NZ stocks: Telecom slip contributes to negative performance

6.00pm

The sharemarket gave up some of yesterday's gains in trading today, driven partially by a dip in market heavyweight Telecom shares, down 4c to close at 498.

At market's close the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was down 10.3 points at 2221.46, while the NZSX-40 capital index was down 9.4 points at 2139.98.

On the market today, there was $53.4 million worth of shares traded on volume of 20.8 million.

Among the 137 stocks traded were 50 falls and 40 rises.

Telecom traded $20.2 million worth of shares on volume of four million.

ABN Amro Craigs operator Matt Willis there was little corporate news about to drive trading.

"The market's not been trading on any real news as such and I think you could probably put Telecom in that basket as well," Mr Willis told NZPA today.

"Really there's just a lack of direction at the moment," he said.

Restaurant Brands shares took a tumble after it today confirmed a first half profit warning. Its shares finished down 4c at 127.

The chain, which owns KFC, Pizza Hutt and Starbucks, said its second quarter sales were up 1.8 per cent at $95.7 million.

Restaurant Brands' Australian Pizza Hutt unit, in Victoria, had performed quite well.

"Anything positive out of Australia for a New Zealand company is a particular high point, given the trend of New Zealand companies to penetrate their respective markets there," Mr Willis said.

Fletcher Challenge Forests (FCF) shares gave up some of their gains after yesterday's news that it had signed a letter of intent to sell its entire 106,000ha forest estate.

FCF shares closed down 3c at 121.

United States timber management company The Campbell Group has indicated it will pay $685 million for the estate, pending due dilligence.

The estate has a book value of $728 million. FCF has said it would return $1 a share, or $558 million, including $140 million of proceeds from earlier sales, to shareholders if the sale goes ahead.

Shares on the rise today included: Auckland International Airport up 6c to 653, Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 5c to 1470, Baycorp Advantage up 5c to 255, Infratil up 2c to 225, and Tourism Holdings up 1c to 140.

On the slide were: AMP down 15c to 750, Contact Energy down 6c to 483, Lion Nathan down 4c to 600, Sky City Entertainment down 4c to 871, Air New Zealand down 1c to 55, Michael Hill International down 5c to 435, and The Warehouse down 4c to 521.

- NZPA