NZX dips as price falls dominate patchy market

The NZX 50 dropped a little again yesterday, falling 2.75 points - 0.079 per cent - to 3495.114 in a mixed market with little news to move it.

The volume of index shares traded numbered only 26.8 million, valued at $80.2 million and the value of the index spiked down sharply at the end of the morning session by about 13 points, only to bounce back and drop away again more slowly in the afternoon.

Yesterday the index fell 21.5 points.

Commentators noted falls in US share indices did not help the mood of local trading. The NZX recorded turnover of 35.5 million shares, valued at $117.98 million, with 38 rises and 53 falls among the 114 stocks traded.

Cornerstone stock Telecom fell 3c to $2.15 after the Commerce Commission yesterday warned that financial statements Telecom filed to meet regulatory requirements were "unreliable" and overvalued part its network by more than a billion dollars.

It disputed the value of the fixed network, connecting end customers to the rest of the network including cables and most of the trenches laid in cities and suburbs, and said that a knock-on effect could be that the cost of providing rural phone lines was "substantially overstated".

Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Kathmandu Holdings surged in early trading to the highest level in a year - after an 8c fall yesterday - and finished the day up slightly more than 6 per cent at $2.60. It reported a one-third lift in sales in its third quarter, compared to the same period last year, and said sales compared on a same-store basis were nearly 25 per cent up.

Fletcher Building shares dropped another 2c to $9.05 after losing 12c yesterday, and Contact Energy lifted 15c to $6.03, after a 7c drop yesterday.

Children's clothing retailer Pumpkin Patch fell 4c to $1.18, continuing its decline since the company told shareholders on April 21 to expect a "soft" trading environment.

Mainfreight lost 3c to $9.22, OceanaGold added to yesterday's 5c loss with a 6c decline to $3.49.

In the United States, stocks slipped as an early bounce on Osama bin Laden's death gave way to questions around the longevity of the market's recent rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.02 per cent at 12,807.36, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.2 per cent at 1361.22, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.3 per cent at 2864.08.

- NZPA