Market close: shares rise, led by F&P Healthcare on weaker NZD

New Zealand shares edged higher, led by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and NZX, while concerns about the Australian housing market weighed on Fletcher Building.

The NZX 50 Index rose 0.81 points, or 0.01 percent, to 4598.65. Within the index, 22 stocks rose, 20 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $130 million.

The kiwi has tumbled more than 4 US cents this month and recently traded at 81.22 US cents, providing some relief for companies that make sales in US dollars and have to repatriate their revenue.

F&P Healthcare, which gets more than 50 percent of its revenue in US dollars, climbed 4.5 percent to $3.03, a two-year high close. The maker of respirators and breathing masks is scheduled to post its full-year results on Thursday, having flagged in February that profit would rise about 17 percent to $75 million.

"We're expecting a pretty strong result," says Greg Easton, an adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. "But the outlook, with this currency, could be even better."

Warehouse Group, the retailer that built its business on selling low-cost imported goods, fell 2.2 percent to $4.05.

Mighty River Power, which listed on May 10 after being sold in an IPO at $1.50 apiece, closed down 1.6 percent to $2.49, the first time it has dropped below the IPO price.

Mr Easton says the decline was "very disappointing" and electricity was "still an attractive sector".

NZX, the stock market operator, rose 4.3 percent to $1.45 on expectations it is in for a bumper year of listing fees as companies line up to sell shares for the first time.

Synlait Milk, SLI Systems, Wynyard Group and Serko are all planning initial public offerings ahead of the government's jumbo Meridian Energy sale later in the year.

"People are catching up with the news with NZX," Mr Easton says.

Summerset Group, the retirement village operator, rose 2.7 percent to $3.07, as the stock shrugged off Quadrant Private Equity Funds Management's selldown of its holding last week for $2.90 a share. Rival Ryman Healthcare gained 0.3 percent to $6.38. Metlifecare dropped 1.7 percent to $3.48.

OceanaGold, operator of the Macraes gold field, fell 3.6 percent to $2.14 as the strong US dollar weighed on the price of spot gold.

Xero, the cloud-based accounting company that is set to report a loss this week, rose 2.1 percent to $13.87. The company is foregoing earnings as it chases global sales growth.

Fletcher, the nation's biggest construction and building products company, declined 1.9 percent to $8.28. Australian building products rival CSR last week posted a $146.9 million annual loss in the face of a stagnant housing sector and competition from cheaper imports.

Fletcher is trading "more and more like an Australian stock", Mr Easton says. The two economies are "poles apart", with Australia likely to cut interest rates again and New Zealand more likely to raise rates in the face of an overheating Auckland housing market.

Telecom dropped 1.4 percent to $2.415.

(BusinessDesk)