KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket softened again today, with third-ranked Fletcher Building helping pull down the top-50 index after disappointing profit guidance.
Fletcher Building shares matched April's two-year low of 801c before recovering a little by the close of trade.
The building products and construction company affirmed that it expected a full-year net profit of between $450 million and $460 million, provided there was no significant change in economic conditions.
Fletcher closed down 25c, or nearly 3 per cent, at 825, well off its record high of 1342 a year ago.
"It was below what we were expecting," said Suzanne Kinnaird of Forsyth Barr.
"The key point is, it was obviously worse than the market was expecting, otherwise we wouldn't have seen the stock drop as much as it has."
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 11.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 3647.19. Turnover totalled $115m.
"Not a lot happening, but quite a mixed bag out there today, some big swings in a couple of different stocks," Ms Kinnaird said.
Top stock Telecom was up a cent at 395, while second-ranked Contact Energy gained 15c to 900.
Media reports said Britain's BG Group, in the midst of a takeover for Contact's 51 per cent owner, Origin Energy of Australia, has already lined up a trade buyer for the stake.
- NZPA sources expect that buyer to be China Light & Power.
Whiteware manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Appliances slid 5 per cent, or 14c, to 248 on light turnover ahead of its annual result on May 29. F&P Healthcare was down a cent at 276, Auckland Airport lost a cent to 224, Sky City was down 7c at 381, and Sky TV rose 11c to 470.
Infratil was down 5c at 230 after the infrastructure investor reported an annual net loss of $1.7m, compared with a profit of $68.2m last year, due to a turnaround in accounting revaluations.
Operating surplus before tax rose 131 per cent to $87.8m.
The Warehouse, still awaiting the result of a court case to determine whether Foodstuffs or Woolworths can bid to own it, was up 5c at 531.
Mainfreight fell 7c to 682, Freightways was down a cent at 343, Ryman Healthcare lost 2c to 175, and Vector shed 4c to 202.
Nuplex was up 6c at 646, PGG Wrightson rose 7c to 227, and Steel & Tube was up 3c at 310.
Brewer Lion Nathan's shares jumped 42c to 1062 after it beat forecasts with a 7 per cent increase in first-half net profit, but left its full-year forecast steady between A$265 million ($331 million) and A$275 million.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.6 per cent at 5916, while Japan's Nikkei share average was down 0.5 per cent.
On Wall Street, United States stock markets finished mixed as economic surveys suggested economic growth would remain weak, but that the world's biggest economy may avoid a recession.
- NZPA
