4 Jan 2013

New Zealand market down

7:03 pm on 4 January 2013

New Zealand shares fell, as a rally that has pushed the NZX50 Index to near a five-year high, faltered on concern the gains have left some equities fully valued.

The NZX50 fell 7.328 points, or 0.2%, to 4075.038 on a turnover of $70.1 million.

Telecom, the biggest phone company on the exchange, fell 1.4% to $2.18 and Chorus fell 2% to $2.91. Xero, the cloud-based accounting service that has soared 171% in a year, dropped 1.1% to $7.40.

Contact Energy rose 0.8% to $5.32. AAP reports potential listing of state-owned power companies this year have seen the stock marked down.

Fletcher Building rose 0.2% to $8.48. The company has sought clearance to sell its CSP Coating galvanised steel unit to Hamilton-based Perry Group as it looks to replace some of its treated metal products with imports.

Skellerup Holdings rose 3.1% to $1.67 and has gained 19% in the past 12 months. Tourism Holdings, the campervan company, jumped 9.2% to 71 cents.