The S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 21 points, or 0.2%, to 12,534.51. Across the main board, 61 stocks fell, 81 rose, and 37 were unchanged. Turnover was $116.7 million, with 13 companies trading on volumes of more than a million shares. 

North American markets were closed overnight, and stocks were largely muted ahead of US employment figures at the end of the week. These figures will be key in determining how quickly the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. 

Meanwhile, Australian economic data provided a murky picture ahead of gross domestic product figures out on Wednesday. 

“With Labor Day in the US, there was little in the way of offshore leads,” Jeremy Sullivan, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said. “When you look at the market, it’s a bit mixed.” 

Fletcher Building led the benchmark index lower, falling 3.7% to a two-month low of $2.86 after Forsyth Barr analysts said there were still a lot of unknowns in the building materials firm’s deal with Western Australia’s state government over leaky pipe remediation.

Tourism stocks were broadly weaker after the government said it would raise the international visitor levy to $100 from $35. SkyCity Entertainment Group declined 2.7% to $1.45 on a volume of 1.1m, Auckland International Airport slipped 0.5% to $7.46, and Tourism Holdings fell 0.5% to $2.08. Air NZ rose 0.9% to 56 cents.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which raised its annual earnings guidance in August, rose 1.2% to $36.92. 

Sullivan said the medical devices maker was upgraded by a broker today and was getting closer to its all-time high of $37.89, which it traded at in August 2020. 

Fifteen companies, some of which were the most heavily traded stocks on the day, are due to shed rights to their dividend payments over the next three days. 

Kiwi Property Group fell 2% to 96 cents with 4.1m shares traded, and Precinct Properties NZ declined 0.7% to $1.34 with 3.8m shares changing hands, while Channel Infrastructure rose 0.6% to $1.71 on a volume of 1.4m. 

All three firms shed rights to their dividends on Thursday. 

Stride Property fell 2% to $1.45 on a volume of 1.3m, and Goodman Property Trust rose 0.2% to $2.105 on a volume of 1.1m. Both firms go ex-dividend on Wednesday. 

After the recent rainfall helped lift hydro lake storage levels from their recent historic lows, energy companies were mixed. Meridian Energy, the country’s biggest generator, fell 0.5% to $6.17 on a volume of 1m shares, while Genesis Energy, whose thermal Huntley generation provides backup to the grid, declined 0.2% to $2.235. Contact Energy increased 0.5% to $8.50, Mercury NZ rose 0.8% to $6.35, and Manawa Energy advanced 0.5% to $3.96. 

The Warehouse Group rose 6.8% to $1.25 on speculation that founder Stephen Tindall and private equity firm Adamantem Capital Partners would renew their attempt to take the retailer private. 

Other retailers were mixed, as Kathmandu operator KMD Brands fell 1.8% to 55 cents and Michael Hill International declined 1.7% to 59 cents, while Briscoe Group rose 4.4% to $4.70 and Hallenstein Glasson increased 0.5%$ to $5.98. 

Dual-listed bank ANZ Group posted the biggest gain on the NZX 50, rising 4% to $33.60, while Westpac Banking Corp increased 1.6% to $34.75. Their rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia hit a record on the ASX in trading today. 

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units rose 0.9% to $4.48 after the world’s biggest dairy exporter said it would invest $150m to build a UHT cream plant at its Edendale site. Synlait Milk fell 3.7% to 39 cents, and The a2 Milk Co dropped 2.7% to $6.10.