KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket mounted a late-session bid for positive territory but lacked the strength to topple its lifetime high.
The NZSX-50 index closed down 4.41 points or 0.1 per cent to 4327.87. Yesterday the index came within 10 points of its record high of 4343, posted in late May.
Volumes were a healthy $160 million. "It's been relatively quiet," ASB Securities adviser Stephen Wright said. Australia had likewise picked up during the day and Asian markets were up as positive post-credit crunch sentiment swept the region.
Among the market leaders, Telecom ended down 1c to 458, against yesterday's 12c rise. No 3 stock Contact Energy edged up from its lows to 950, up 2c, and Fletcher Building rose a cent to 1278.
There was again heavy turnover in in-play casino operator Sky City, which range-traded to end up 2c at 539. Mr Wright said the stock was being driven by speculative buying on a possible takeover, and one brokerage had given it a higher valuation.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances, which yesterday announced a strategic partnership with Europe's third largest appliance maker, Arcelik of Turkey, was flat at 358.
The best performer of the day was Dorchester Pacific, up 16c or about 15 per cent to 120. Mr Wright said there had previously been "a constant wall of selling" in the stock.
"The share price went from $2 to $1 and now we have a pick-up" but he said it was too early to say whether finance company stocks were regaining favour. Dominion Finance was up 5c to 145.
Dorchester chief executive Andrew Walker said he had "absolutely no idea" why the stock had risen sharply in price as there had been no announcements.
In the US, blue-chip stocks fell as investors booked profits following a record reached in the previous session, but in the broader market, bank stocks and home builders gained as investors bet the worst of the credit squeeze may be over.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 40.24 points, or 0.29 per cent, to end at 14,047.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.41 of a point, or 0.03 per cent, at 1546.63. But the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.12 points to close at 2747.11.
- NZPA