NZ stocks: Telecom, F&P Healthcare lead market down

12.20pm


The sharemarket fell in morning trading, led down by falls in Telecom and some profit taking by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shareholders.

The benchmark NZSX-50 Gross index was down 7.82 points at 2597.29. The NZSX-All capital index fell 3.68 points to 879.31 in the first few minutes of trading.

Bellwether stock Telecom was down 3c at 562, on turnover worth $3.8 million.

Amro Craigs Equities retail adviser Bryon Burke said Telecom had had a run up in anticipation of this week's announcement the Commerce Commission would not force the company to open its copper wire network or "local loop" to competitors.

He said the stock has drifted off since the announcement was made, on the back of weak international markets and some profit taking.

F&P Healthcare was down 10c at 1275. The fall was on the back of a 40c leap yesterday, after the company posted a net profit of $54.7 million for the year-ended March.

Mr Burke said it also looked like there had been some profit taking in the stock.

F&P Appliances fell 8c to 452, following yesterday's 7c dip.

The company yesterday posted a 16 per cent rise in net profit for the year ended March, to $83.5 million.

Total market turnover was worth $17.4 million at 11.30am.

Of 110 stocks traded by 11.30am there had been 24 rises and 36 falls.

Ports of Auckland, which yesterday said the volume of containers it handled in the April year rose by 3 per cent to 665,289 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units), was up 5c at 730.

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) was down 2c at 62c after saying oil finds in the Pukeko-1 well off Taranaki may be too small to be commercially viable for development.

Ryman Healthcare rose 10c to 250 after yesterday posting a March year net profit of $18.4 million and raising its annual dividend to 9c from 7.5c.

Other stocks on the move in early trading included: Cavalier down 1c at 481, Briscoe down 1c at 128, Hallenstein Glassons down 5c at 295, Hellaby Holdings down 10c at 490, Fletcher Building down 4c at 438, NZ Refining up 10c at 1890, AMP down 7c at 638, Ports of Tauranga up 6c at 521, The Warehouse down 1c at 443 and Waste Management up 2c at 456.



- NZPA