NZ stocks: Sharemarket drifts lower on profit taking

6.33pm

The New Zealand sharemarket eased through today's session as investors indulged in profit taking, which saw top stock Telecom shed 6c to 590.

At 5pm, the NZSX-50 was down 14.10 points at 2906.89, while the NZSX-All capital index was down 4.34 points at 960.10.

Carter Holt Harvey was down 3c at 216, having recently rallied from just above the 200c mark. Contact Energy was up 1c at 626.

Hamilton Hindin Greene broker Grant Williamson said investors -- particularly those in Telecom -- were taking their money off the table.

"Telecom was under a bit of pressure after having a reasonable run up to the $6 level," Mr Williamson told NZPA today.

"It just doesn't seem to be able to stay at that level for very long at the moment," he said.

Turnover on the NZSX-50 was $98 million, including $55.2m worth of Telecom.

There were 47 rises and 58 falls among the 160 stocks traded.

Tourism Holdings (THL) today confirmed it had bought Paihia-based Fullers Bay of Islands Tourism Holdings Ltd for $22 million.

News of the purchase, which takes effect from December 1, saw THL shares gain 3c to 193.

Fletcher Building gained 1c to 589, after yesterday closing up 4c.

The stock has appreciated strongly on reports of its strong trading.

"I think the market is giving it a re-rating, which is fully deserved based on their current forecasts and what they've done over the past couple of years," Mr Williamson said.

Fletcher Building chief executive Ralph Waters is tipped to return to Australia next year, and four divisional captains are shaping up for his job.

Potato chip firm Mr Chips today posted a flat September half net profit of $742,107, largely because of climatic conditions and low potato crop yields. Shares in Mr Chips were up 1c at 116.

Tower was off 5c to 230. It is expected to have $143m from the sale of its Australian money management business to spend on acquisitions in the Australian life and general insurance market.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances saw $11.3 million worth of its shares traded, closing down 7c at 418.

Other stocks on the move included: AMP down 9c at 760, Hellaby down 16c at 618, TrustPower up 20c at 560, ANZ Banking Group down 50c at 2220, and The Warehouse down 3c at 375.

Overseas, the Dow Jones closed 11.01 points higher at 10550.02, the Nasdaq Composite Index added 8.79 points to 2094.13, and the Standard & Poor's 500 dipped 0.28 of a point to 1183.87.

- NZPA