NZ stocks: Market unmoved by surprise Brash resignation

12.30pm

The surprise resignation of Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash failed to spook the New Zealand sharemarket this morning.

The benchmark NZSE-40 index was down 6.16 points at 2038.16 on light turnover worth $16.5 million as the market resumed trading after yesterday's Anzac Day holiday.

Dr Brash announced he was stepping down from the role he has held since September 1988 to stand for the National Party at the coming election. Deputy Governor Rod Carr will take over as acting governor.

The announcement caused a sharp fall in the New Zealand dollar. It had been trading at a 14-month high of US45c but dropped around quarter of a cent to US44.76c.

ABN Amro Craigs retail equities adviser Nigel Scott said the sharemarket was largely unmoved, with investors taking comfort in regulations like the Reserve Bank Act and Monetary Policy Act -- designed to keep the central bank on an even keel, regardless of who was at the helm.

"They've always restricted any wild differences that you'd have under Reserve Bank governorship anyway. They're two important cornerstones and clearly any new appointee always has to work under that regime."

Outside of that announcement there was little news to stir the market this morning.

Among the leaders Telecom slipped 2c to 479, Auckland International Airport fell 7c to 435, Carter Holt Harvey was down 2c at 182, Contact Energy eased 3c to 401, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare fell 8c to 942 and Ports of Auckland fell a cent to 649.

On the upside, Baycorp Advantage added 6c to 516, Fletcher Building was up 3c to 285, Fisher and Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 950, Restaurant Brands added a cent to 216, Richmond was up 4c at 224, Sanford added 7c to 557 and The Warehouse rose 9c to 735.

Natural Gas Corp was steady at 108. The company said this morning it has signed a $10 million gas transport deal with Swift Energy and Genesis.

Fletcher Forests' ordinary shares were steady at 23c while its preference shares slipped a cent to 22c. The company on Wednesday said it had run out of time to proceed with its exclusive bid for the Central North Island Forests Partnership. Back-up bidders, Hamilton fishing and bloodstock tycoons, the Vela brothers, are expected to make a statement today.

Falls outnumbered rises by 32 to 25 among the 99 stocks traded so far.

In the United States stocks finished little changed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones ending just a tad above the 10,000 level, as grim news from conglomerate Tyco International Ltd and a government probe into Wall Street's research sidelined investors after days of selling.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average inched up 4.63 points, or 0.05 per cent, to finish at 10,035.06, based on the latest available figures, after falling below the key 10,000 level for the first time since late February.

The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index shed 1.66 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 1091.48. The tech-loaded Nasdaq Composite Index ended up just 0.36 of a point, or 0.02 per cent, at 1713.70, barely breaking a six-session losing streak.

- NZPA