NZ stocks: Market down with Telecom at 5.5 month low

The sharemarket finished on a negative note with shares in market heavyweight Telecom hitting a 5-1/2 month low today.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 5.92 points at 2312.29, while the NZSX-40 capital index was down 2.50 points at 2206.74.

There was $98.2 million worth of shares traded on volume of 37.5 million on New Zealand Exchange today.

Among the 148 stocks traded were 49 falls and 51 rises.

Telecom shares finished down 8c at 485, their lowest level since May 9, having traded between 411 and 534 this year.

By market's close there had been $41.2 million worth of the Telecom shares sold on volume of 8.4 million.

ABN Amro Craigs operator Matt Willis said the Telecom fall could be pinned to the stronger New Zealand dollar.

"I think it's a continuation of offshore investors locking in currency gains at the expense of their New Zealand dollar portfolios," he told NZPA today.

At 5pm, the kiwi was fetching US61.25c.

However, the news of the day was Australian logistics company Toll Holdings snapping up a 12 per cent cornerstone in Owens Group.

Toll said this morning it had paid A$6.7 ($7.78) million for 6.7 million Owens shares -- the equivalent of $1.16 a share.

Mainfreight was offering $1.10 a share to secure 90 per cent of Owens and trigger an automatic takeover.

"Basically that (Toll's move) scuppers any faint hope Mainfreight had of getting 90 per cent of Owens," Mr Willis said.

"At this stage that looks to us to be purely a blocking stake to ensure that Mainfreight stays small.

"I don't think they (Toll) have got any designs on the company, it's just a strategic play," Mr Willis said.

It would be interesting to see Mainfreight's next move, he said, adding that Toll was protecting its interest in the logistics market.

Owens shares were up 8c at 115, while Mainfreight shares were down 11c at 135. Toll owns about 85 per cent of rail operator Tranz Rail, its shares up 3c at 126.

In other market news, Sky Network TV shares were up 11c at 516 with its annual meeting in Auckland this afternoon.

Westpac shares fell 9c to 1770 after the bank today reported a 3 per cent fall in profit to A$1.13 billion ($1.31 billion) for the six months to September.

Shares on the slide today included: AMP down 2c at 763, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare down 20c at 1195, Hellaby down 10c at 480, Air New Zealand down 1c at 48, Ports of Auckland down 9c at 821, and The Warehouse down 2c at 570.

Among those on the rise were: Auckland International Airport up 10c at 665, Fletcher Building up 2c at 440, ANZ Bank up 40c at 2150, F&P Appliances up 20c at 1490, and TrustPower up 15c at 575.

Overseas, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 29 points at 9777, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up one point at 1048, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up four points at 1936.

- NZPA