KEY POINTS:
Trading was mixed on the sharemarket in early business today with Fletcher Building again performing strongly, but the top 50 index down a few points.
The NZSX-50 index was down 5.89 points to 4298.52 at 10.20am.
Turnover was moderate at $32.3 million.
Market leader Telecom was down 3c to 483, adding to the 5c it lost yesterday when it went ex a 7c dividend.
Fletcher Building, a star performer in the wake of announcing a plan for a near $1 billion purchase of Formica last week, regained the 7c it lost yesterday to be on 1310.
Restaurant brands was unchanged on 90c after it reported first quarter sales rose 4.1 per cent to $70.5 million, thanks mainly to a further recovery in its KFC chain.
Same store sales for the 12-week period to May 21 did even better, rising 4.4 per cent.
Sky City fell 4c to 510, having performed strongly in last week in the wake of its announcement of staff cutbacks and a partial retreat from Australia.
Retailer Hallenstein Glasson was down 6c to 504 and NZX up 5c to 1055.
Hellaby Holdings fell another 8c to 390 after losing 7c yesterday following a second warning about annual profit, this time due to its automotive and industrial assets, after its retail performance turned around.
NZ Oil and Gas rose another 2c to a five-month high of 108 amid a variety of good news, including a green light for its Pike River Coal float.
Brokers reported good foreign interest in the stock.
The Tui oil development in Taranaki was also moving closer to production, which would create a significant cash flow for NZOG.
Air New Zealand eased 1c to 289, having risen 8c yesterday to its highest since September 2003.
Wall Street was closed for the Memorial Day holiday.
- NZPA