KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket closed virtually flat today after last week's record-breaking run.
The NZSX-50 index was down just 0.8 points at 4304.41, on turnover totalling $95.3 million.
"You've seen a couple of the blue chip stocks sold off on a bit of profit taking," said Grant Williamson of Hamilton Hindin Greene.
Market leader Telecom was down 5c at 486 after it went ex a 7c dividend today.
Fletcher Building, a star performer in the wake of announcing a plan for a near $1 billion purchase of Formica last week, was down 7c at 1303.
Contact Energy fell 8c to 880 on small volume, Sky City was down 2c at 514 after last week's plans to improve performance, and Sky TV lost 11c to 574.
After last week's soft annual results, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare recovered 7c to 362 and F&P Appliances lost 2c to 375.
The Warehouse was down 9c at 637 after news last week of another postponement of the Commerce Commission's decision on allowing Woolworths and/or Foodstuffs to make a takeover.
Hellaby Holdings lost 7c to 398 after a second warning about annual profit, this time due to its automotive and industrial assets after its retail performance turned around.
ING Property Trust was unchanged at 125 after increasing its annual after-tax profit by 32 per cent to $121m.
NZ Oil and Gas rose 3c to a five-month high of 107 amid a variety of good news, including a green light for its Pike River Coal float.
"There is quite a bit of foreign buying in that stock, and quite a bit of local interest," Mr Williamson said.
The Tui oil development in Taranaki was also moving closer to production, which would create a significant cash flow for NZOG.
Air New Zealand rose 8c to 290, its highest since September 2003, while NZX was up 5c at 1050, having earlier hit a record high of 1090.
Tower rose a cent to 241, and APN News was up 12c at 662 after saying it would boost its dividend by 30 per cent following a failed takeover bid by Independent News and Media Plc (INM).
Australia's benchmark index was down 0.2 per cent at 6240.5, while Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 per cent as higher commodity prices lifted Sumitomo Metal Mining while Japan Steel Works hit a lifetime high after reports that China would boost its nuclear power generation capacity.
On Friday, US stocks rose on takeover news ahead of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
- NZPA