NZ stocks: Sharemarket trades quietly as stocks go ex-div

12.00pm

The sharemarket dropped lower as a number of shares went ex-dividend in otherwise extremely quiet Monday trading.

The NZSE-40 capital index fell 1.31 points to 2058.67 on a thin turnover of $14.2 million.

Market leader Telecom crept up a cent to 476 while Fletcher Building slid 7c to 288 as the stock went ex-dividend.

Other shares to tumble because of dividend payouts today included Auckland Airport, down 8c to 427 as it paid an interim dividend of 6c. Others included Capital Properties, down 4c to 91, Goodman Fielder, Macraes, Telstra, NZ Refining and Newmarket.

A million Fletcher Forests preference shares topped the turnover by volume but the share price stayed steady at 24c. Another forestry stock, Carter Holt Harvey, slipped down 1c to 196.

Retailer Briscoes continued to surge after last week's announcement of a 40 per cent increase in its January year net profit, well ahead of its prospectus forecast. The company was up 9c to 194, a new high.

Dealers said profit-taking seemed to blame for Baycorp Advantage falling 11c to 595, and mining concern Applefields lost a mighty 5c to 15.

This week the sharemarket is expected to focus on Pacific Retail Group's bid for Bendon which is expected to end in quiet victory when the offer closes tomorrow.

PRG said on Friday that it had received 21.53 per cent acceptances for its $1.90-a-share takeover offer, taking PRG to within 10 per cent of the required 50 per cent threshold.

Genesis Research is also expected to provide some interest for the market as it approaches a shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting should provide an update on the progress of the US clinical trials on Genesis' flagship drug, PVAC, its closest drug to commercialisation. Shares were down 5c today at 280.

Another biotechnology stock, Pharma Zen, was trading substantially on the secondary market after a media report the company would list on the main board in June. This morning it was up 6c to 24.

So far there have been 24 rises and 27 falls on 99 stocks traded.

On Wall St, the markets traded quietly after disappointing results from McDonalds and Nike, and investors pondered the likelihood of an interest rate hike later this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 52.17 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 10,427.67. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index lost 4.89 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 1148.70. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 17.44 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 1851.39 after rallying briefly earlier.

- NZPA