NZ stocks: Leaders' retreat send sharemarket down

A retreat by the market leaders, Telecom and Carter Holt Harvey, sent the sharemarket lower in morning trading today.

The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was down 3.88 points at 2459.25 at noon and the NZSX-40 capital index was down 3.49 points at 2250.51.

Telecom slipped 2c to 563, on turnover of $8 million.

Total turnover was worth $22.3 million.

Carter Holt Harvey dropped 5c to 200. The company announced a biotechnology joint venture with Rubicon this morning. The stock zoomed 11c ahead yesterday on hopes that it would get a good price on the sale of its tissue busines.

Rubicon was unchanged at 75c.

AMP rose 5c to 550 despite announcing one of the biggest losses in Australian corporate history -- A$5.54 billion ($6.25 billion). However, net profit before goodwill amortisation and other items was A$619 million, at the top end of forecasts and analysts believe the worst may be behind the company.

The Guinness Peat Group was up 1c at 195, recouping the cent it lost yesterday after reporting a 45 per cent jump in net profit.

Restaurant Brands was up 1c at 121, after releasing sales figures for the February quarter which showed a lacklustre performance from its KFC units.

Other stocks on the move included: Contact Energy up 3c at 515, Waste Management down 3c at 409, Sky City up 8c at 447, Turners Auction up 18c at 400, The Warehouse down 2c at 432, and NZX up 4c at 725.

US Stocks closed near the unchanged mark on Wednesday as investors sorted through mixed economic reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 1.63 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 10,593.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.93 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 1151.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.29 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 2033.36.

- NZPA