NZ sharemarket little changed

Photo / NZ Herald

The New Zealand sharemarket put in a flat performance for a second day after an unclear lead from Wall Street and worse than expected gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The benchmark NZX 50 index closed down 8.337 points, or 0.258 per cent, at 3228.026. Turnover was worth $94 million. There were 30 rises and 43 falls among the 117 stocks traded.

New Zealand's GDP rose only 0.2 per cent in the June quarter, falling short of most economists' predictions.

"There's been very little change in the marketplace which is pretty much in reaction to very little movement offshore and even in Asia the markets are relatively steady," said Hamilton Hindin Greene director Grant Williamson.

Vector fell 4c to 220 on the day it announced it will raise US$182 million ($248 million) from American investors in unsecured notes.

Telecom remained at 203 and Fletcher Building went up 2c to 862.

Pumpkin Patch fell 2c to 193 even though it reported a 76 per cent profit rise yesterday.

Cavalier Carpets was up 7c to 319, continuing an upward trend in the wake of demand generated by Canterbury's magnitude 7.1 quake.

Charlies Group rose to 11c, up 2c, or 19.6 per cent, after announcing a distribution deal in South Korea.

Port of Tauranga went up 5c to 685, Contact Energy fell 4c to 573 and ING Property rose 1c to 123.

US stocks slipped Wednesday, ending the Dow's five-day winning streak, following Adobe's discouraging revenue outlook and investors' disappointment over Microsoft's new dividend.

Investors also weighed the impact of the Federal Reserve's statement on Tuesday, which indicated the central bank was edging closer to pumping hundreds of billions of new dollars into the sluggish economy.

Adobe Systems Inc slid 19 per cent after the software company forecast lower-than-expected revenue, citing weak demand.

The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 21.72 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 10,739.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 5.50 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1134.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 14.80 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 2334.55.

- NZPA