NZ stocks: Sharemarket stalled again

12.00pm

The sharemarket was again stalled today in featureless trade.

The NZSE-40 capital index was up 0.83 points to 2066.20 on turnover worth $22.4 million at 11.30am.

Among the falls, Genesis Research was down 7c at 300, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare plunged 10c to 870 and GDC recouped half its recent losses, gaining 12c to 142. GDC told the Stock Exchange today it could not explain the dip in share price or heavy turnover in its shares since Friday.

Air NZ was steady at 36c after announcing the sale of its Australian retail travel business, Jetset.

Colonial Motors was up 6c at 262 and Sky TV rose 5c to 450 after it joined with major shareholder INL to explain how the two companies would use Sky's tax losses.

Market leader Telecom was up 2c at 490, while among the other leaders, Contact Energy was down 2c to 395, Fletcher Building was up 1c to 291 and The Warehouse was up 3c at 740.

There were 33 rises matched by 34 falls among the 110 stocks traded.

On Wall Street, blue-chips dropped after disappointing results from financial behemoth Citigroup Inc renewed jitters about sagging corporate earnings at the start of the first-quarter earnings season.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 97.15 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 10,093.67, posting its lowest close in about seven weeks. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 2.41 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 1,753.78, reversing a mild gain in the last minutes of trading.

- NZPA