NZ stocks: Sharemarket gives ground

The sharemarket gave ground in morning trading in what brokers said was a consolidation correction after the benchmark index stretched to new highs last week.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 10.76 points to 2910.23 at 11.45am. The NZSX-All capital index was down 3.30 points to 961.14.

Market turnover was worth $42 million with $17m of that in Telecom. The market leaded fell 3c to 593.

Two million Fisher & Paykel Appliances shares traded, worth around $8.4m. The stock was down 6c to 419.

Insurer Promina rose 7c to a new high of 550. The stock, whose shares were issued in May last year at $2.03, has gained 45 per cent this year.

Fletcher Building lost 1c of yesterday's 4c gain to settle around 587. The stock is up 38 per cent for the year and has appreciated strongly on reports of its strong trading this year.

Tower was off 1c to 234 after earlier being up 2c to 237. It is expected to have $143m from the sale of its Australian money management business to spend on acquisitions in the Australian life and general insurance market.

Fellow insurer Axa was one of the few to move more than 3c. It was down 4c to 435.

Auckland Airport was down 3c to 747 after earlier being up 3c. Hellaby was up 3c to 605.

On the downside, Steel & Tube lost 3c to 460, while Westpac NZ fell to 2000. NZ Refining lost 10c to 2630, reflecting the fall in oil prices and margins.

Software of Excellence rose 6c to 158.

There were 28 stocks up against the 44 falls among the 130 stocks traded.

On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow average ended slightly higher and the tech-driven Nasdaq also gained as declining crude-oil prices made equities aside from energy names attractive.

Yet buyers thought twice about significant investing after a sharp rise in values since Election Day.

- NZPA