Shares in electricity and gas distributor Vector took another hit in early trading, the day after the company expressed dissatisfaction with a Commerce Commission proposal related to regulated pricing for monopoly network owners.
Vector shares were down 10c early today to 236, having lost 11c yesterday after the commission published
a proposal to change the basis for the default price path used for electricity distribution businesses.
The proposal overturned the basis which most lines companies and market participants had been using to estimate the impact of the new regulatory regime for a considerable period of time, Vector said.
The broader market was flat early, with the NZX-50 index down 0.08 points to 3461.24 around 10.20am, having gained 16 points yesterday on the back of a 15c rise in the price of Fletcher Building shares.
Today, Fletcher gave up 2c early to 950, with other movements of key shares including a 0.5c lift by Telecom to 200, while Contact Energy was unchanged on 573.
Port of Tauranga lost 10c early to 840, Sanford was down 3c to 552, Air NZ lost 2c to 110, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 2c to 307, and Tower dropped 2c to 184. Nuplex gained 5c to 306.
In the United States, stocks mostly fell as energy shares sold off on lower oil prices, and the onset of earnings season was clouded by concern that company outlooks may fall short of expectations.
Worries that increased raw material costs and the effects from Japan's earthquake may affect coming quarters would put companies' forward-looking statements under increased scrutiny.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.01 per cent at 12,381.11, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.3 per cent at 1324.46, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.3 per cent at 2771.51.
- NZPA
