KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket eased today but its performance was seen as a relatively good effort given that United States stocks fell overnight.
The NZSX-50 index closed down 13.162 points, or 0.483 per cent, at 2711.549 and was little changed for much of the session.
The market is still thin and that means the index is reflecting order flows in major stocks.
Telecom was up 5c at 238 and Stephen Wright at ASB Securities said that and a gain by Fletcher Building boosted the market.
Fletcher Building rose 3c to 565.
There were 32 rises and 39 falls, demonstrating that it was a mixed session.
Domestically there is little corporate news around but stories continue to break in the global financial story.
As the New Zealand market closed Japan's Nikkei average gained more than 3 per cent after a tentative deal was reached on a plan to rescue the battered US auto industry, boosting Japanese exporters such as Honda Motor Co.
Contact Energy eased 10c to 685 on a day in which Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said "we would hope that the electricity industry does not take advantage of its market position and keep increasing rates". TrustPower was unchanged at 715.
Nuplex eased 10c to 310 after last month issuing a poorly received profit warning.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances eased 5c to 133 and the healthcare stock eased 2c to 306.
Pike River Coal rose 1c to 97 and said it was starting to drill a ventilation shaft in its mine.
Westpac eased 170c to 1990 after raising A$2.5 ($3.08) billion by selling new shares at A$16.00 each.
There were some interesting themes in a briefing to the incoming Infrastructure Minister Bill English released today but nothing specific enough to affect stocks. Infratil was unchanged at 165, Mainfreight rose 5c to 475, Port of Tauranga was unchanged at 605 and Auckland Airport was down 3c at 166.
The Warehouse eased 1c to 327 after saying it expected a $1 million cost from a decision to withdraw its Cellars liquor selling concept.
NZOG eased 3c to 124, Hellaby rose 2c to 141 and Ryman eased 4c to 145.
SkyTV rose 1c to 391 and Tourism Holdings rose 2c to 66, while GPG eased 3c to 98.
US stocks fell on Tuesday as profit warnings from FedEx Corp and others prompted investors to retrench after two days of big gains.
There continues to be unprecedented demand for the safety of government securities.
"There's still a ton of fear. People are now paying the government to take their money. Something is wrong," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 242.85 points, or 2.72 per cent, to 8,691.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gave up 21.03 points, or 2.31 per cent, at 888.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 24.40 points, or 1.55 per cent, at 1547.34.
- NZPA
