NZ stocks: Leaders hold firm but Healthcare sold down

The market leaders mostly held firm on the sharemarket today, allowing the benchmark index to stretch to a fresh peak, but Fisher & Paykel was sold down 3 per cent on its result.

The NZSX-50 gross index was up 6.17 points to 2895.46, beating that index's historic high touched in mid-session yesterday. The NZSX-All capital index was up 2.14 at 958.12.

Market heavyweight Telecom underpinned the market with a 5c gain to 595. Its turnover comprised a third of the market's $34 million total by 11.45am.

Fletcher Building, which rose 12c yesterday to 578 after it said it expected full-year operating earnings of up to $500 million despite forecasts of a slowdown in residential building activity, gained another 4c to 582 today.

However, Contact Energy, which yesterday had rose 8c, pulled back 3c to 624 today.

F&P Healthcare was sold down 8c to 304 today after it posted an 11.5 per cent rise in half-year net profit. The company reported a net profit of $28.1m for the six months to September, up from $25.2m for the same period last year.

It lifted its interim dividend to 5cps from 4.8c but that failed to satisfy investors who are worried about the impact of the strong New Zealand dollar against the US unit.

The Warehouse recovered 2c today to 387 today after it was dumped 19c yesterday on its poorly received October quarter sales report.

The retail discounter reported its Red Sheds' same-store sales fell 2.6 per cent in the October quarter.

Brokers said it was losing market share and there were questions about expansion prospects for the chain. A turnaround in Australia is seen as a long grind.

Jewellery retainer Michael Hill International in contrast gained 9c to 789 today.

AMP, subject to takeover talk, gained another 9c to 752 today, while fellow finance services operation, Tower, subject to similar talk, gained 1c to 242.

Rarely traded software company Finzsoft Solutions took a 15 per cent, 14c dive to 76c on a parcel of just 2000 shares.

Port of Tauranga rose 5c to 580, Westpac NZ rose 15c to 1995, while Waste Management fell 4c to 550.

In the United States, stocks ended little changed as investors remained cautious ahead of a meeting of US Federal Reserve policy makers, while a seven-week low in crude oil prices offered support.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 4.65 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 10,386.66 while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index finished down 0.72 points at 1,164.17 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 4.08 points to 2,043.33.

- NZPA