Turners one of few risers as Hallenstein ends run

The sharemarket nudged lower yesterday in a session lacking much in the way of corporate news.

The NZX-50 index closed down 9.39 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 3045.11, after gaining nearly 10 points on Monday.

Among top stocks to lose ground, Telecom fell a cent to $2.07, following Monday's 6c gain, as investors wait to see if it has done enough to win the favour of the Government.

Contact Energy was down 2c at $5.67, Fletcher Building shed 6c to $7.54, and Auckland Airport fell a cent to $1.96.

On the other side, all rising a cent were SkyCity, at $3.07, Sky TV, at $5.10, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, at $2.95.

Hallenstein Glasson shares closed down 5c at $3.90, after rising 13c on Monday and 22c on Friday to a 28-month high following a forecast of a big profit increase.

Turners & Growers shares were up 4c at $1.45 following news the World Trade Organisation ruled Australia's restrictions on imports of New Zealand apples should be amended.

Australia said it would appeal against the WTO ruling.

Port of Tauranga gained 1c to $6.76, carpetmaker Cavalier rose 3c to $2.62, and Air New Zealand gained a cent to $1.15.

Allied Farmers gained 0.4c, or 11 per cent, to 3.9c, recovering after news the company was halting plans for a $19.3 million capital raising while it continues talks with the trustee of its finance arm.

Telstra rose 5c to $4.21 despite saying it would receive no compensation if the proposed high-speed broadband network is scrapped as promised by Australia's opposition.

ANZ gained 10c to $28.85, Westpac fell 44c to $29.21, and AMP rose 5c to $6.89. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 1.18 per cent at 4540.7.

Earlier, US stocks rose in the quietest session of the year on speculation that the Federal Reserve would signal potential steps to boost the sluggish economic recovery.

Volume was a mere 5.71 billion shares, compared with last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion shares, as investors were wary of taking new positions before the Fed's statement this morning (NZT).

Shares of Hewlett-Packard tumbled after chief executive Mark Hurd resigned following an investigation into sexual harassment charges by a female contractor.

- NZPA