New Zealand shares close lower as kiwi strengthens |
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Wed, 12 Sep 2007 08:58
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WELLINGTON (Thomson Financial) - New Zealand shares closed lower Wednesday as investors chose to stay on the sidelines after the local currency rose sharply.The New Zealand dollar rose to 70.65 US cents at the close of trading from 69.53 cents on Tuesday.The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 17.14 points or 0.4 percent to settle at 4,143.02 on light turnover worth 73.6 million New Zealand dollars.Decliners narrowly outnumbered gainers 52 to 50 among 153 stocks traded.'We were firmer early on, but I think the rally in the New Zealand dollar is having some effect on the general tone of the market and there just seems to be a lack of buying interest in the local stocks at the moment,' said Grant Williamson, a partner with Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.There was also some caution ahead of Thursday's central bank review of interest rates, he said.'Any time there is an improvement in share prices, [investors] are looking to maybe reduce their exposure to a number of stocks on the market and take profits.'Market leader Telecom fell 5 cents to 4.40 dollars, Contact Energy was down 17 cents at 8.98 dollars and Fletcher Building was down 14 cents at 11.63 dollars.Discount retailer The Warehouse bucked the trend, rising 15 cents to 5.95 dollars ahead of its earnings report Friday.Air New Zealand climbed 4 cents to 2.22 dollars and Fisher and Paykel Appliances fell 2 cents to 3.60 dollars.(1 US dollar = 1.42 New Zealand dollars)afp/jm/msjm/msCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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NZealand shares close lower as NZealand dollar declines 