1 Aug 2014

NZ market ends week lower

9:15 pm on 1 August 2014

New Zealand shares fell on Friday, with the benchmark Top 50 Index shedding 58 points, or more than 1 percent, to 5110 at the close of trade.

Gentrack shares fell 34 cents to $2.44 after the company said it won't meet its prospectus forecasts.

Shares in Kathmandu rose 4c to $3.37, while Pumpkin Patch shares climbed 4c to 41c.

Lyttelton Port shares jumped 8c cents to $4.10. The Christchurch City Council's takeover bid values the port at more than $424 million.

Hellaby shares gained 2 cents to $2.82, even though it decided to write off all the $29 million of goodwill in its footwear retailers, Hannahs and Number One Shoes.

The New Zealand dollar was a touch stronger in quiet trading, hovering about US85c for most of the day.

A currency strategist at Westpac, Imre Speizer, says the currency is likely to continue trading in a narrow range ahead of the release of key economic data in the United States on Friday.

At 5.20pm on Friday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 84.92 US cents, 91.41 Australian cents, 50.32 British pence, 0.6343 euro, 87.43 yen and 5.24 renminbi.