NZ stocks: Telecom drags market lower

12.00pm

Market leader Telecom dragged the sharemarket lower today as sentiment was hauled lower on the knock-on effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

The NZ-50 gross index was down 15.32 points at 1978.43 while the top 40 capital index was down 15.35 at 1944.28.

Investors were again sitting on the sidelines with only $26.57 million traded by 11.30am. On-market volumes were even slimmer, brokers said.

Telecom was 6c off at 457.

Forsyth Barr Frater Williams broker David Price noted that Wall Street was marked down by 2.5 per cent on its Thursday and Friday sessions when the local market was closed.

He said the Sars scare was causing economists around the world to revise down GDP estimates.

"It's come at a time when the market was looking to take a positive stand after the Iraq war.

"It's put things on hold," he said.

One of those to suffer Sars-related fallout was Air New Zealand, which dropped another 2c to 37c to its lowest price for over a year. It later picked up to 38c.

Auckland Airport was down 2c at 497 and is also nudging its lowest point for a year.

TrustPower had not traded but announced that Australia Gas Light had used the 370/share buy-back offer to quit its 20 per cent despite the stock last trading on Thursday at 415. That leaves effective control of the company in the hands of the Alliant International and Infratil grouping which now holds a combined 59.1 per cent stake in the company.

Michael Hill was up 11c at 441. In an article in the Sunday Star Times founder Michael Hill urged shareholders not to over-react to profit blips.

"People seem to get hysterical if profits fall and seem to think something is wrong. I've never been more excited," Mr Hill is quoted as saying.

AMP was up 33c at 960, Baycorp down 3c at 161, BIL International, up 2c at 44c, Sky City down 17c at 825, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, down 15c at 1055, Scott Technology down 8c at 272, Lion Nathan down 15c at 600 and Westpac NZ was down 29c at 1641.

There were 20 rises and 43 falls among the 107 stocks traded to date.

- NZPA