NZ stocks: Heavyweights drag sharemarket down

1.00pm

The sharemarket benchmark index was pulled down today by the three biggest stocks.

The session was cut to two-and-a-half hours ahead of the Easter holiday.

Telecom closed 3c down at 573, No.2 stock Carter Holt Harvey fell 2c to 228 while No.3 stock Contact Energy lost 1c to 549.

However, timber company Tenon Ltd rose 5c to 182 after it announced it expected higher profits from continuing operations as a result of higher prices in the key US market.

Tenon forecast $32 million profits from continuing operations from an earlier projection of $21 million although losses from the sale of its forests would result in a bottom line loss of $33 million.

Brokers said the Tenon news was very encouraging.

The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index finished 3.56 points down at 2611.13 while the NZSX-All capital index finished down 0.79 points at 881.73.

The small stocks index rose 7.63 points to 6969.25 and the top 10 index fell 2.19 at 1093.19.

"It was a mixed day with prices going sideways," ABN Amro Craigs broker Bryon Burke said.

He said the market had rallied early in the week and since investors had been taking profits.

The lead from the US was weak with stocks falling as aluminum producer Alcoa Inc disappointed Wall Street with its earnings and unrest in Iraq resurfaced to nag at investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 90.66 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 10,480.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index finished down 7.63 points, or 0.66 per cent, at 1,140.53, based on the latest figures. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index fell 9.66 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 2,050.24.

Sky TV closed 3c lower at 525 after opening 6c up at 534. Its two thirds owner, Independent Newspapers, finished 8c stronger at 490. Mr Burke said some analysts were upping their valuation of the company post its capital return due on April 23. However, he noted the market was thin and turnover light.

Nuplex, another stock considered undervalued by some analysts, closed 8c up at 467. Steel & Tube rose 7c to 399.

The Warehouse weathered bad publicity about its giant Easter egg competition, closing 3c up at 438.

On the downside, Ports of Auckland fell 8c to 742, Lion Nathan 4c to 696, Cavalier 3c to 495, Hellaby 6c to 490, and Infratil 5c to 282.

- NZPA