NZ stocks: Market flat, mirroring Telecom

The New Zealand sharemarket was flat this morning mirroring, the unchanged top stock Telecom.

By late morning the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was up 0.03 of a point, or 0.00 per cent, at 2298.81 while the top-40 index was down 0.08 per cent at 2199.99.

Turnover was moderate, with 14.67 million stocks changing hands for $31.10 million. Topping turnover was Telecom's $6.3 million.

On Wall St, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 59.11 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 9654.09; the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.87 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 1039.22; and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 14.40 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 1907.86.

In London, the FTSE-100 index closed a slight 1.9 points higher at 4272.0.

In New Zealand, market leader Telecom was unchanged at 507, No 2 stock Carter Holt Harvey was down 1c at 179, and fellow top-tier stock Fletcher Building was up 2c at 428.

Better than expected August retail sales data released today failed to provide a boost for discount giant The Warehouse which fell 15c to 570.

The Warehouse has seen a reversal in its fortunes during the last day after hitting an eight-month high of 603.

Among other retailers Briscoe Group was up 2c at 200, Pacific Retail lost 7c to 265, jeweller Michael Hill was down 1c at 442, and newly-listed clothing retailer Postie Plus gained 1c to 121.

Auckland Airport gained 4c to 655, Contact Energy was up 3c at 511, Designer Textiles rose 1c to 99, fish exporter Sanford was 5c at 525, Tourism Holdings was up 2c at 152, Wellington Drive rose 1c to 71, and F&P Healthcare rose 10c to 1290.

Restaurant Brands gained 4c to 134 on promise of improving profitability in the second half despite a 14.7 per cent drop in first half profit announced yesterday.

Independent Newspapers Ltd was up 1c at 458 while its takeover target Sky TV was down 3c at 482.

Air New Zealand fell 1c to 52, CDL Hotels was down 1c at 40, Freightways lost 180, NZX lost 5c to 435, Turners Auctions was down 2c at 438 and Software of Excellence lost 4c to 120.

Tranz Rail was unchanged from yesterday's close of 110, meeting the offer price from Australian logistics company Toll Holdings which expires on Friday. The offer looks unlikely to meet the threshold of 90 per cent acceptances.

There were 36 rises and 26 falls on the 117 stocks traded.

- NZPA