NZ stocks: Market marks time

12.00pm

The sharemarket was marking time today, with few movements of note in listless late morning trading.

The NZSE-40 Capital Index was up just 0.07 points to 2026.85 just after 11am on volume of just $14.2 million.

Market leader Telecom was steady on 495, Carter Holt Harvey was down 1c at 173, Contact Energy was down 2c at 391 and Fletcher Building was up 1c at 285. Turnover in Telecom comprised almost half of the total market turnover.

Independent Newspapers, which yesterday reported an improved year profit, was up 1c at 336, and its 66 per cent-owned Sky TV, which narrowed losses significantly, was steady on 380.

AMP, which has suffered heavily as global markets have taken a battering, rose 22c to 1600.

DB Breweries fell 10c to 575 and SouthPort rose 7c to 169 on a small trade.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 6c to 945, its appliance cousin was up 5c to 980, Infratil was up 3c to 186, and Wellington Drive was up 3c to 41 on 306,000 shares traded.

There were 27 rises and 21 falls among the 87 stocks traded.

On Wall Street, stocks clambered higher for the second day, with the Dow Jones industrial average hitting its highest level in a month, on surprisingly strong results from retailers like Target Corp.

The Dow Jones index was up 74.83 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 8818.14, according to the latest available figures. That was its highest close since July 9.

The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 10.71 points, or 0.80 per cent, at 1345.01, after dropping as much as 1 per cent.

- NZPA