NZ stocks: Saddam euphoria wears off on market

The New Zealand sharemarket followed offshore markets downwards today as the euphoria of Saddam Hussein's capture proved short-lived.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 was down 13.77 points, or neraly 0.6 per cent, at 2393.16, on a strong total turnover of $132.2 million. The NZSX-40 capital index was down 8.72 points at 2221.94.

Investors pushed the index higher yesterday in anticipation of a buoyant night on world markets, but an initial rally on Wall St was pulled down by negative US sentiment.

"Yes, we have gone backwards today but I think on the global markets we have these days, we're not out of step," ASB Securities broker Andrew Kelleher said.

However, he noted the Dow Jones closed above the 10,000-point level which, considering the index had been below 7500 points a year ago, was "a pretty solid performance over the year".

Leading the way today was index heavyweight Telecom. It dropped 7c to 512 on $82 million worth of shares.

Mr Kelleher noted Telecom's recent big volumes and its current volatility. "Looks like there's a few end of year machinations going on but no real clear trend."

Most of the Top Ten stocks were either weaker or even. After a 7c bounce yesterday, Fletcher Building was flat at 405, Contact Energy was flat at 531, and Carter Holt Harvey was unchanged at 185 after yesterday's news that it was closing its Tokoroa mill to make savings.

Freightways' golden run also began to plateau, closing flat at 212 after peaking at 219 during the day.

Greenslades broker Paul Valk said Freightways' rising share value was an indication that its initial public offer price was too low, and that it was a dividend stock attractive to investors.

But Mr Kelleher said the stock was no longer undervalued. "I think the brakes are going to come on that particular rally."

Ports of Auckland was unchanged at 800 and meat processor Richmond was stable at 253 after its annual meeting today.

Media company INL pulled back 10c to 490 on light volume, losing most of yesterday's 12c gain.

"I think you have to be careful on those price moves on INL because it's such a liquid stock," Mr Kelleher said.

Other stocks on the move included Hellaby up 10c at 505, Nuplex up 6c at 430, and TrustPower up 15c at 615. Shotover Jet rose 3c to 104, a cent above the latest offer from 88 per cent shareholder Ngai Tahu.

Those on the downside included Promina off 10c to 380, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare down 15c at 1235, AMP down a cent to 800, Westpac NZ down 15c to 1705, Infratil down 10c at 280, NZX down 4c to 569, Southport down 7c to 150, and The Warehouse down 3c at 513.

There were 52 falls and 36 rises among the 145 stocks traded.

On Wall St, stocks shot higher in early trading on news of Saddam's capture, briefly hoisting the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index to levels unseen in 19 months.

But investor enthusiasm wilted throughout the afternoon, as investors locked in profits following strong gains in recent sessions.

The Dow Jones closed down 19.86 points at 10,022.30, the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 29.97 points at 1919.03, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.07 points at 1068.07.

- NZPA