KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket retreated from yesterday's record as investors decided to book gains, with top stock Telecom bearing the brunt of selling.
The NZX-50 fell 1 per cent, or 37.75 points, to 3758.01, turning its back on yesterday's intra-day high of 3811.41. Turnover totalled $188.9 million, with
rises narrowly outnumbering falls 58 to 53.
Telecom sank 15c to 452 ahead of its first quarter result tomorrow, on turnover valued at $87m.
"It's quite a change from the previous few trading days when the stock was very keenly sought after," said Hamilton Hindin Greene partner Grant Williamson.
"Speculation and rumour might be controlling that market somewhat ... plus there is quite a bit of offshore selling that we saw today."
The market has pushed the price up in anticipation of the sale of its directories business, with an announcement expected tomorrow.
Westpac fell 52c to 2724 after a disappointing annual result for the New Zealand operation, despite a record profit for the Australian parent. Westpac NZ says it is turning around a nearly decade-long decline in customers, which was responsible for a 3.5 per cent decline in after-tax profit to $639m.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which yesterday bounced 13c to 431 despite a 6 per cent drop in interim net profit, fell 11c to 420, and F&P Appliances lost 9c to 378.
Number two stock Fletcher Building fell 10c to 928. "Earlier in the week they were very firm on the back of Rinker, the Australian business, getting a takeover offer, but since Monday the stock's just been sliding," Mr Williamson said.
Third-ranked Contact Energy rose 5c to 749, Michael Hill gained 14c to 680, and TrustPower was up 10c to 735. Sky TV rose 5c to 575.
The Warehouse surged 31c to a three-and-a-half year high of 681 on moderate turnover. Earlier this week, founder Stephen Tindall said he would not launch a planned takeover at $5.75 a share.
"Quite a bit of speculation and rumour floating around that stock, investors expecting a higher bid from somewhere, possibly Tindall," Mr Williamson said.
Small-cap winemaker Delegat's rose 10c to 250, after it said at its annual meeting on Tuesday it was confident of meeting its prospectus forecasts.
"It's certainly been one of the better IPOs in recent years, and it's continued to perform extremely well," Mr Williamson said.
Japan's Nikkei share average dipped 0.7 per cent as technology firms such as TDK declined due to concerns a stronger yen will crimp their earnings abroad, and after similar stocks fell in US trade. In Australia, Westpac helped push the benchmark index down 14 points to 5402.4
Earlier, US stocks were pressured by a report that showed economic growth may be slowing more than previously expected, raising worries about whether companies will be able to sustain double-digit profit increases.
- NZPA