NZ stocks: Retailers crunching Christmas numbers this week

Biotech company Neuren lists on the Australian Stock Exchange at the end of this month - the first New Zealand company to do so while staying based in this country.

The company was formed in January last year through the merger of two Auckland University spin-offs, Neuronz and Endocrinz.

Neuren wants to keep its head office and research facilities here because of the crucial role of local institutions in the company's development.

Activity on the New Zealand sharemarket is likely to be muted this week.

One sharebroking firm admits two thirds of its advisers are still on holiday and there are no sharemarket announcements scheduled for this week.

Listed retailers will be toting up their Christmas sales figures and some may be in for nasty surprises.

While shoppers have continued to pound the streets, some companies are not expected to have benefited as much as hoped.

The Warehouse, for example, is not strong in electrical goods - a sector which went well in the big Christmas buy-up - and one of its mainstays, clothing, may have been hit by the lack of a summer so far.

Similarly, Postie Plus may find bottom line proof that its t-shirts and shorts have not exactly been walking out the door.

Macquarie Equities adviser Arthur Lim said it was a little early to tell which stocks would be affected but the number crunching was underway.

"And under continuous disclosure, any major shocks to the bottom line will need to be made public," he said.

Looking further ahead, companies with June or December balance dates will begin reporting interim or annual results later this month or early next.

Expect those that have done well to be first to open their books publicly, while those with less spectacular bottom lines lag behind.