NZ stocks: Telecom buoys NZ top-50, ex-dividend stocks hit top-40

The New Zealand sharemarket was in the grip of Monday-itis today, with very little volume going through during the Wellington session.

The benchmark NZ50 gross index ended up 5.03 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 1907.52, in contrast to the top-40 index which closed down 1.07 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 1889.28.

Minimal turnover of 15.35 million stocks, valued at $30.47 million, was topped by Telecom's $8.7 million worth of shares traded.

Ken Allen of Direct Broking said the New Zealand market was a mixed bag today, with a 6c rise in market-leader Telecom to 437 buoying the NZ50 gross index.

In contrast, a number of stocks going ex-dividend, including the port companies of Auckland and Tauranga, pushed the NZSE-40 capital index into the red.

"Some are buying Telecom, and a few other selected stocks - Tranz Rail (up 3c at 108), and a few smaller ones like Waste Management (up 8c at 303).

"That balanced against a few downs on the day - Contact Energy (down 4c at 444) and Carter Holt Harvey (down 2c at 173)," Mr Allen said.

"It's still quiet, still cautious, people are nibbling around the edges with a few selected stocks. It's very hard to gauge an overall mood given the volumes are so light.

"We seem to be in a holding pattern after the results season, and there's a fairly important week coming up overseas for war-related news.

"Having said that, there seems to be a bit of buying support."

The Warehouse staged a recovery today to close up 3c at 552 after its half-year result confirmed the company's earnings guidance last month.

"It showed the company could be returning to growth, especially with some fairly decent numbers coming out of Australia and Warehouse Stationery," Mr Allen said.

The Warehouse's half-year result, which saw its net profit for the six months ended January fall to $58.2 million from $59.1 million, was in line with expectations.

Stocks ex-dividend were Ports of Auckland (15cps), Port of Tauranga (6cps), Cavalier (7.5cps), Steel & Tube (11cps), Property for Industry (1.48cps) and Ebos (7cps).

Of those, Ports of Auckland closed down 24c at 616, Ports of Tauranga was down 2c at 398, Cavalier was down 5c at 390, and Property For Industry was down 3c at 87.

Elsewhere on the market, Sky City lost 2c to 868, AMP shed 26c to a record low of 685, Restaurant Brands shed 2c to 132, Fisher & Paykel Appliances lost 5c to 960, Sky TV was down 9c at 346, and Air New Zealand was down 1c at 49.

Fletcher Building was up 1c at 361, Guinness Peat Group rose 4c to 150, Baycorp Advantage was up 9c at 124, Rubicon was up 1c at 68, and Vertex rose 3c to 144.

There were 57 falls and 42 rises on the 132 stocks traded.

While the Tokyo stock exchange was at 20-year lows today, on Wall St on Friday the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.86 per cent, or 66.04 points, at 7740.03, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.18 per cent, or 2.40 points, at 1305.29.

- NZPA