KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket managed to pull out of a 1 per cent plunge today to a new three-year low, and nudged into the black at the end of a volatile week.
The NZSX-50, which lost 65 points yesterday, closed up 8.98 points at 3121.5. The index slid to 3080 around midday when Australian markets opened, and after further evidence that the residential property market is slowing.
Turnover totalled just $79 million.
"Basically a quiet end to a rather volatile week, and I suspect that most market participants are probably keen to see the end of the week," said First NZ Capital director Philip Hunter.
More gloomy data included this week's Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion pointing to a recession lasting for most of the year, but evidence of a slowing economy did not directly influence market moves.
"There's nothing new - it's really not telling us what we didn't already know," Mr Hunter said.
Market leader Telecom rose 2c to 339, up from an earlier low of 326 and recovering part of yesterday's 14c loss.
Second-ranked Contact Energy rose 9c to 760, and No 3 stock Fletcher Building closed down 5c at 638.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was flat at 235, F&P Appliances fell a cent to 192, Sky City fell a cent to 300, Sky TV rose 2c to 417, and Auckland International Airport was up 3c at 194.
Property investment stocks were mixed, with AMP Office Trust down 1c at 106 and Property for Industry down 2c at 114, and blue chip Kiwi Income Property Trust flat at 113, 1c above an earlier three-year low.
Clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson recovered some of its earlier losses to close down 3c at 257, in the wake of yesterday's warning of an expected 30 per cent fall in annual net profit.
Among fellow retailers, The Warehouse - also a potential takeover target - was up 4c at 400, Pumpkin Patch was flat at 144, and Postie Plus Group was also flat, at 40.
NZ Oil and Gas was up 2c at 170, while its coal mining offshoot Pike River Coal was up 2c at 204.
PGG Wrightson rose 5c to 260, Tourism Holdings gained 10c to 140, Port of Tauranga was up 5c at 640, and Infratil rose 3c to 196.
Rakon fell 5c to 280, Air New Zealand lost 2c to 109, Mainfreight fell 3c to 640, and NZX was down 8c at 729.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.7 per cent at 4968, and Japan's Nikkei share average was up 0.1 per cent.
In New York, stocks rose but a US$5.60 ($7.47) jump in the price of oil amid threats to production in Nigeria and Brazil and an additional missile test by Iran kept a lid on gains.
The higher oil prices raised concerns about consumer spending and corporate profits, concerns echoed in New Zealand.
- NZPA