Worldwide jitters pull sharemarket back down

Air NZ was unchanged at $1.12. Photo / Paul Estcourt

The New Zealand sharemarket started the week with a modest pull-back from near three-year highs reached on Friday, as investors here and elsewhere became more cautious.

The NZX-50 index closed down 23.3 points, or 0.65 per cent, at 3554.14. There were 35 rises and 76 falls among the 112 stocks traded yesterday.

Globally, investors are again focused on sovereign debt after Fitch downgraded Greece three notches and they have doubts about the strength of the recovery in the United States.

"It's a classic case of a 'buyer's strike'. Markets are facing so many headwinds from a number of different directions and participants realise this and are happy remaining on the sidelines," said Ben Potter at IG Markets.

Fletcher Building eased 5c to $9.13, Telecom eased 2.5c to $2.28 and Contact Energy eased 4c to $5.96.

Mainfreight eased 13c to $9.36 and Freightways dropped 6c to $3.46.

Skellerup was down 3c to $1.29 as it got a public scolding by the market regulator for taking too long to appoint an independent director.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare eased a cent to $3.10 ahead of its annual profit result tomorrow and Fisher & Paykel Appliances eased 1.5c to 55c ahead of its result on Friday.

Tower was unchanged at $1.83 ahead of its half-year result on Friday and Air New Zealand was also unchanged at $1.12 after announcing increases in capacity on international routes for the northern winter season.

TrustPower was unchanged at $7.62 on a day it announced the purchase of a new meter reading and data management system.

Tourism Holdings rose a cent to 73c. The company, which is the subject of a partial takeover offer, yesterday upgraded its operating results outlook.

Kathmandu Holdings eased 11c to $2.43 as it committed itself to building a new distribution centre in Christchurch.

Infratil eased a cent to $1.93.

Pyne Gould Corp rose a cent to 30c and Allied Farmers was steady at 1.2c.

Pumpkin Patch rose 1c to $1.20 and Restaurants Brands rose 2c to $2.55. Auckland Airport rose a cent to $2.32.5 and NZX rose a cent to $2.52.

In the United States, shares ended last week with a fall, as eurozone debt continued to weigh on investors, and with retail stocks falling after a weak profit outlook from Gap.

- NZPA