NZ stocks: Market finishes positively

6.45pm

The New Zealand sharemarket remained favourably out of synch today, ending in the black while other markets lost ground.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed up 2.53 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 1979.29, while the top-10 index gained 0.69 per cent to close at 890.17.

Turnover of 20.37 million stocks was valued at $62.87 million.

Stephen Wright of ASB Securities said Telecom, up 6c at 495, made up the vast bulk of the turnover today. The telco's 7.89 million stocks, worth $38.18 million, was more than seven times larger than the next biggest traded stock.

"That finished up high, but what we saw throughout Asia, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and other markets was the Globex S&P futures, and the Nasdaq futures which trade overseas were up, indicating there could be a rally in the US markets overnight.

"That spurred a bit of buying among the leaders," Mr Wright said.

The US stock index futures contracts are traded in Singapore and give an indication of the US market's direction, although their fortune-telling powers are not perfect.

"But this time they were very firmly up, and also people think there will be a relief rally (in the US) -- every few days generally, even in a downward market, you expect an up-day.

"Australia turned around first, and dragged us up at the end of the day."

On the market, financial stocks fell on the back of performances in Australia, with AMP down 35c at 1280; ANZ down 85c at 1965; and WestpacTrust off 55c at 1430.

Auckland Airport lost 1c to 423, Baycorp Advantage was down 8c at 317, Fletcher Building shed 3c to 289,

British-based investment company Guinness Peat Group lost 2c to 153, utilities investor Infratil was down 2c at 182, Restaurant Brands lost 6c to 166 and The Warehouse was down 1c at 712.

Three-day-old Turners Auctions lost 2c to 219, compared with its offer price of 150.

On the upside, Fisher and Paykel Appliances was up 5c at 985, casino operator Sky City gained 9c to 734, Sky City Leisure, formerly Force Corp, rose 59c to 180, and Sky TV rose 3c to 333.

"There's no great selling push or momentum, but equally there's no great buying either," Mr Wright said.

There were 49 falls and 32 rises on the 132 stocks traded.

Offshore, European blue chip stocks ended near 5-1/2 year lows, while Britain's FTSE index was down less than 1 per cent.

On Wall St, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 20.38 points, or 1.79 per cent, to finish at 1119.52; the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial average ended down 105.36 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 7423.04; and the broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index fell 15.30 points, or 1.91 per cent, to 785.28.

- NZPA