NZ stocks start week on back foot as key shares fall

File photo / NZH

The New Zealand sharemarket started the week on the back foot with declines in key shares, including Telecom and Fletcher Building.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell a whopping 30 points to 3381.93, after reaching a high on Friday when it closed up 17 points.

Fletcher Building lost 9c to 830, Contact Energy eased 6c to 619, and Telecom fell 5c to 220.

PGG Wrightson shares dropped 3c, or just over 5 per cent, to 540 after a second possible bidder ruled itself out of the running for the company.

PGG Wrightson said a party that had been interested in the company had decided it would not be making a formal takeover offer. A partial takeover offer by shareholder Agria Corp continues.

Cavalier Corp lifted 5c to 328 after reporting a half-year lift in sales and profit, fishing company Sanford added 12c and Sky City gained 1c to 330.

Meanwhile, Sky TV fell 13c to 545, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 5c to 304, Trustpower dropped 2c to 720, while Abano Healthcare gained 1c to 466, Sky City added 2c to 331 and Xero added 2c to 265.

Nuplex fell 3c to 372, ahead of the release of its half-year results on Thursday, The Warehouse eased 4c to 351 and OceanaGold dropped 14c to 371.

In the United States, late arrivals to the speediest rally in stocks since the Great Depression pushed stocks higher for a third week on Friday (local time), despite growing signals of an overheating market.

Analysts said investors appeared reluctant to sell despite slack volume and a narrowing spread between winners and losers.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6 per cent to 12,391.25, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.2 per cent to 1343.01, and the Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.1 per cent to 2833.95.

- NZPA