KEY POINTS:
A lack of news and negative sentiment about China's sharemarket prompted some offshore selling on a featureless New Zealand sharemarket today.
"It's just sort of slipping across the board," Forsyth Barr broker David Price noted.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index lost 29.37 points or 0.68 per cent to 4279.62. Turnover was robust at $182 million.
Offshore leads included a slightly positive Wall St and a 6 per cent dive on the Shanghai stock exchange after an increase in stamp duty on share trading.
Mr Price said the Australian market was down sharply as a result, and as Australia provided a large investor base for New Zealand, it had impacted here too.
Other factors included a stronger local currency which often steals investor focus away from equities.
Standout performer was Mainfreight, up 15c to 725 on the back of a solid result and plans for further offshore expansion.
The transport company announced a record net surplus of $36.4 million after tax and abnormals, a 25 per cent increase on the previous year.
"When you've got a market that's down half a per cent and they're up 2 [per cent], that's a good performance," Mr Price said.
News that Communications Minister David Cunliffe would make a wide ranging telecommunications speech tomorrow had "scared" investors fearful of the unknown . Telecom dropped 6c to 482.
Fishing company Sanford gained 5c to 450 after it was announced Graham Stuart, a top Fonterra executive, would take the ceo role vacated by Doug McKay in January.
Trading was heavy in Fletcher Building, which shed 11c to 1279; the Warehouse, down a cent to 625; Air NZ up 2c to 292, and GPG, down 2c to 228.
Hallenstein Glasson, which lost 1 per cent after announcing the resignation of managing director Cliff Kinraid yesterday, was flat today at 504.
Among the smaller stocks, Mowbray Collectables dropped 2c to 175 after announcing a year loss of $186,791 after amortising goodwill and tax.
Software of Excellence, which is being looked over by a potential buyer, rose 15c to 275.
Other moves included Ryman down 8c to 258, Sky TV down 9c to 561, Tower down 8c to 236, F&P Healthcare down 6c to 353, Infratil down 5c to 650 .
Falls outnumbered rises by 60 to 49 on 157 stocks traded.
- NZPA