NZ stocks: Sharemarket down on back of weak overseas markets

12.25pm

The sharemarket continued to lose ground today in the wake of weak overseas equity markets and yesterday's interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank.

By 11.30am this morning the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was down 5.52 points at 2634.73 and the NZSX-All capital index was down 0.71 points at 892.30.

Market leader Telecom was down 1c at 563 on turnover worth $41.5 million.

Total market turnover by 11.30am was worth $65.1 million. Of the 116 stocks traded there were 22 rises and 41 falls.

Amro Craigs Equities retail adviser Bryon Burke said despite this morning's slip the sharemarket was holding up well.

He said the negative factors of the interest rate hike and weak overseas markets are being countered by the large amount of cash that seems to be available.

He added the end of the month is often a quiet time as investors and traders often don't want to take a lot of new positions.

One of the star performers this morning was the stock exchange operator itself, NZX, which announced it was considering setting up its own inhouse share registry business. NZX was up 25c at 945 by 11.30am.

Contact Energy continued to slide this morning, down 3c at 588. The electricity retailer and generator yesterday announced a 63 per cent rise in its half year net profit.

Fellow energy company Powerco was up 7c at 219. The New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and Taranaki Electricity Trust (TET) look set to sell their combined 49 per cent shareholdings in the company.

Sky City Entertainment was down 1c at 443, after announcing it has signed a deal to boost its stake in Hamilton's Riverside Casino Ltd by 15 per cent to 70 per cent.

Other stocks on the move by 11.30am included: Tenon up 1c at 194, Michael Hill Jeweller down 15c at 583, Restaurant Brands down 1c at 136, Independent Newspapers Ltd was down 2c at 502, Turners Auctions down 5c at 480 and Waste Management down 5c at 445.

- NZPA