KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket ended the week in limp fashion, as investors struggled for news.
"We've had reasonable volume but still really lacking any impetus," First NZ Capital's Don Lewthwaite said. "It's sort of running on the spot and still waiting for direction."
The NZSX-50 capital index fell 13.1 points or 0.3 percent to 4223.52 on total turnover of $129 million.
Falls outnumbered rises 59 to 53 on 146 stocks traded.
Telecom fell 4c to 462 , while other blue chips were also looking sombre, including Fletcher Building down 12c to 1212, Contact down 6c to 900, and the Warehouse down 4c to 601.
Brokers were mystified after Tourism Holdings rose strongly by 15c to 270. Today Australia's MFS Living and Leisure said it would allow THL to bring forward the payment of a 6c special dividend, but MFS' $2.80 per share offer had failed to make much headway thus far.
One brokerage was understood to have re-rated the stock and suggested another buyer might enter the picture.
The shares "have been trading at a whopping discount to the bid price. It's hard to see why the pendulum would have swung that much," Mr Lewthwaite said.
Shares in bathroom products maker Methven jumped 40c to a year high of 270, a "very solid re-entry to the market" after a placement to fund the purchase of British distributer Deva Tap.
Pumpkin Patch appeared to have sprung back from a currency-related downturn, up 17c to 348, after gaining 12c yesterday.
Tower rose 2c to 246. The company today revealed that a former employee had plead guilty to fraud in excess of $100,000. Tower said all the money had been recovered.
Other moves include Port of Tauranga down 20c to 680 after Ports of Auckland's owner confirmed the merger with Port of Tauranga was off; Sanford up 9c to 430, Abano up 8c to 385, Hallenstein Glasson up 8c to 478.
On the downside was Metlifecare, down 30c or 3.6 percent to 790; Rakon down 22c or 4.4 percent to 470, Hellaby Holdings down 11c to 327. The worst performers were two finance companies, Dominion Finance down 13c or 6.4 percent to 190 and NZ Finance down 19c or 16 percent to 100.
Wall St provided very little overnight direction , with the Dow Jones industrial losing 0.08 percent, or 11.46 points to 13,565.84, bogged down by rising bond yields.
However, the Nasdaq Composite rose on Thursday as technology shares benefited from stronger-than-expected economic data and Apple Inc rose on high expectations for its iPhone.The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 11.70 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,656.65.
- NZPA
