NZ stocks: Market quiet, F&P Healthcare a standout

12.30pm

Trading on the sharemarket was subdued through most of the morning with both major indices recording little movement, a broker said.

At 11.30am, the benchmark NZSX50 gross index was up 1.09 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 2130.30 while the NZSX40 capital index was up 2.20 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 2073.75.

There had been $28 million worth of shares traded on volume of 7.3 million. Among the 96 stocks traded were 22 rises and 31 falls.

Market leader Telecom was unchanged on 505c, having traded $20.5 million worth on turnover of four million.

Forsyth Barr broker David Price said Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was the standout performer in an "extremely flat" market.

"The big move on the day is Healthcare, up on very light volume after the (United States) FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval for the neonatal unit," Mr Price said.

Healthcare was up 30c at 1170 on the news the FDA had cleared its neonatal breathing circuits, to help babies needing intensive care breath, for sale in the lucrative US market.

"It's not a big part of the (Healthcare's) business, but that being said it's still positive news for them," Mr Price told NZPA today.

Shares on the rise included: Air New Zealand up 1c to 52, Auckland International Airport up 4c at 580, Contact Energy up 1c at 466, DB Breweries up 6c at 666, Sky City up 2c to 879, Tower up 5c to 159, and The Warehouse up 7c to 490.

On the slide were: Carter Holt Harvey down 2c to 170, Infratil down 1c to 206, Owens down 3c to 95, Promina down 4c to 261, Vertex down 5c to 170, and Westpac down 15c to 1670.

Overseas, the Dow Jones industrial average finished down 120.17 points at 9036.04, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 13.54 points to 988.67.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 31.77 points to 1715.69.

- NZPA