NZ stocks: Early Telecom fall pushes down market

An early fall in Telecom pushed the New Zealand sharemarket down shortly after opening this morning.

By late morning the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was down 0.04 per cent at 2217.45, while the top-40 index lost 0.07 per cent to 2130.11.

Market leader Telecom fell 1c to 507, following a poor performance offshore by giant Finnish telco Nokia which resulted in the largest drop in a month for the Nasdaq.

On Wall St the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 79.09 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 9507.20; the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 8.47 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 1023.17; and the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 15.19 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 1873.43.

Gareth Stythe of JB Were said markets were generally weak overnight.

"Telecom's leading the market down. There's still a bit of attention surrounding Air New Zealand after their alliance with Qantas got given the thumbs down by the ACCC (Australian Consumer and Competition Commission) yesterday," Mr Stythe said.

Air NZ was down 1c at 52 this morning after a 7c fall yesterday.

The airline's shares had risen as much as 15c over the past two weeks on increasing hopes the proposal would get the green light from the Australian and New Zealand commerce commissions.

"It's obviously found a bit of a level yesterday. I think the risk for the share price is on the down side, it's not going to climb from here in any great hurry -- in fact it could fall a bit further," he said.

Independent Newspapers Ltd, currently making a takeover bid for Sky TV and seeking a listing on the Australian stock exchange, was unchanged at 445.

Sky TV lost 4c to 476, AMP was down 9c at 737, Fisher & Paykel Appliances lost 10c to 1445, F&P Healthcare was down 5c at 1215, Postie Plus was down 3c at 115, Fletcher Building shed 1c to 416, Restaurant Brands lost 1c to 132, and Tourism Holdings was down 3c at 136.

Carter Holt Harvey rose 1c to 169, casino company Sky City bounced 6c to 884, Nuplex was up 2c at 395, Contact Energy gained 1c to 476, Trustpower was up 3c at 473, and The Warehouse rose 5c to 509.

Turnover of 7.30 million shares, valued at $20.03 million, was topped by Telecom's $6.7 million worth of stocks changing hands.

There were 31 falls and 26 rises among the 105 stocks traded.

- NZPA