NZ stocks: Sharemarket starts week on steady note

12.10pm

The sharemarket began the week on a steady note with the benchmark top 50 index marginally ahead in late morning trading.

It was up 1.98 points at 2611.28 at 11.40am while the NZSX-All stocks capital index was down 0.35 points at 882.90.

Lead stock Telecom fell 1c to 568, its lowest level in six weeks.

Trade in Telecom made up $11.4 million of the market's turnover of $27 million.

Sky City Leisure ordinary shares fell 15c to 90c after its 74 per cent owner Sky City bid for the balance of the cinema operator.

However, its mandatory convertible notes (MCN) rose 14c to 157. Sky City bid 82cps for the ordinaries and $1.60 for each MCN. The notes convert to two ordinary shares giving shareholders the option to receive $1.64 for those shares. Because the notes comprise 91 per cent of the capital, Sky City said the pricing of the notes determined the appropriate relative value of the ordinary shares. Sky City shares were up 1c at 444.

The Warehouse was down 8c to 425 after shedding a 10.5c dividend. Fellow retailer Briscoe was down 6c to 151 after it shed a 4cps dividend while clothes retailer Hallenstein Glasson fell 14c to 306 after shedding its 10c dividend.

Tourism Holdings, ex a 4cps dividend, was down 7c to 161 while Williams & Kettle, ex an 8cps dividend was untraded.

Stock exchange operator NZX rose 15c to a new high of 975.

Westpac NZ fell 15c to 1910 while ANZ rose 14c to 2164.

Other movers included Waste Management up 4c to 429, AMP down 5c to 640, Independent Newspapers down 6c to 478, NGC up 2c to 249, Michael Hill up 10c to 580, and Infratil down 4c to 285.

There were 47 stocks up and 28 down among the 115 traded.

- NZPA