NZ stocks: Market closes lower on quiet day

The New Zealand share market snapped a five-day run of rises to close lower in quiet trading today.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 20.668 points, or 0.754 per cent, at 2719.917 after initially opening slightly higher.

Turnover was worth $79.34 million. There were 59 rises and 25 falls among the 112 stocks traded.

Stephen Wright at ASB Securities put the decline down to profit-taking.

Asian trading was reduced today with holidays in selected Asian markets. The Australian market was also slightly weaker today.

Telecom, which has been a standout performer for some time, was down 19c at 263.

The company reports its third quarter result next week and today rival Vodafone said it was initiating legal action alleging Telecom's new network was the source of interference on its network.

Among the other leaders, Fletcher Building rose 4c to 674 and Contact Energy rose 1c to 571. TrustPower rose 3c to 715.

Freightways rose 2c to 292 after announcing a board appointment and Mainfreight was unchanged at 455.

NZOG's plan to expand offshore, including in Romania, did it no harm. It rose 1c to 140.

The Warehouse rose 11c to 370 and Restaurant Brands rose 1c to 96. Hallenstein Glasson, which this week announced Di Humphries was returning to a management role, rose 5c to 261.

Lion Nathan rose 5c to 1508 and SkyTV rose 2c to 411. Xero rose 5c to 125.

Tower rose 4c to 140. Ryman rose 2c to 142 and Ebos rose 5c to 490.

Retailer Briscoe Group was up 1c at 83 after reporting first quarter sales 0.1 per cent lower than a year earlier to $90.2 million.

The Dow and S&P 500 fell on Thursday after Chrysler's bankruptcy filing countered optimism about upbeat corporate profits and reassuring job market data.

The Chrysler bankruptcy wiped out earlier gains of more than 1 per cent in both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 17.61 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8168.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped just 0.83 of a point, or 0.09 per cent, to 872.81.

But the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.36 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1717.30.

- NZPA