KEY POINTS:
Market leaders overrode positive leads from offshore, and pushed the top 50 index down 0.4 per cent today.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index closed down 14.3 points at 3614.23 on turnover valued at $137.2 million, having fallen 0.6 per cent yesterday.
"Disappointing in comparison with Australia ... and leading
on from stronger US and European markets we could have expected a wee bit better," said Stephen Wright of ASB Securities.
Weakness in the New Zealand economy was having an impact on the leaders, with Telecom down 7c at 382, Contact Energy down 14c at 877, and Fletcher Building 17c lower at 805.
Offshore sellers were also seen behind Telecom's fall, driven by a four-month low for the New Zealand dollar after a slump in March quarter retail sales.
That followed yesterday's news that Simon Moutter's departure to become chief executive of Auckland Airport meant almost all Telecom's top executives have quit since the Government decided it would force the company to open its network to rivals.
Auckland Airport was down a cent at 224.
Export stocks fared better due to the kiwi's decline, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare up 9c at 270, Rakon up 6c at 341, Sanford 7c higher at 461, and F&P Appliances up 2c at 269.
However, retailers declined after today's data, which was another sign pointing to a possible economic recession. Pumpkin Patch was down a cent at 174, The Warehouse lost 3c to 525, and Postie Plus fell a cent to 44 having earlier hit a record low of 41.
Clothing chain owner Hallenstein Glasson - which also forecast a fall in annual profit today - lost a cent to 350.
TrustPower gained 22c to 842 after reporting a 4 per cent fall in annual net profit but a steady financial position.
PGG Wrightson jumped 9c to 214 after it agreed to combine the majority of its wool business with a new growers' co-operative, Wool Grower Holdings Ltd, formed by the Wool Industry Network Ltd.
PGG Wrightson's holding was valued at $46 million and it will hold up to 40 per cent of the co-op.
High-yielding listed property investors gained as the prospect of lower interest rates loomed. Kiwi Income Property Trust rose 2c to 127, ING Medical Properties was up a cent at 122, Goodman Fielder Property Trust rose 3c to 140, Property for Industry rose a cent to 126, and AMP Office Trust was up a cent at 123.
Dominion Finance, which slumped 9 per cent yesterday after reporting a worse-than-expected 36 per cent drop in annual profit, recovered a cent, or 1.3 per cent, to 81.
Shares in Wellington Drive Technology fell a cent to 39 after it reported it had won a $1.75m grant to develop its high tech motors.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.5 per cent at 5899, and Japan's Nikkei was up 0.9 per cent.
On Wall Street, US stocks notched moderate gains after a consumer price report eased fears of runaway inflation and mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac reported a narrower-than-expected loss.
- NZPA