors looked for attractive stocks in a fully priced market.

Fletcher Building rose 0.9 percent to $8.69 after gaining 4.7 percent since the year began. Contact Energy was the best performer on the benchmark index up 3.6 percent to $6.35, having fallen 4.7 percent since the start of the year.

"Contact Energy and Fletcher Building have really helped our market hold its ground today," Williamson said. "They've both been underperforming the market in recent weeks."

Outside the benchmark index, Serko fell 3.8 percent to $1.01 after the online travel booking business, warned annual revenue will miss its prospectus forecast by up to 6 percent as some billable services were pushed into the 2016 financial year. It cut its expectations for sales in 2016 due to the strength of the New Zealand dollar and delays to its mobile product.

(BusinessDesk)