NZ stocks: markets retreats from yesterday's strong showing

12.00pm

The sharemarket, taking its lead from Wall Street, pulled back from yesterday's strong showing.

It was led down by market heavyweight, Telecom, which fell back 2c to 515 today after it spurted ahead 12c yesterday.

In contrast to yesterday, Wall Street's influence was negative.

US stocks sagged sharply with technology stocks bearing the brunt of the selling, after printer maker Lexmark International Inc. warned of soggy profits and a Wall Street brokerage cut its investment rating on cell phone maker Motorola Inc.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended with a drop of 91.46 points, or 1 per cent, at 9,096.69, while the broader S&P 500 fell 14.52 points, or 1.46 per cent, to 978.80. The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 27.02 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 1,681.48.

Here, the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index, which yesterday gained 1.25 per cent, was down 10.3 points to 2126.76, while the top 40 captial index was down 9.35 to 2064.76 points at 11.35am.

Turnover was very light at just over $16 million.

Tower was down 1c to 119 and the rights down 0.8c to 27.6. Guinness Peat Group, underwriter to the rights issue, said in a substantial security holder notice today it had boosted its stake to 11.65 per cent from 9.9 per cent.

Over three million Tower shares traded yesterday but turnover today was light.

Contact Energy fell 6c to 468.

Urbus, which yesterday listed at 95c, was down 1c at 91.

Sky City convertible notes fell 17c to 151 on slim trading.

Of others to fall, Carter Holt Harvey was down 2c to 161, Cavalier 5c to 440, GDC, 3c to 73, Infratil, 3c to 205, Independent Newspapers, 2c to 412, and Tranz Rail, 1c to 96.

Lion Nathan rose 3c to 618, Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 4c to 1269, Axa Asia, up 3c to 270, was one of the few major stocks in the positive.

In all, there 36 stocks down and 17 up among the 11 stocks traded.

- NZPA