NZ stocks: Market down over 1pc

The New Zealand sharemarket took a sizeable fall today but resisted the larger declines seen offshore as investors remained on the sidelines.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 32.9 points, or 1.18 per cent, at 2762.01, following a 10-point rise yesterday.

Other markets in the region posted falls in the order of 3 per cent, including Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index and Tokyo's Nikkei share average, after heavy losses on Wall Street.

In New Zealand, top stock Telecom rose a cent to 262 while Fletcher Building fell 21c to 641 and Contact Energy was down 7c at 576.

"Our market certainly hasn't been as negative as what offshore markets were last night, or even Australia," said Suzanne Kinnaird of Forsyth Barr.

There had been a little offshore selling interest, but the day's low turnover of $69.7 million did not indicate significant institutional trading.

"On negative days like this, you quite often get people sitting on their hands," Ms Kinnaird said.

A notable exception was Auckland Airport, which rose 4c, or 2.6 per cent, to 160 in the wake of solid trans-Tasman tourism numbers yesterday.

Annual visitor arrivals from Australia topped one million for the first time in the year to May, despite the global economy plunging into its worst downturn in decades, although visitor numbers were down 3 per cent overall.

"Out of our investment recommendations, Auckland Airport's share price is getting close to levels that would support an upgrade and it has the most to gain from an increase in passenger travel on the trans-Tasman," Forsyth Barr analysts said.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 4c to 284, F&P Appliances was flat at 66, Sky City was down 7c at 270 and Sky TV lost 5c to 430.

Among the handful of top-50 stocks to rise, Cavalier was up 3c at 188, Freightways gained a cent to 290, NZ Farming Systems Uruguay was up a cent at 47, Port of Tauranga rose 5c to 600 and Steel & Tube also rose 5c, to 285.

Among the larger declines, Mainfreight lost 10c to 435, NZ Refining fell 10c to 690, NZX was down 15c at 750, and Ebos fell 15c to 510.

High-tech equipment maker Rakon fell 7c to 148 after news that director Peter Maire was selling 700,000 of his 11.4 million shares.

Dual-listed stocks were hit hard, with ANZ down 65c at 2005, Westpac off 80c at 2420, AMP down 18c at 617, APN down 15c at 175 and Telstra off 5c at 405.

On Wall Street, shares of economically sensitive sectors such as financials, energy and materials led the S&P 500's decline. A sharp drop in US crude oil futures and other commodities hit shares of companies sensitive to those prices, such as Exxon Mobil Corp.

Hurting investor sentiment were gloomy comments from the World Bank, which said the outlook for the global economy remained "unusually uncertain" as it cut 2009 growth forecasts for most economies.

- NZPA