MARKET WRAP: NZ shares fall as Synlait names new boss, Trade Me CEO exits

New Zealand shares fell today as the market reacted to an appointment and a departure for the heads of Synlait Milk and Trade Me.

The NZX50 index sank 6.44 points to 8,989.80, on turnover of $113 million.

Synlait Milk, which today named ex-Fonterra man Leon Clement as its new chief executive, fell 15c to $11.20. 

“[Mr Clement has a] pretty good background there and obviously Synlait will be pleased with the appointment,” Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Grant Davies says.

A2 Milk, which Synlait supplies, was unchanged at $11.65. 

Mr Davies says Trade Me will be looking to replicate Synlait’s move when it looks to replace its chief executive Jon Macdonald, who revealed he’s stepping down in six months.

“He's been its chief executive for a decade, so it’s a big change for Trade Me and they’ll be looking for someone with the appropriate experience,” Mr Davies says.

Trade Me fell 12c to $4.81. 

NZ Refining fell 4c to $2.49. The company was forced to shut down its hydrocracker unit today after a leak, with no immediate timeframe for the closure.

On Monday NZ Refining said it expected to take a $40m hit on net profit as a result of maintenance costs on the unit, up from previous estimates of $30m.

“The last time they shut down all the refinery projects was 14 years ago, so they don't do this sort of stuff very often,” says Mr Davies.

Kathmandu’s share price continued to rally after yesterday it announced a profit upgrade of $48-52m (up from $38m last year), for the year ended July 31, 2018. Today it climbed 6c to $2.86. 

Fletcher Building climbed 11c to $7.10 and ANZ Bank soared 31c to $30.79.

Pushpay fell 12c to $4.07. Restaurant Brands sank 16c to $7.84.

Overseas markets
The China-US trade war has escalated since US plans to bar Chinese companies from investing in high-tech US firms and block exports of future technology products were revealed. 

The S&P 500 Index fell 37.81 points to 2717.07 today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 328.09 to 24,252.80.

“Clearly the fighting talk between China and the US is giving everyone a pause for thought,” says Mr Davies.