Hallenstein shares hit hard after earnings update

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Shares in Hallenstein Glasson were knocked back hard in early trading on the New Zealand 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.

The company said net profit for the six months to February 1 was projected to be between $7 million and $7.4 million, while sales were expected to be down 1.6 percent to $100.6 million.

Shortly after the market opened today Hallenstein Glasson shares were down 21c, or 5.1 per cent, to 389, the lowest level in more than four months.

Shares in Restaurant Brands dropped to 240 early, their lowest level in around six months, before making up some lost ground to be down 2c to 242, having also fallen 7c yesterday.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index had edged up 0.48 points to 3359.55, after yesterday gaining 6.4 points.

Steel & Tube lost 2c to 225, Telecom was down 1c to 230, and Fletcher Building was unchanged on 790.

In the United States, 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 industrial average dipped 0.03 percent to 11,977.19, the S&P 500 edged up 0.03 percent to 1291.18, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1 percent to 2719.25.

- NZPA