NZ stocks: Wall St's euphoria ignored

The sharemarket did not follow huge gains on Wall St and ended down half a per cent in patchy trade.

Turnover was boosted to $200 million as a major INL shareholder pulled out.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed down 12.16 points at 2047.82 but small stocks rallied, the NZSE-SCI capital index rising 18.31 points to 5009.75. Overall, rises beat falls 59 to 39 among the 139 stocks traded.

JB Were's James Reid said the market's performance was disappointing. The US provided a fabulous example, with the Nasdaq composite up 8.9 per cent and the Dow Jones industrial average rising 4.2 per cent.

But Mr Reid suggested that the focus was on markets elsewhere and perhaps the local bourse was awaiting confirmation that the American rally would be sustained.

INL accounted for $64.09 million of total turnover, Telecom $35.93 million and Auckland Airport $10.11 million.

Craig Heatley, one of New Zealand's richest men, yesterday sold his 5 per cent INL holding for $3.25 a share, netting him $63.4 million.

JB Were said applications for the shares were strong and had to be scaled back. The price was a 9.7 per cent discount to Thursday's closing price of $3.60.

Brokers said Mr Heatley was selling because of his plans to leave New Zealand for a few years to travel with his family.

Mr Reid said the shares were keenly sought by both institutions and retail buyers.

INL-linked company Sky TV was hurt, falling 15c to $3.30.

INL itself finished down 25c at 3.35.

Elsewhere, Contact Energy shed 9c to $2.86 on low volumes and Fletcher Building rose 3c to 238. On Thursday, Steel & Tube answered Building's earlier Commerce Commission clearance to buy it with a clearance application of its own.

Reuters reported that if this scenario unfolded, it could make what was left of Fletcher Building more attractive to potential buyers.

Steel & Tube finished down 4c at 1.47.

Fisher & Paykel gained 9c to $8.05.

Telecom fell 5c to $5.89, and Genesis added 5c to $3.65.

Rubicon rose 3c to 46c as it benefited from the rise in the Capstone share price in the US.

Sky City was up 3c at $9.18.

Telstra rallied 19c to $7.90 but Tranz Rail dropped 20c to $3.70.

* The New Zealand dollar fell in rather nondescript trade, with greenback strength again the order of the day.

The kiwi finished at 40.46USc (40.82c at Thursday's close) after trading lightly in a 40.22-55c range.

Citibank's Dean Sheridan said the closing tone was mildly bullish, but the short-term outlook depended on American jobs data overnight.

The global currency situation remained unstable and the kiwi could get shunted 20 to 50 basis points either way on the data, said Mr Sheridan.

Traders said the aussie could plummet back to the 47USc level if the American figures came in as strongly as expected. The kiwi would inevitably follow.

- NZPA