KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket drifted lower as it took the lead from weaker offshore markets, but there was little reaction to the central bank leaving interest rates unchanged.
The Reserve Bank left rates at 8.25 per cent this morning at its six-weekly review, as expected, although Governor Alan Bollard warned that inflationary pressure remained despite signs the housing market was moderating.
"I think people were expecting it to be flat, and they've still got a tightening bias, so no impact there," said Stephen Wright of ASB Securities.
"(There's) no positive news around, and just with negatives on the inflation front, or world economic and New Zealand growth ... there's just no reason for our market to be bought," he said.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index closed down 23.91 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 4267.1, on turnover totalling $115.8 million. Falls outnumbered rises 58 to 40.
Top stock Telecom hit a nearly one-month low of 442, down 8c.
"Probably there was a fair amount of buying from the end of last month and at the beginning of the month around the capital repayment, but it just seems to have petered out," Mr Wright said.
Fletcher Building fell 8c to 1226, Contact Energy lost 9c to 924, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was down 4c at 357, and F&P Healthcare was also 4c lower, at 328.
Overseas buying boosted Mainfreight 11c to 732. Domestic-focused transport company Freightways fell 15c to 380 after posting a flat quarterly profit of $7.7m.
Auckland Airport fell 2c to 311, while Sky City rose 2c to 542.
Among the bigger moves, Port of Tauranga was up 10c at 710, Rakon rose 14c to 535, and Trustpower rose 20c to 940
The Warehouse was up a cent at 566, as Woolworths' and Foodstuffs' appeal continued over the Commerce Commission's prohibition of a Warehouse takeover.
Medical supplies company Abano rose another 30c to a seven-year high of 480 today, having gained 15c yesterday after its board recommended shareholders reject a majority takeover bid from Masthead Portfolios for 385 a share. The share price is still below the 540c mid-point of an independent valuation.
NZX was down 11c at 931, Nuplex fell 11c to 750, fish exporter Sanford lost 7c to 431, and NZOG fell 2c to 105.
Among dual-listed stocks, ANZ slumped 160 to 3600 after its annual result, Westpac lost 25c to 3440, Lion Nathan was down 12c at 1090, and AMP fell 5c to 1230.
Australia's benchmark index was steady, down just 4 points at 6629, while Japan's Nikkei average was 0.8 per cent lower.
Earlier, US stocks clawed their way back from steep losses that were triggered by Merrill Lynch announcing its first loss in nearly five years, on speculation that the Federal Reserve would cut the discount rate.
- NZPA