NZ stocks: Shares drop as Telecom drags down index

12.45 pm

It was business as usual on the New Zealand Stock Exchange this morning, with Telecom again leading the overall indices lower.

The benchmark NZSE-40 index was down 11.88 points at 2036.93 by mid morning, on turnover worth $37 million - $13 million of that in Telecom.

"The NZSE index has been distorted by Telecom in recent times, in the same way that it used to be distorted when Fletcher (Challenge) was weak and at varying times when Brierley was weak," ASB Securities broker Stephen Wright said.

The leading stock was tracing four-month lows, down 13c at 515 by just after 11.30am.

Takeover target Montana also lost ground, shedding 10c to 425 on light volume.

Mr Wright said this was likely due to the odd seller who had tired of the ongoing saga over ownership.

"Most people would just be hanging on to see what eventuates.

"You will just see the odd stray seller who wants out for different reasons.

"Anybody who is interested in Montana or who has got reasonable holdings will hang in there to see where the best bid comes from - whether Allied Domecq can compete against Lion's forthcoming offer."

Bidder Lion Nathan was also weaker, shedding 3c to 540.

Outside of the leaders many of the mid-cap stocks remained pretty firm, Mr Wright said.

Among these, Ports of Auckland was up 13c at 607, Steel & Tube added 1c to 190, Mainfreight was up 2c at 118 and Fletcher Building continued its recent strong run, adding 1c to 258.

With the next round of profit results not due until next month, the local sharemarket would likely remain quiet until then, Mr Wright said, following world trends.

"There is very little to say about it at the moment. There are not many rises and not many falls either," he said.

Falls outnumbered rises by 41 to 23 among the 120 stocks traded.

In other movements Carter Holt Harvey was down 1c at 176, Baycorp shed 15c to 1290, Contact ceded 1c to 315, Fisher & Paykel added 20c to test a fresh all-time high of 1276, Sky City was up 12c at 1132 and Frucor and Infratil each added 1c to 163 and 157 respectively.

In the US overnight, stocks sank to three-month lows as American corporations continued to report poor results.

Wall Street also fretted over a report showing US retail sales fell in June. This indicated consumer spending is slowing and weakening the leg of the economy that has remained relatively strong.

The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index lost 63.92 points, or 3.15 per cent, to end at 1962.79, its lowest close since April 17.

The Dow Jones industrial average slumped 123.76 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 10175.64, its lowest close since April 16.

- NZPA