KEY POINTS:
Fletcher Building shares had a roller coaster ride today after the nation's biggest building company reported its annual profit.
Fletcher Building shares closed up 15c at 658 after trading between 635 and 665.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index retreated 8.39 points to 3345.24. There were 31 rises and 53 falls and turnover was worth $128 million.
Fletcher Building reported a 4 per cent fall in full-year net profit to $467 million, but earnings before interest and tax rose 10 per cent to $768 million.
The company, which is seen as an indicator of the wider economy, said its performance was pleasing in increasingly difficult markets and it has a backlog of infrastructure work.
The result was good but lacking in a definitive outlook statement, said Adrian Vance, adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene said.
Otherwise exporters were strong as the New Zealand dollar fell through US69c at one point today but some closed off their best levels.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare ended down 1c to 292 and the appliance stock fell 4c to 208. Rakon rose 9c to 314.
Sanford fell 15c to 600 but the stock had risen recently and lacked liquidity.
Steel & Tube was up 5c to 315 ahead of its result tomorrow.
NZ Oil & Gas was down 7c to 142 as it encountered a bout of selling. Pike River Coal was down 9c at 172.
Telecom rose 5c to 338 and Tower rose 1c to 22.
TrustPower rose 9c to 790 and The Warehouse rose 4c to 354.
Contact fell 10c to 845.
US stocks fell as bank shares tumbled on fresh worries about the economy and further losses stemming from the mortgage crisis.
News that JPMorgan Chase has racked up US$1.5 billion ($2.17b) of losses so far this quarter on mortgage-linked assets sent the bank's stock down more than 9 per cent. The bank had largely escaped the worst of the credit crunch and its losses highlighted concerns that turmoil in financial markets may deepen.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.19 per cent to 11,642.47, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 1.21 per cent to 1289.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.38 per cent to 2430.61.
- NZPA