NZ stocks: Market drifts lower in session studded with corporate news

The sharemarket closed lower today in a moderate session studded with corporate news and shares in several top stocks giving up ground.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 7.31 points at 2605.11, while the NZSX-All capital index was down 2.21 points at 882.99.

There were 45 rises and 55 falls among the 143 stocks traded today.

Bellwether stock Telecom was down 1c at 565, its turnover representing 38.7 per cent of the $110.4 million on NZX today.

Contact Energy was down 3c at 557, while Carter Holt Harvey was down 4c at 203.

The news of the day was the Fisher & Paykel sister companies issuing their March year results.

F&P Appliances' net profit after tax (npat) was up 16 per cent in the March year to $83.5 million, thanks to its acquisition of Farmers Finance and improved sales.

Its shares closed down 7c at 460.

Macquarie Equities investment director Arthur Lim said the result was very encouraging and at the top end of its $80 million to $85 million forecast.

"The important parts of the result is that they are obviously getting very strong demand for their product out of the United States," Mr Lim told NZPA.

"How often do we see New Zealand companies... with that kind of success in a huge offshore market?"

Meanwhile, shares in F&P Healthcare leapt 40c to 1285 despite a fall in its March year earnings to $54.7 million.

Amro Craigs Equities retail adviser Bryon Burke said: "Like all results as long as it's on track and it's ahead of broker forecasts that's one good thing".

However, the company exceeded broker forecasts "during a period when the dollar was against them".

"Looking forward, with the dollar the way it is now, if they maintain the same sort of sales then... it is pretty positive."

Ports of Auckland today said the volume of containers it handled in the April year rose by 3 per cent to 665,289 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units).

Ports of Auckland shares closed unchanged on 725.

Another mover was Toll NZ, formerly Tranz Rail, which today said it had bought back the 50 per cent share in long distance passenger division Tranz Scenic.

Tranz Scenic was sold off to Australia's West Coast Railway in 2001.

Toll NZ shares were up 3c at 162.

Ryman Healthcare rose 10c to 240 after posting a 20 per cent rise in its March year net profit to $18.4 million and raising its annual dividend to 9c from 7.5c.

Other shares on the move included: AMP up 7c at 645, Austral Pacific down 25c at 295, Cavalier up 7c at 482, Fletcher Building down 6c at 442, Genesis down 6c at 72, Mooring Systems up 5c at 380, NZ Refining down 10c at 1880, Repco up 9c at 279, and Wrightson down 1c at 139.

Overseas, the Dow Jones fell 30.80 points to 9937.71, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 2.81 points at 1088.68, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.35 of a point at 1898.17.

- NZPA