Fletcher Building continued to hog the limelight today in a market still feeling the aftermath of yesterday's foot and mouth disease threat.
The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was down 9.35 points or 0.32 per cent at 2892.3, while the NZSX all capital index was down 3.5 points to 928.64.
Hamilton
Hindin Greene broker Grant Williamson said the market's softer tone was "mainly in reaction to the speculation and the hoax on Waiheke", which had made investors "a wee bit nervous".
"Overall no one is panicking out of the market place but stocks associated with the rural sector have just come under a wee bit of selling pressure," he said.
Shares in meat company Affco Holdings were down 1c to 36, Pyne Guinness Corp was down 2c to 160, while rural services company Wrightson was down 4c to 154.
Bucking the trend was Fletcher building, whose stock was up 5c to 609, buoyed by yesterday's upgraded profit forecast.
"A number of them (brokers) I'm sure will be looking to upgrade their ratings of that company. It certainly -- from our point of view -- looks extremely cheap on fundamentals," Mr Williamson said.
The building company's share price rise was set against an underwhelming market, with only Oceana Gold -- which yesterday said it had discovered several new underground areas of potential at its Macraes mine in Otago -- bucking the trend. It rose 6c to 64.
Top stock Telecom -- "under a wee bit of pressure" -- fell 5c to 583, Contact Energy was down 2c to 683, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 1c to 300.
Elsewhere, AMP was up 5c to 685, investment company Richina -- which yesterday reported a robust first quarter result -- was up 3c to 81, and jeweller Michael Hill was up 3c to 738.
Among 112 stocks traded there were 24 rises and 43 falls. Early turnover was worth $39,616,275 million.
- NZPA
