NZ stocks: Market flat with little movement in both major indexes

The sharemarket remained stable in morning trading with little movement in both major indexes, a broker said today.

At 11.30am, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 2.47 points at 2319.13, while the NZSX-40 capital index was down 2.42 points at 2218.21.

There had been $36.2 million worth of shares traded on volume of 9.7 million.

Among the 116 stocks traded were 34 rises and 32 falls.

Macquarie Equities investment director Arthur Lim said the market was stable.

"The overseas markets didn't really have too much movement either," he told NZPA today.

Telecom was up 2c at 492, having traded $20.8 million worth on volume of 4.2 million, its shares trading between 411 and 534 this year.

Telecom yesterday posted a better-than-expected $162 million net profit for the September quarter, during which it cut debt by $275 million.

The result topped analysts' $159 million forecast and was 11 per cent up on the $146 million reported for the same period a year earlier.

Mr Lim said much of the focus today was on Telecom.

"Historically, after its results, there is a bit of buying interest in Telecom," he said.

In other market news, brewer Lion Nathan today posted a A$180.1 million ($209.24 million) net profit, with a strong contribution from its New Zealand unit, Lion Breweries.

At 11.30am, Lion Nathan shares were unchanged at 640, having traded between 545 and 670 this year.

Information technology company Provenco today held its annual meeting in Auckland, restating its improved profit forecast and indicating a dividend could be on the cards.

Provenco posted a $6.4 million deficit for the June year, but upped its 2003-04 forecast for pre-tax net profit after goodwill and amortisation to $5.2 million in September.

Its shares were up 1c at 42, having ranged between 15 and 43 this year.

Shares on the rise today included: Baycorp Advantage up 3c at 310, Cavalier up 4c at 560, Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 10c at 1528, F&P Healthcare up 10c at 1220, GRD Macraes up 8c at 205, NZ Refining up 10c at 1625, and Telstra up 3c at 545.

Among those on the slide were: Contact Energy down 2c at 506, Carter Holt Harvey down 2c at 184, Fletcher Building down 5c at 425, Ports of Auckland down 10c at 800, Shotover Jet down 7c at 87, Skellmax down 1c at 120, and Sky City down 1c at 894.

Overseas, the Dow Jones closed down 18.08 points at 9820.75, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed down 1.46 points at 1051.79, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 1.41 points at 1959.37.

- NZPA