NZX shares up but Hallenstein investors go cold

File photo / NZ Herald

Shares in Hallenstein Glasson were knocked back hard on the sharemarket after the clothing retailer said it expected half-year net profit to be between 13 and 18 per cent lower than a year earlier.

Hallenstein Glasson closed down 24c, or 5.85 per cent, at $3.86, their lowest level in more than four months.

The NZX-50 index closed down 4.35 points, or 0.129 per cent, at 3354.72 yesterday. Turnover was worth $50.25 million on a day on which Australian investors were on holiday. There were 40 rises and 42 falls among the 103 stocks traded.

"Volume is okay today but it is still a quiet period for the market," said James Lee, head of institutional equities at First NZ Capital.

There was a lot of interest in the Prime Minister's signal that the Government was considering using the ownership model of Air NZ for state-owned Mighty River Power, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy. It was also considering reducing its 75 per cent holding in Air NZ, while maintaining majority ownership.

NZX rose 4c to $1.75.

Air NZ shares fell 2c to $1.43. Lee said the market reaction was overdone and any selldown was a "long-dated process" and Air NZ should be trading on its merits.

Restaurant Brands dropped to $2.40, its lowest level in about six months, before making up some lost ground to close down 21c at $2.43, having also fallen 7c on Tuesday. The movement was queried by NZX.

Telecom was unchanged at $2.31 as was TrustPower on $7.22.

Cavalier Carpets fell 4c to $3.20, NZ Refining fell 5c to $4.54 and Contact Energy fell 3c to $6.22.

Sanford rose 15c to $4.90 after expressing optimism about its aquaculture ventures at its annual meeting.

Wellington Airport owner Infratil fell 3c to $1.89 on a day plans were revealed for the development of Paraparaumu airport.

The Warehouse rose 3c to $3.71, Nuplex rose 3c to $3.65 and Ryman Healthcare rose 1c to $2.37.

In the US, stocks staged a late comeback to end flat despite disappointing earnings from blue-chips including 3M and Johnson & Johnson. Preliminary figures showed the Dow Jones dipped 0.03 per cent to 11,977.19, the S&P 500 edged up 0.03 per cent to 1291.18, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1 per cent to 2719.25.

- NZPA