NZ stocks: Shares becalmed as market eyes America's Cup

12.00pm

New Zealand shares were becalmed this morning as investors' attention focused on the America's Cup racing, rather than corporate activity.

By 11.30am the benchmark NZSE-40 index was up 4.99 points at 1949.78 on light turnover of just $20 million -- $10.5 million of that in top stock Telecom. Telecom was up a cent at 454.

Cup defenders Team New Zealand are on the back foot after losing the first two races in the best of nine series to Swiss challenger Alinghi.

Racing begins at 1.15pm and many of New Zealand's big corporates will be hosting potential investors on spectator boats in the Hauraki Gulf.

"I imagine there's an awful lot of people going out on the water today. It's Telecom's big week of marketing to people around... this is clearly a very big visitation of corporates and executives," ABN Amro retail equities adviser Nigel Scott said.

American investors are also out of the picture for a Presidents' Day holiday.

Overall sentiment on the market was good, Mr Scott said, but with the uncertainty over Iraq investors were playing a waiting game.

"We've had some pretty good results: Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Skellmax, Cavalier, Waste Management, Turner's Auctions -- all at and above expectations," Mr Scott said.

"The market has been underpinned by yields and some relatively good results, but it hasn't necessarily drawn in any new money at the moment. Caution is still weighing ... it is very much range-trading on the results."

Among the stocks to report so far this week, Waste Management added 5c to 310 after posting a $15 million full year profit yesterday, up 15 per cent; Steel & Tube was up 5c at 330 after reporting a $10.95 million half year profit, up 22 per cent; and Ports of Auckland was a cent higher at 646 after saying yesterday profits were down in the half year to December, but it was enjoying robust growth in revenue and even more containers crossing the wharf.

In other moves AMP recovered 35c to 890; Blis Technologies was a cent higher at 36c after unveiling its second product, Blis Bio Restore, today; Carter Holt Harvey was a cent lower at 171; Sky TV added 10c to 360 ahead of its result tomorrow; Sky's 66-per cent parent Independent Newspapers -- also reporting tomorrow - was 4c higher at 314; The Warehouse was up 2c at 589; and Contact Energy powered ahead 5c to 461 -- a fresh high - on reports that power prices hit 18-month highs this week on natural gas shortages.

Rises outnumbered falls by 35 to 26 among the 107 stocks traded so far.

- NZPA