KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket inched higher today, underperforming gains across the Tasman amid ongoing investor caution.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 9 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 4241.67.
Suzanne Kinnaird of Forsyth Barr said investors remained cautious, although sentiment had improved slightly this week. Turnover was a respectable $214 million.
Top stock Telecom rose 3c to 430, ahead of an announcement by Communications Minister David Cunliffe tomorrow morning. The Government is ordering the company to open its network to competitors and split into three separate operating units.
Views on the possible outcomes varied and Telecom shareholders would have to wait until the Government announced its decision to determine whether it would be good or bad for business.
"The stock itself is, to some degree, already factoring in a lot of bad news anyway," Ms Kinnaird said.
In-play Sky City lost another 7c to 507, having lost 14c yesterday after shooting up as much as 123c to a record of 556 on Friday when the casino operator said a party had shown interest in taking it over at a premium price.
Profit takers took No 2 stock Fletcher Building down 29c to 1251, Contact Energy rose 7c to 942, Sky TV was up 5c at 550, and Auckland Airport gained 3c to 319.
Small-cap, efficient motor maker, Wellington Drive Technology, was among the biggest movers, jumping 20.5 per cent to 47c on news of a major new deal with Panasonic Refrigeration Devices Singapore.
Tourism Holdings was down 5c at 230 after MFS announced it had sold its 10 per cent stake by tender at 220c a share.
"That indicates MFS isn't planning to proceed with anything down the track, so that takeover scenario by them anyway is gone and it's not surprising to see (THL) a bit weaker," Ms Kinnaird said.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 3c at 336, F&P Appliances rose 5c to 356, Air New Zealand was up 5c at 227, Guinness Peat Group gained 5c to 195, and Tower fell 3c to 225.
Among retailers, Pumpkin Patch fell 7c to 320, Hallenstein Glasson rose 5c to 455, jeweller Michael Hill was flat at 1144, and The Warehouse was up 5c at 565.
Fish exporter Sanford, which criticised the Government's latest quota cuts for not going far enough to protect hoki stocks, rose 4c to 450.
Dual-listed stocks were generally firmer, with ANZ up 6c at 3356, Westpac up 6c at 3204, Lion Nathan up 36c at 1067, and AMP 21c higher at 1221.
- NZPA