NZ shares fall as Meridian faces declining hydro storage

The S&P/NZX index declined 34.62 points, or 0.4 percent, to 8,803.45. Within the index 26 stocks fell, 19 gained, and five were unchanged. Turnover was $174.2 million, with Ryman Healthcare accounting for $99.2 million of that. Ryman fell 0.8 percent to $12.70.

Meridian fell 1.7 percent to $3.13 on slightly bigger volumes than normal after its monthly operating update showed South Island storage 25 percent below average and North Island storage at 90 percent. National hydro storage is below historical norms, coinciding with an outage at the Pohokura gas field which has pushed up wholesale prices.

"The dry conditions are having an impact, particularly in the South Island," said Greg Smith, head of research at Fat Prophets.

Genesis Energy, which has ramped up production from its dual-fuel Rankine units at Huntly to fill the gap, rose 1 percent to $2.445.