NZ stocks: Selected stocks gain in weaker session

The sharemarket found direction yesterday afternoon after a slow morning session - unfortunately the movement was down.

Turnover was 34.83 million, valued at $100.13 million.

The NZSE-40 capital index ended the day down 16.53 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 1972.21 and the small companies index was up 8.44 points at 5062.80.

Leading turnover by the end of the day was Fletcher Energy, followed by market heavyweight Telecom.

A poor performance by Telecom, down 21c at $5.47, led the market down. Australian telco, Cable & Wireless Optus, has told analysts that Telecom, Vodafone Group and Singapore Telecommunications are still interested in acquiring its mobile phone assets, an analyst's report said yesterday.

Fletcher Energy lost 6c to $8.73, following a $US1 fall in its 10 per cent-held Capstone, and publicity about the falling value of the Shell-Apache bid due to the resurgent kiwi .

Air New Zealand B shares were down 12c at $2.20, and the A shares shed 8c to $1.56. Air New Zealand said after the market closed that its load factor for October was down slightly on last October, at 73 per cent from 75.1 per cent.

Contact Energy lost 3c to $2.87, Genesis shed 15c to $6.80 and Gisborne-based forestry investor Nuhaka was down 20c at $12.60.

Ports of Auckland was down 10c at $4.30, Powerco lost 2c to $1.39, and Sky City, which on Tuesday hit a four-year high, shed 3c to $8.00.

On the other side, Baycorp was up 14c at $12.15, and Lion Nathan rose 4c to $5.30 and winemaker Montana, the subject of a Lion Nathan bid, was up 14c at $4.02. It had reached a four-year high of $4.05 during the day, before falling back.

An independent valuation yesterday by PriceWaterhouseCoopers assessed Montana at between $4.16 and $4.64 a share. Lion and Montana chairman Peter Masfen are offering a maximum of $3.80 a share.

Radioworks shot up 65c to $8.25 after announcing it was the target of a potential takeover bid.

Telstra rose 12c to $8.42, and the Warehouse was up 7c at $5.73.

National Mail, which announced it would stop its mail distribution on December 22, was up 2.3c at 12.5c, after losing 32.8c on Tuesday.

Pacific Retail was unchanged at $1.38, after reporting a rise in its half year profit to $2.4 million from $1.9 million.

Falls outnumbered rises 58 to 45 on 147 stocks traded.

- NZPA