NZ stocks:Market follows Wall St lower

12.00pm

The sharemarket lost yesterday's gains in early business today, taking its lead from overseas markets, which eased on renewed concerns about global unrest and a lack of substance behind recent gains.

At 11.30am the benchmark NZSX-50 index was 4.2 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 2319.63, while the NZSX-40 capital index was 4.4 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 2211.78. Turnover was $14 million on 5.3 million shares.

"Clearly our market's been a little bit spooked by the overseas markets, we've come back a little bit in sympathy", ASB Securities' Ian Witters told NZPA.

Market leader Telecom was unchanged by 11.30am after initially dipping in early trade, but Mr Witters said interest rate-sensitive stocks appeared to be taking some losses.

"Fletcher Building and Nuplex are both down, probably on the back of concerns of lower potential profits," he said.

By 11.30am Fletcher Building was down 7c to 401 and Nuplex was down 10c to 395.

Meanwhile Contact Energy was up 2c to 525, building on its 8c surge yesterday. It confirmed a September year profit of $118.3 million on Friday.

Its 51 per cent owner, Edison Mission, held a news conference to elaborate on its statements this week that it plans selling some, or all, of its international investments. However, there was little fresh light shed on which investments would be sold in the conference.

Carter Holt Harvey continued to be well supported , Mr Witters said. By 11.30am, the company's stock was up a cent at 182.

Retail giant The Warehouse eased in early trade and was 11c lower at 569 by 11.30am, possibly on concerns that the company may not enjoy the Christmas it expected, Mr Witters said, ' 'or maybe just a bit of profit taking".

Restaurant Brands today revised its previous profit forecast. The company said it expected profitability in the second half of its current year to be in line with the same period a year ago.

Restaurant Brands said its KFC business had experienced a reversal in its improving profit trend. Shortly after midday its shares were up a cent at 127.

Elsewhere at 11.30am , Auckland Airport was up 5c to 685 , Lion Nathan dropped 10c to 654, NZX was down 10c to 500, and NGC fell 3c to 174.

There were 19 stocks in the positive and 44 in the negative among the 111 traded.

In the US yesterday, stocks fell as fears over more deadly attacks across the world and a gloomy outlook for retailers added to investor concerns that the market had run too far, too fast.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average fell 61.48 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 9707.20. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 7.03 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 1043.32 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 20.93 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 1909.33.

- NZPA