NZ stocks: Telecom drags sharemarket down

7.27pm

Jitters about potential regulatory changes saw Telecom take a tumble today, pulling the broader market down with it.

Telecom fell 9c, or 1.5 percent, to 575 on turnover worth $65.5 million, as investors reacted to yesterday's release from the Commerce Commission of a draft plan regarding mobile termination rates. The commission recommended regulating the termination rates, which are the costs levied by Vodafone and Telecom to terminate calls from landlines on their mobile networks.

Matt Willis of ABN Amro Craigs said if the proposals were pushed through they had the potential to cost Telecom up to $30 to $40 million at an ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) level.

But he said investors needed to remember the recommendations were only part of a draft proposal and were not necessarily going to be enforced in their current form.

"We all know what happened to the draft relating to local loop unbundling -- it effectively got thrown in the bin," he said.

The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index lost 21.36 points to a three week low of 2815.39, while the NZSX-All capital index fell 6.19 points to 933.48.

Total market turnover today was worth $115.4 million. made up of 150 trades including 41 rises and 58 falls.

Apart from Telecom, other top stocks to lose ground today included Fletcher Building down 4c to 557, and Carter Holt Harvey down 2c to 233 ahead of the release of its third quarter results tomorrow. Low pulp prices, coupled with the strong New Zealand dollar were expected to have negatively impacted the company's earnings.

Wood processor Tenon nudged up 2c to 217, ahead of a Thursday deadline for bids for its structural sawmills. The central North Island mills were valued between $123 million and $144 million by Grant Samuel in May.

Nuplex remained in a trading halt as UBS conducts an institutional book build of 7.7 million ordinary shares at $4.60 to $4.90 per share.

The book build is to raise funds for Nuplex's purchase of a European coating resin business from Akzo Nobel. Nuplex last traded at 508 on Friday.

CanWest Mediaworks was up 2c at 174 after dropping 5c yesterday despite announcing a 55 percent rise in earnings for the year-ended August.

AXA Asia Pacific regained 1c to 40, after yesterday dumping 38c when its French parent pulled out of a full takeover offer for the Australian-based subsidiary.

Australian-owned banks headed south today, with Westpac losing 20c to 1845 and ANZ down 25c to 2075.

Other stocks on the move today included: Lion Nathan up 5c at 820, NZX down 35c at 710, Ports of Auckland down 4c at 675 and Toll NZ up 8c at 540.

- NZPA