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The sharemarket fell 0.8 per cent today, with Auckland International Airport one of only three top-50 stocks to rise, following another rough session on Wall Street.
Auckland Airport closed up 3c at 228 as hopes rose the Canadian Pension Plan partial takeover might be approved, after it agreed to limit its voting rights to 25 per cent even if it wins 40 per cent control.
After the market closed, Infratil said it would sell its 3.3 per cent stake and vote in favour of the CPP bid.
"I have a feeling this Infratil thing will give it some extra motivation," said Stephen Wright of ASB Securities.
"It would certainly make those who are still sitting on their docs (documents) and might not have done anything because they didn't think there was any hope, it gives them encouragement to complete their docs and fill them in."
Auckland Airport had also recovered ground lost when it went ex-dividend on Friday.
Other top-50 stocks to rise were Telstra, up 5c at 508, and Westpac, up 45c at 2445.
The NZSX-50 Index fell 27.29 points to 3520.46, close to February's 16-month lows, on turnover totalling just $86.7 million.
Top stock Telecom held its own, closing flat at 396. Fletcher Building was down 10c at 900, Contact Energy was flat at 821, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down a cent at 295, and F&P Appliances was off 6c at 255.
Sky City was down 3c at 395, Sky TV fell 10c to 487, and Vector was flat at 183.
Among the biggest losses, Mainfreight fell 28c to 612, The Warehouse lost 11c to 592, Ebos was down 15c at 485, Nuplex fell 22c to 624, and Rakon was down 15c at 226.
Air New Zealand lost 8c to 140, NZX was down 10c at 665, Freightways lost 6c to 314, Infratil was down 2c at 216, and Pumpkin Patch was down 9c at a four-year low of 169.
Outside the top-50, Turners Auctions reversed early falls to close up 3c at 215, and retailer Briscoe was up 4c to 130.
Australia's benchmark index was down almost 1 per cent at 5129, while Japan's Nikkei share average was up 0.4 per cent.
Earlier, US stocks sank as crude oil prices struck fresh highs above US$108 ($138) a barrel and as The Blackstone Group private equity firm announced a quarterly loss of US$170 million.
- NZPA
