NZ stocks: Market turns back on Wall Street revival

The sharemarket again turned its back on the bungy-like behaviour of Wall Street today, choosing to ignore the Dow's latest resurgence on Friday.

The barometer NZSE-40 Capital Index closed just above 2000, down 5.08 points at 2001.11 and near its high for the session.

Volume was typically light for a Monday at $50.9 million. Brokers said there was no reason for the local market to rebound given it had barely fallen during Wall Street's woes.

Telecom firmed 1c to 515 on solid volume worth $26.9 million.

First NZ Capital broker Phil Hardie Boys said there was a small portfolio purchase boosting some stocks exposed to the domestic economy including Fletcher Building, Fisher & Paykel Appliances, Contact Energy and Sky TV.

Fletcher Building rose 10c to 304 and Appliances 10c to 1025.

Contact closed 9c up at 395 while fellow energy company Natural Gas Corp rose 4c to 146.

Sky TV rose 5c to 345, while its two thirds owner Independent Newspapers, which was ex a 4.5c dividend, closed flat on 295.

Auckland Airport closed on 516, theoretically up 8c on its first day following capital reconstruction.

Port of Tauranga lost all the 22c dividend it shed, to 808. Ports of Auckland, which held its annual meeting today, gained 5c to 610.

Lyttelton Port, whose embattled chairman resigned on Friday, finished up 2c at 144.

Tranz Rail closed up 2c at 153. After the market closed it reported a September quarter operating loss of $7.2 million and a bottom line loss of $14.2 million. The bottom line was slightly worse than the $13.3 million the company forecast in July.

Second line leaders to lose included Carter Holt Harvey, 3c to 161; The Warehouse, 2c to 710 and Baycorp, 10c to 302.

There were 46 rises outnumbering 35 falls on 133 stocks traded.

- NZPA