NZ stocks: Telcos lead rebound from lows

The sharemarket retreated to fresh eight-month lows during the day before regaining lost territory by the close.

Markets in Asia and Australia were modestly weaker, with Tokyo closing higher, in marked contrast to Britain and the US.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed down 0.12 per cent, or 2.49 points, at 2005.85, having been down almost 1 per cent by mid-morning.

Continuing the recent pattern, volume was minimal, with 28.55 million stocks traded valued at $39.88 million, topped by Fletcher Forests' 4.33 million stocks worth $1.04 million.

Ian Witters, of ASB Securities, said Telecom led stocks higher, with both it and Australian telco Telstra rebounding in the afternoon.

Telecom rose 11c to $4.85 and Telstra 5c to $5.45.

Tranz Rail closed up 8c at $2.20 ahead of a well-flagged announcement on the rail operator's plans, continuing the restructuring launched last year.

"The story there is, in expectation of a reasonable announcement, the price did firm a little," Witters said.

Tranz Rail said after the market closed that it would make writedowns of up to $170 million for the year, and planned to completely exit passenger services.

"Otherwise we did have a wee bit of weakness across the board, but not massive," Witters said.

Auckland Airport was up slightly, gaining 1c to $4.30 following on from the announcement on Monday of property development on its land.

"A number of stocks that have done well recently have maintained their ground," he said. "Overall our market has fared very well, which implies we're not caught up in the hype of the US market in the last four or five years."

Fletcher Forests lost 1c to 24c following Monday's release of unaudited profit figures and Grant Samuel's independent appraisal of the proposed Central North Island Forestry Partnership deal.

Forests shareholder Rubicon fell 1c at 75c, Carter Holt Harvey shed 6c to $1.86, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lost 10c at $8.10, and its Appliances division was down 1c at $8.70.

Contact Energy was up 2c at $3.80, Baycorp Advantage rose 2c to $4.27, BIL International was up 1c at 69c and Restaurant Brands bounced off nine-month lows to close up 3c at $1.73.

- NZPA