NZ stocks: Sharemarket flat on pitiful volume

The sharemarket was virtually flat on very small turnover this morning.

The NZSE-40 capital index was down 0.26 points to 2059.78 just after 11am on turnover of just $8.95 million shares.

Stocks in the United States on Friday struggled higher as investors bought into the battered technology sector and IBM rebounded after regulators closed a probe into possible accounting improprieties.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14.74 points to 10,190.82 and the tech-packed Nasdaq Composite Index rose 30.95 points, or 1.79 per cent, to 1,756.19.

In New Zealand, Telecom propped the market up with a 1c gain to 488 and Fletcher Building was steady at 286.

The Warehouse dropped 11c to 731 but 9.5c of that was the dividend it shed today.

Rising stocks included Auckland Airport, 3c at 450, Baycorp Advantage, 10c to 545, Sky TV, 5c to 450, and Sky City, 7c at 599.

The two Fisher & Paykel stocks were up slightly after their battering last week. Appliances was up 4c to 919 while Healthcare was up 5c to 890.

IT Capital topped the volume with more than 2 million shares worth 9, up 3c.

Seafresh fell 0.1c to 3 after it was announced that a British entrepreneur had proposed taking a half-share in the troubled company for .27c a share.

Guinness Peat Group (GPG) rose 3c to 195, while retail stock Michael Hill fell 5c to 510.

There were 26 rises and 30 falls among the 111 stocks traded.

- NZPA