NZ stocks: Fletcher Forests hogs limelight in lacklustre market

12.50pm

Fletcher Challenge Forests (FCF) today held the limelight in an otherwise lacklustre sharemarket that saw both major indices lose ground.

At 11.30am, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 3.15 points at 2438.73, while the NZSX-40 capital index was down 4.35 points at 2251.78.

There had been just $16.5 million worth of shares traded by 11.30am, with bellweather Telecom accounting for 47 per cent.

The telco's shares were down 3c at 556.

Among the 106 shares traded were 27 rises and 26 falls.

ABN Amro Craigs broker Matt Willis said FCF was the stand-out company in an otherwise quiet market this morning.

FCF today said the suitor for its forest estate, Kiwi Forest Group consortium, had won Overseas Investment Commission approval to buy the lion's share of its 106,000ha forest estate for $560 million.

Mr Willis said the OIC approval was "no great surprise" and was unlikely to have a big impact on FCF's shares, which were unchanged at 136.

FCF also confirmed it has snapped up 20 per cent of a Danish solid wood furniture manufacturer and distributor, Zenia House, for $1 million.

Meanwhile, Steel & Tube Holdings shares were up 4c 398 after it posted an improved net profit after tax (npat) of $10.95 million.

The result reflected a good earnings environment for the building sector, Mr Willis said.

Auckland IT company Provenco shares were up 6c at 55 -- an all-time high -- after it today announced a $21 million contract with Malaysian oil retailer Petronas Dagangan Berhad.

It was a good deal for the company, Mr Willis said, adding the company seemed to be "getting better and better."

Other shares on the moved today included: Fletcher Building down 2c at 397, Waste Management NZ up 4c at 430, Skellmax down 1c at 124, Contact Energy up 1c at 518, Carter Holt Harvey down 4c to 191, AMP up 2c to 519, the Warehouse up 4c to 469 and Trustpower up 20c to 720.

There was $11,130 worth of trading on the New Zealand Alternative Exchange this morning.

Overseas, the Dow Jones was down 73.52 points at 10,620.55, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.87 points at 1145.24, the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 19.40 points at 2054.21.

- NZPA