NZ stocks: Uncertainty remains over wings and wines

By ELLEN READ

Back-room machinations and widespread speculation are on the cards for the market this week, but brokers expect few answers or final decisions to emerge.

Conjecture will continue over the future ownership of Air New Zealand, winemaker Montana and meat processor Richmond but their fates are not expected to be settled in the next five days.

Concrete information that is scheduled includes today's announcement from Commerce Minister Paul Swain on whether permanent anti-dumping duties will be imposed on imported Korean whiteware.

The Government, acting on a complaint by appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel, imposed stiff interim duties on the Korean importers in April.

One analyst said that given the interim measure, some final duties were likely, but perhaps at a lower level.

Such an outcome would provide a further boost to Fisher & Paykel's share price, which rocketed after last week's encouraging news of the separation and Nasdaq listing of the company's healthcare division.

A close eye will be kept on the share price of Natural Gas Corp after the power company issued a profit warning last week.

The company said that as a direct result of an unforecast increase in wholesale electricity prices to "unprecedented levels" since late May, it was unlikely to post a profit in the half-year to June 30.

NGC shares slumped to an eight-year low of $1.01 on Friday.

INL shareholders gather on Thursday for a special meeting.

The company has agreed to exchange 42.5 million shares for Todd Communications' 11.03 per cent stake in Sky, which represents an equal number of shares.

The deal requires shareholder approval at the special general meeting and would bring INL's Sky stake to 66.25 per cent.

As for the ongoing sagas - the independent directors of Montana will meet again this week as they work towards deciding Lion Nathan's punishment for its broker's jumping the gun when buying Montana shares, and the market will look for evidence that a New Zealand consortium reportedly interested in buying Brierley's 30 per cent stake in Air New Zealand is a serious contender.

The Commerce Commission's ruling on Carter Holt Harvey's application for clearance to acquire the Central North Island Forest Partnership is due for release on Friday.

Brokers said this would not attract huge interest - the application is designed to keep Carter Holt's options open and is not a positioning move.

"There's plenty of stuff bubbling away but not much of it's coming to the surface," one analyst said.

The NZSE-40 closed last week at 2073.65, up 50.83 points from the previous week.