NZ stocks: Market little changed

The New Zealand share market ended little changed on a day with a lot of news.

A smaller than expected cut in the official cash rate to 3 per cent from 3.5 per cent moved the currency market but not the share market.

A maintained dividend and prediction of a steady annual profit by The Warehouse was the main event for the equity market but it was seen as largely signalled.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 5.883 points, or 0.236 per cent, at 2491.624, having initially opened slightly firmer.

Turnover was worth $77.64 million. There were 37 rises and 42 falls.

The Warehouse fell 7c to 345 after announcing a fall in interim profit in a difficult retail environment.

"It was pretty much signalled to the market," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

"There were no upside surprises in the announcement and there was a certain amount of buying leading into the result," he said. "We remain focused on what is happening offshore," he said.

Fletcher Building rose 5c to 531 and Contact Energy rose 4c to 560 but Telecom eased 3c to 235. TrustPower was unchanged at 715.

Rakon rose 3c to 97 and Nuplex was unchanged at 103.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare eased 9c to 337 and Hellaby eased 3c to 40.

Hallenstein Glassons eased 4c to 195 and Sanford eased 4c to 545. NZOG rose 1c to 143 and Auckland Airport eased 1c to 168.

SkyTV rose 1c to 381. Westpac rose 35c to 21.05 and AMP was unchanged at 520. NZX rose 22c to 562.

US stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday after JP Morgan Chase's chief executive said his bank was profitable in January and February, echoing comments by Citigroup's CEO a day earlier.

But the Dow industrials eked out a slim gain as a 7 per cent drop in oil prices pushed energy shares like Exxon Mobil Corp lower and limited a broad-market advance.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 3.91 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 6930.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.76 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 721.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13.36 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 1371.64.

- NZPA