New Zealand shares were mixed, with Chorus sinking as index-weighted institutions sold the phone network company as it fell out of key benchmarks following its split from Telecom, while Fletcher Building extended its gains from a two-year low.
The NZX-50 Index rose 5.08 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 3282.39. Within the index, 33 stocks fell, 13 rose and five were unchanged. Turnover was $83.8 million, with about two-thirds of that made up by Telecom and Fletcher.
Chorus, which was spun off from Telecom with a bonus issue last week, sank 4.4 per cent to $3.06, still higher than its $2.94 listing price but well down from the high of $3.40 it reached on November 25. It was the most heavily traded stock on the bourse, with 23.5 million shares changing hands. Telecom fell 0.5 per cent to $1.98.
Tower fell 5.4 per cent to $1.40 on modest volume of 38,551 shares. Tower has expressed interest in the Christchurch-based insurer AMI, which had to seek a government bailout after the Christchurch earthquakes drained its reserves.
Fletcher Building gained about 2 per cent to $6.19, having bottomed out at $5.80 on November 24, the lowest since April 2009, reflecting the tepid state of home building demand in Australia and New Zealand.
