New Zealand sharemarket ends little changed

File photo / NZH

The New Zealand sharemarket finished little changed today, as key stock Fletcher Building remained in a trading halt which started before the market opened yesterday.

Reports out of Australia were saying that Fletcher Building has raised its takeover offer for Australian plumbing supplies group Crane Group, whose shares also went into a trading halt yesterday. The reports were not officially confirmed and no announcement had been made by the time the New Zealand market closed.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 1.7 points at 3352.635 after opening down 1.98 points.

The market is expected to be quiet on Monday due to the Auckland Anniversary holiday.

Contact Energy was down 3c to 616 after reporting a fall in electricity customer numbers in December. TrustPower rose 1c to 720.

Michael Hill International closed at 90c, the price Durante Holdings is offering in a bid to buy 5 per cent of the company to take the Sir Michael Hill family above 50 per cent. A Grant Samuel report said there is no compelling reason to accept the offer.

Shares in children's clothing retailer Pumpkin Patch fell 1c to 144, after tumbling 12c yesterday following a warning that it was expecting a fall in profit.

Ebos Group rose 19c to 760. SkyCity rose 5c to 329 and Ryman Healthcare rose 3c to 240. Nuplex rose 3c to 363 and NZX rose 1c to 175.

Telecom rose 1c to 232.

Infratil fell 1c to 187, Sanford fell 1c to 502 and Mainfreight fell 2c to 816. NZ Refining fell 2c to 463. The Warehouse fell 3c to 366 and Hallenstein Glasson fell 1c to 386.

In the United States, strong corporate earnings led Wall Street to a 29-month closing high for a second day, but mixed economic data and corporate earnings left the market unsure of direction.

Asian sharemakets eased today and investors are said to be cautious ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.04 per cent to 11,989.83, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.2 per cent to 1299.54, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 per cent to 2755.28.

Mixed economic data and corporate earnings left the market unsure of its direction.

- NZPA