NZ stocks: Telecom, market take a breather

After a strong rebound by Telecom yesterday, New Zealand shares eased back as local investors hung back for overseas investors to enter the market.

Brokers said that following yesterday's afternoon rally, it appeared New Zealanders were waiting until the Australian market was underway to take their leads.

"Currency-driven order flow tends to come in in the afternoon period," said Nigel Scott, a retail equities adviser with ABN Amro Craigs.

"Interest rates continue to go lower (NZ bonds) ... (but) the market's still pretty mixed in its one day up, one day down routine for a lot of stories ... "

Just after 11am the NZ50 gross index was down 4.31 points to 1897.08 on slim turnover worth $16.4 million. The older NZSE-40 capital index, still watched by many fund managers, was down 3.90 points to 1888.33.

Wall St also provided little direction, with the Dow Jones industrial average surrendering 132.99 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 7704.87, its lowest level since October 10.

Telecom was down a cent to 424 after a 12c rise yesterday, which brokers felt reflected bond activity across the Tasman. Telecom, which accounts for more than a quarter of the index's weighting, is often used as a proxy for the currency.

Auckland Airport slipped 3c to 540 after a yoyo-like trading pattern this week, based on good migration figures and concerns about global tourism.

Wrightson was stable at 110 after announcing it was seeking a 19.9 per cent stake in biotechnology company Genesis. The company said the bid was a natural extension of its forage grass biotechnology joint venture with Genesis.

The stand opened at 11am, bumping up Genesis' price to the Wrightson offer of 131 from 97 yesterday. Wrightson was unchanged at 110.

Credit agency Baycorp Advantage was steady at 112 on 2.2 million shares, the highest turnover by volume so far. The volatile stock has been on a steady slide since last Thursday when it announced a first half loss and slipped 67c.

Other moves include Vertex down 3c to 145, AMP up 10c to 740, Contact down a cent to 435, Fletcher Building up 6c to 369, the Warehouse up 1c to 566, Turners Auctions up 7c to 260, and Carter Holt Harvey down 3c to 172.

There were 24 rises and 30 falls among the 95 stocks traded.

On Wall St, investors put away their wallets as the ongoing uncertainty of war with Iraq, lower car sales from General Motors Corp and a housing-related fall of Home Depot shares knocked the blue-chip Dow to a low not seen in almost five months.

The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.52 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 1307.77, based on the latest available data. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 12.82 points, or 1.54 per cent, to 821.99.

- NZPA