NZ stocks: Market drifts lower

The New Zealand sharemarket drifted lower today and was deemed to be lacking direction by brokers.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 12.184 points, or 0.438 per cent, at 2768.185 after initially opening higher. There were 42 rises and 29 falls among the 107 stocks traded.

It was disappointing after a solid performance by Wall Street.

"It opened firmer but has given up ground as the Asian markets have slipped throughout the day, particularly Australia," said Grant Williamson, partner at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

However, volume was robust with $106.9 million worth of shares traded.

Fletcher Building gained 10c to 652, recouping much of yesterday's 16c fall. Trading in Fletcher Building accounted for $41.53m of the turnover.

Telecom and SkyCity were both under pressure from local investors, Mr Williamson said.

Telecom eased 7c to 266 and SkyCity eased 5c to 258.

"The local market is still lacking any clear direction," Mr Williamson said. "It is waiting for some news to give it that direction."

APN News fell 17c to 172 on typically light volume. SkyTV fell 4c to 416.

Contact Energy lost 4c to 576, adding to yesterday's 5c fall.

On a day in which investors were focused on weak agricultural commodity prices NZ Farming Systems Uruguay fell 1c to 47.

A fall in the NZ dollar helped sentiment for some companies. Sanford rose 19c to 539 on light volume, Fisher and Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 68 and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare rose 2c to 291.

The Warehouse rose 3c to 378. Rakon rose 1c to 146 and Nuplex rose 3c to 153.

ANZ rose 22c to 2050, Westpac rose 5c to 2455 and AMP rose 10c to 605. TrustPower fell 5c to 760 and Pike River Coal fell 2c to 117.

US stocks rose on Wednesday as reassuring manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United States reinforced hopes that the world's economy is on the road to recovery.

A day after the benchmark S&P 500 wrapped up its best quarter in a decade, investors ploughed new money into stocks, boosting growth-sensitive sectors like energy, industrials, technology, materials and consumer discretionaries.

But with the release of the all-important June non-farm payrolls data just a day away, some caution prevailed, causing indexes to finish sharply off their highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 57.06 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 8504.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 4.01 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 923.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 10.68 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 1845.72.

- NZPA