NZ stocks: Telecom fall pushes market into red

6.00pm

Profit-taking in top stocks and an 11c fall in Telecom pushed the New Zealand sharemarket into a negative close for the week.

The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index fell 0.66 per cent, or 14.45 points, to 2190.28, and the top-40 index was down 0.55 per cent at 2117.49.

Stephen Wright of ASB Securities said turnover was moderate, with 28.33 million stocks changing hands valued at $79.95 million.

Topping that was Telecom's $39.70 million.

"What we're seeing, excluding Telecom, is a bit of profit-taking in the likes of Fletcher Building, The Warehouse, Contact Energy, Auckland International Airport," Mr Wright said.

Fletcher Building had a good run up this week to 4-1/2-year highs on the back of its better-than-expected annual results, but fell 3c to 425 today.

Retailers like The Warehouse have also had a good week in the wake of healthy retail figures, but today the discount giant was down 6c at 518, while Briscoe Group was unchanged at 181 and Hallenstein Glasson rose 7c to 294.

Other top stocks to fall were Contact Energy, down 4c at 485, Auckland Airport, down 4c at 630, and Sky City, down 3c at 910.

Sky City Leisure showed a delayed reaction to yesterday's profit of $3.4 million, its first since 1999. The stock, formerly Force Corp, was untraded yesterday but rose 10c to 125, while its convertible notes were up 9c at 169.

Telecom fell 11c to 506 after Vodafone announced yesterday the roll-out of new generation 3G high-speed mobile network in New Zealand. Telecom has what it touts as an equivalent network, CDMA.

"Of course Telecom lost out in the 1990s by not being up to scratch on its mobile network ... Certainly Vodafone has been more aggressive in the marketing and everything and has done a lot better," Mr Wright said.

Jeweller Michael Hill International fell 16c to 434 after reporting its annual net profit fell 9 per cent to $11.57 million.

Vehicle auctioneer Turners Auctions rose 5c to 375 on news of a 25-per cent rise in its annual profit to $6.15 million.

Elsewhere on the market, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was unchanged at 1225 while F&P Appliances was up 1c at 1431, Tower rose 1c to 119, key shareholder Guinness Peat Group rose 3c to 168, Sky TV was up 1c at 474, and Carter Holt Harvey was up 1c at 165.

Tranz Rail fell 1c to 96, Restaurant Brands fell 2c to 132, Metlifecare was down 7c at 158, and Tourism Holdings fell 1c to 140.

There were 59 rises and 39 falls on the 134 stocks traded.

On Wall St, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average finished 0.42 per cent higher at 9310.56, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.66 per cent, to 990.51.

- NZPA