NZ stocks: Mixed trade keeps sharemarket flat

12.00pm

The New Zealand sharemarket's key indices were tracking fairly flat in morning trade today.

By 11.30am, the NZSX-50 was up 2.8 points or 0.12 per cent at 2312.61, while the NZSX-40 was up 0.7 points or 0.03 per cent at 2210.16. Turnover was $25.87 million.

' 'The market is mixed", Direct Broking's Ken Allen told NZPA.

Market kingpin Telecom was "up a pip" at 489, 2c higher than its opening price.

Leading New Zealand retailers The Warehouse and Briscoe Group both reported results this morning.

"Briscoes has been knocked back on pretty poor third quarter sales and decreasing margins", Mr Allen said. "The market doesn't like the story there." Briscoe Group was down 11c to 180.

The Warehouse this morning announced a 12 per cent rise in first quarter sales on a year ago but its Australian unit continues to drag the chain, held back by what the firm described as "merchandising issues". Group sales in the 13 weeks to November 2 totalled $483 million. The Warehouse was unchanged at 570 by 11.30am.

Meanwhile there was some continued selling of "interest rate sensitive stocks" Fletcher Building and Fisher and Paykel, Mr Allen said.

A 0.25 per cent increase in Australia's official cash rate on Wednesday sparked concerns that the Australian building industry would cool off as a result.

By 11.30 Fletcher Building had lost 3c to 412. Yesterday it lost 15c.

Fisher and Paykel Appliances was down 5c to 1510.

Elsewhere, Sky City was doing "quite nicely" this morning rising 15c to 906, and NZX broke through the $5 dollar level reaching 503 10c higher than its opening price.

Tranz Rail shares rose 9c this morning to 142, its highest level since early November last year. Australia's Toll Holding's extended offer for the rail operator closes today. It was reported Tranz Rail shares had jumped on a lack of supply.

Meanwhile, Australasia's largest shopping centre owner Westfield Trust placed its shares on a trading halt before the stock exchange opened this morning pending an announcement. Shares in the company which is listed in Australia and New Zealand closed at 385 yesterday on the NZX.

Among stocks to move by 11.30am were: Air NZ down a cent to 48, Auckland International Airport up 4c to 677, BayCorp Advantage down 2c to 310, Contact Energy down 4c to 501, and Independent Newspapers Ltd up 2c to 492.

There were 21 rises and 17 falls on 99 stocks traded.

On offshore markets overnight, New York's tech-loaded Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14 points or 0.71 per cent to 1973, on track to close at its highest level since January 17, 2002. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 26 points or 0.27 per cent to 9847. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index added five points or 0.46 per cent to 1057.

In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 20.8 points or 0.48 per cent to 4324.2, and in Frankfurt, the benchmark DAX index was up 16.23 points or 0.44 per cent at 3733.93 points.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average fell 285.24 points or 2.63 per cent to 10,552.30.

- NZPA