KEY POINTS:
The share market had a down day today even though a bid for Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIAL) sent its shares up.
The prospect of an interest rate rise later this week and weak international markets kept the overall market subdued.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 13.73 points at 4306.54. Falls outnumbered rises by 56 to 49 and trading was worth $136 million.
AIAL shares closed up 10c to 341 on news that Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is proposing to spend $2.3 billion for a stake of 51 per cent in a new company that will own the airport. The offer gives shareholders cash and a stapled share and loan note in the new company and shareholders can take more cash. If they do DAE could end up with 60 per cent of the new company.
AIAL shares traded as high as 350 today.
Brokers said shareholders were waiting to see if there will be competing offers and generally they prefer cleaner cash offers.
The offer in theory values AIAL shares at 380 but it has to get over a number of hurdles, hence why the shares did not go that high.
Infratil, also an airport owner, was up 6c to 318, and Port of Tauranga was up 7c to 675 amid reports that a representative of Dubai Ports had been in the country.
Air New Zealand, a major airport user, was down 15c at 254.
The fate of Tourism Holdings should be known soon. Bidder MFS Living and Leisure said it has done a final count and will make a statement tomorrow. Its offer was conditional of 90 per cent of shareholders accepting.
Stephen Wright of ASB Securities said the market was drifting ahead of the interest rate decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Thursday and on the back of weakness on offshore markets.
Leading shares that had had good runs were being pegged back.
While Pike River drifted below its offer price of $1 to 97 today, Fletcher Building rose 7c to 1280 but Telecom eased 4c to 483.
The Warehouse was up 5c at 608 after the Commerce Commission released its reasons for turning down prospective bids from two supermarket rivals on Friday.
Contact Energy was down 15c to 930, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up 3c at 379 and F&P Healthcare was up 1c to 324.
Pumpkin Patch was down 11c at 335.
Freightways was down 3c at 407 after announcing a small Australian acquisition.
In the US stocks tumbled on Friday, battered by disappointing results from such bellwethers as Caterpillar and Google, and more signals that fallout from the risky subprime mortgage market may spread.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.07 per cent to end at 13,851.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 1.22 per cent, to finish at 1534.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.19 per cent to close at 2687.60.
The Dow ended the week down 0.4 per cent, the S&P fell 1.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq skidded 0.7 per cent.
- NZPA