NZ stocks: All calm on weak market while storms rage

12.00pm

While storms raged across the country, it was quiet on the sharemarket this morning.

There were few moves of significance although financial services company AMP jumped 15c to 715 after reported the 155-year-old company had bounced back from a string of crises after the last couple of years.

AMP reported its net profit was A$378 million ($409 million) for the six months to June 30, compared with a loss of A$2.16 billion in the year-earlier period.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances continued its southward journey following its result on Monday. It was down 9c to 416 at 11.40am to bring its losses in three days to 11 per cent.

It has well and truly its dream run of the last year with a 16c fall yesterday and 27c the day before. On Monday, the company said it anticipated this year's full-year profit would be much the same as last year's with margins coming under pressure.

The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was down 7.03 points at 2741.54, while the NZSX all capital index was 2.31 points lower at 924.33.

Agriculture equipment maker Skellmax Industries fell another 4c to 125 to add to yesterday's 5c fall after it reported an 8 per cent dip in full year net profit to $11.6m.

Trading in Telecom worth $10.2m against the total market's turnover, which was a $26m. The market heavyweight was off 2c at 596.

Fletcher Building continued to succumb to profit taking, losing 3c to 525 following last week's surge on its well received profit result and good outlook for this year.

NZOG, which has jumped this week on news of an oil find, fell back 2c today to 80c.

In the positive were Sky TV, 7c to 532, Sky City, 3c to 461, Software of Excellence, 4c to 145, fund manager Bluechip, 12c to 130.

Taylors Group plunged 19c to 266 on light trading after the drycleaning and linen company yesterday posted a flat $4.2 million net profit after tax for the year to June. It said a number of factors, including the introduction of the Holidays Act in April and increased energy costs, had contributed to slow growth in operating profit compared to revenue.

NGC fell 5c to 289 after yesterday reporting a 43 per cent fall in bottom-line profit to $84.5 million for the year to June. The fall was due to the previous year's profit being boosted by the sale of electricity assets. The company said that when the asset sale gains were stripped out, underlying profit increased 22 per cent to $81.1 million.

Thirty-three stocks moved up and 32 down among the 109 traded.

- NZPA