KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket lost nearly one per cent today as investors focused on matters at home rather than a positive steer from Wall St.
Pressure on Fletcher Building shares weighed on the NZSX-50 benchmark index, which fell 29.06 points or 0.8 per cent to 3545, rallying slightly at the close.
Volume was healthy with a total turnover of $137 million. Fletcher Building fell 28c or 3 per cent to 887 on trading worth $18 million, despite announcing a 22 per cent increase in net half year profit.
The company said it was comfortable with earnings prospects for the full year. But the market was "clearly not so sure," ASB Securities manager of intermediary services David Le Breton said.
"It showed a good increase in both topline revenue and profits but investors are, I suppose, concerned about the outlook for the New Zealand economy and how that might affect the company's earnings."
Elsewhere top stock Telecom and other leaders reflected an overall disillusionment with the domestic outlook.
Telecom slipped 3c to 397, Contact fell 14c to 755, and Fisher & Paykel Appliances eased 10c to 275, although its healthcare twin jumped 8c to 287.
Sky City fell 9c to 399 following yesterday's $60 million writedown on its cinema assets.
Currency sensitive stock Rakon was off 13c to 312, presumably because of an overnight bounce in the New Zealand dollar.
Freightways rose 15c to 330 as investors came to appreciate its half-year result on Monday in the current climate, while fellow transport stock Mainfreight lost 14c to 580.
Also bucking the trend was Auckland Airport, up 4c to 262 after the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said it had received more than 5 per cent of shares for its partial takeover offer, making it a substantial shareholder.
Vector rose a cent to 206 after appointing its acting chief executive, Simon Mackenzie, as its permanent ceo.
Some Australian banks suffered from a bearish profit result from CBA, shaving 60c off both Westpac to 2700, and ANZ to 2790, although AMP added 30c to 950.
Australia's sharemarket was headed for a similar close to New Zealand, slipping 0.8 per cent by late afternoon.
In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended higher after an offer by billionaire investor Warren Buffett to take on US$800 billion ($1023.7 billion) in municipal bond risk from the top three bond insurers.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 133.40 points, or 1.09 per cent, at 12,373.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 9.73 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 1,348.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.02 point at 2,320.04.
- NZPA
