NZ stocks: Distractions produce 'muted' trading

12.00 pm

Christmas distractions were the reason given for a "fairly muted" start to trading on the sharemarket this morning.

Just after 11am the NZSE-40 Capital Index was down 1.82 points to 2069.45 on a light turnover worth $24.1 million.

Telecom, which contributes just over a fifth of the Top 40 weighting, gained 3c to 515 after enjoying a steady recovery over the last couple of months.

"People are more confident about the prospects of AAPT (Telecom's Australian subsidiary)," ASB Securities broker Andrew Kelleher said.

Carter Holt Harvey eased 1c to 178 after its long-term international credit rating by Moody's slipped a notch, from Baa2 to Baa3.

The Warehouse was steady after news of a naming dispute with an Australian retailer, and the Port of Lyttelton topped the turnover by volume, shedding 6c to 163 on 1.6 million shares.

Providing a bright spot was rural servicing company Wrightson which was up 5c, or 4-1/2 per cent, to 119 after it signalled a healthy half-year profit announcement in February.

Wrightson expects to post an after tax profit of $3 million, but said that a strong performance in its seed and livestock businesses could double that.

Other moves include Auckland Airport down 2c to 392, Contact down 1c to 403, DB Group down 8c to 552, Sky TV down 3c to 372, and Telstra down 9c to 651. Rises included F&P Appliances up 10c to 990, and Frucor up 1c to 236.

So far falls have outnumbered the rises by 35 to 27 on 108 stocks traded.

- NZPA