NZ stocks: Shares quietly trade sideways

12.26pm

The sharemarket moved slightly lower on opening before ticking back to square one in slack morning trade today.

By 11.40am the NZSX-50 gross index was down 1.25 points to 2659.55 while the NZSX all capital index was up 0.40 of a point to 892.16. Total turnover by late morning was $40.64 million and there were 35 rises and 31 falls among 117 stocks traded.

ASB Securities head of advisory Stephen Wright said the morning had been "mighty quiet and directionless".

The local market's slow morning followed a slight dip in US stocks yesterday as investors chose to sit tight ahead of a US Federal Reserve Bank decision on interest rates next week.

NZSX heavyweight Telecom was down a cent to 578, while most other moves among top stocks were also downward.

Auckland International Airport was up 3c to 658, Carter Holt Harvey was down a cent to 205, Contact Energy was down 2c to 575, Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 4c to 449, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 3c to 1304, Independent Newspapers was down 3c to 465, Sky TV was up 2c to 504, and the Warehouse was up a cent to 426.

Sky City was down a cent to 468. This morning, the Takeovers Panel announced it was to appoint an independent valuer to determine a fair price for mandatory convertible notes in Sky City subsidiary Sky City Leisure that its parent wants to compulsorily acquire from minority shareholders. Some shareholders had objected to the price in Sky City's compulsory acquisition notice.

Elsewhere, rural services company Wrightson, now controlled by Craig Norgate's Rural Portfolio Investments was up a cent to 148 as investors bought into the stock to benefit from the special dividend declared as RPI announced its bid for control of the company had succeeded.

This morning investors in foundering listed IT company Newcall voted to approve the acquisition of unlisted Auckland housing investment specialist Blue Chip.

On Wednesday next week every 71.8 Newcall shares will be converted into one new share and 50 million of the new shares will be issued Blue Chip shareholders. The rejigged company will trade as Blue Chip New Zealand. Newcall shares were 0.2c higher at 2.2c this morning.

Other stocks to move by late morning included: Amp up 6c to 688, Dorchester Pacific up 8c to 278, Feltex up a cent to 169, Infratil down a cent to 301, Mooring Systems up 4c to 360, Steel & Tube Holdings down a cent to 399, Telstra down 3c to 551, and Turners Auctions up 5c to 530.

- NZPA