NZ stocks: Market slightly down in newsy session

6.40pm

The sharemarket finished slightly down after both major indices trailed yesterday's gains in a session awash with corporate news.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 7.59 points at 2293.36, while the NZSX-40 capital index was down 6.22 points at 2195.97.

There was $58.4 million worth of shares traded today on volume of 26.4 million.

Among the 149 stocks traded were 49 rises and 43 falls.

Market heavyweight Telecom slipped 2c to 510, having traded $14.5 million worth on volume of 3.2 million after its annual meeting yesterday.

At 5pm, Australian logistics company Toll Holdings had secured an 85 per cent shareholding in rail operator Tranz Rail, narrowly missing its target of 90 per cent.

Toll said today it would extend its offer at $1.10 a share for another 30 days.

In relation to the Toll decision, Finance Minister Michael Cullen said New Zealand was now on track for a better and safer rail system.

Also today, the market was surprised by the announcement that another Australian company, Perth-based Foodlands, had sold its New Zealand retail chain, Farmers.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances and jewellery retailers Pascoe have signed an agreement to buy Farmers for $311 million.

F&P Appliances shares closed unchanged on 1480.

ABN Amro Craigs operator Matt Willis said the acquisition was an important one for F&P Appliances.

"Clearly Paykels wanted to protect their distribution channels through Farmers and they've achieved that," he told NZPA today.

Troubled financial services group AMP announced today it would be undertaking a A$1.2 billion ($1.39 billion) rights offer to redeem its reset preferred securities as part of its planned demerger.

AMP also said it was injecting a further net A$84 million into its United Kingdom operations.

AMP also intends to demerge its Australasian operations from its UK operations and said today it was on track to achieve the demerger by the end of the year.

"I think this is going to be seen positively by investors that AMP is pushing ahead," Mr Willis said.

AMP closed up 28c at 798.

Meanwhile, Independent Newspapers Ltd (INL) today said its offer to buy the remaining third of Sky Television had been made official.

The $3.35 in cash for each Sky share plus three INL shares for every 10 Sky shares offer would open on October 24, closing on December 5.

INL closed unchanged on 458, while Sky TV was up 2c at 482.

Wrightson shares were down 6c at 146 after its annual meeting today.

Shares on the slide today included: Cavalier Corporation down 1c at 530, Hellaby down 1c at 509, Port of Tauranga down 5c at 425, Baycorp down 1c at 256, Contact Energy down 11c at 499, Tower down 1c at 132, and The Warehouse down 2c at 568.

Among those on the rise were: Auckland International Airport up 2c at 648, Fletcher Building up 2c at 429, F&P Healthcare up 2c at 1268, Sky City Entertainment up 2c at 866, Fletcher Forests up 1c at 131, and TrustPower up 5c at 520.

- NZPA