NZ stocks: Warehouse stars as market edges into positive

12.00pm

Discount retailer The Warehouse starred this morning on an otherwise quiescent sharemarket.

Its 9c rise to 470 helped lift the NZSX-50 gross index 1.91 points to 2159.75, while the NZSX-40 capital index was down 0.05 points to 2089.60 at 11.35am.

Market leader Telecom, which reports its annual result tomorrow, was steady at 513, and no 2 stock Carter Holt Harvey was off 3c at 162.

The steer from the US on Friday was negative. Stocks fell after reports showed US companies were still slashing jobs and the manufacturing sector had not picked up as much as some investors had anticipated, casting doubt on the economic recovery.

The US unemployment rate fell for the first time in a year in July, but companies slashed workers from their payrolls for a sixth straight month, the government reported.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 79.83 points to 9,153.97. while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 10.16 points to 980.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 19.43 points to 1,715.59.

Telecom dominated local business today with over $5 million of the market's total turnover of $15 million.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 5c to 1340, while sister company Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 5c to 1055.

Others to fall included, AMP, 5c to 543, Fletcher Building, 1c to 398, Horizon, 10c to 330, Ports of Auckland, 5c to 755, Sky TV, 4c to 464, and Wellington Drive, 2c to 46.

There was quite solid turnover in Tower worth nearly $2.3 million and the "in play" stock was up 4c at 134. Underwriter to its rights issue which ceased trading on Friday, GPG, is in dispute with regulators over how much it can increase its holding by as a result of the underwrite.

Sky City, which announced plans today to develop a conference centre at its Hamilton casino, fell 5c to 915.

In all, there were 27 rises and 29 falls among the 96 stocks traded.

- NZPA