KEY POINTS:
Investors punished New Zealand's largest listed company Telecom today and that put the market index down.
Telecom closed down 28c, or 7.6 per cent, at 340, after the company reported its operating surplus from continuing operations fell 15.5 per cent to $713 million for the year to the
end of June. For the year to June 2009 the company is expecting net profit of $500m to $540m.
Nigel Scott, retail equities adviser at ABN Amro Craigs, said investors were still trying to assess what kind of revenue the company would have in the future as it developed new platforms.
T he benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 21.07 points at 3357.82. Minus Telecom's move the market would have been up.
The feature deal of the day was the sale of Guinness Peat Group's 27.9 per cent stake in Tower Australia to Japan's Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance at A$3.75 ($4.81) a share.
Mr Scott said GPG deserved a pat on the back for getting a premium price.
GPG shares rose 9c to 155. Tower NZ shares rose 2.86 per cent to 216 because the transaction set a high value on an asset in the insurance industry. GPG still owns 35 per cent of Tower NZ.
"The New Zealand market has actually had a pretty good week," said Mr Scott.
The fall of the New Zealand dollar below US70c today helped a reallocation of investment toward stocks and also helped companies with assets and earnings offshore.
"The New Zealand share market has been waiting for the currency to ease," he said.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 8c to 211 and the healthcare stock was up 13c at 291.
Fletcher Building was down 11c to 669.
Infratil rose 3c to 221 and Mainfreight rose 5c to 695. Port of Tauranga rose 13c to 672.
Rakon rose 17c to 302.
Pike River Coal eased a cent to 184 and TrustPower fell 16c to 774. Contact Energy rose 10c to 870.
There were 46 rises and 38 falls and turnover was worth $141 million.
In the US, stocks tumbled after a big loss from insurer American International Group fuelled fears of more fallout from the credit crisis and Wal-Mart's cautious sales forecast added to concerns about consumer spending.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 1.93 per cent to close at 11,431.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.79 per cent to 1266.08, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.95 per cent to 2355.73.
- NZPA
