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The New Zealand sharemarket zig-zagged today, hitting a record high before retreating to close in negative territory.
Auckland International Airport soared to a high amid reports there had been a failed raid on its share register. However, the airport company said this afternoon it had received no approaches, pushing the share price lower.
"We've seen those stories before, and it looks a little like people have run out of things to say, so we'd better write something about why they're going up -- fit the story to the price rather than the other way around," David Price of Forsyth Barr said.
Auckland Airport has been trading at record highs recently, gaining about 16 percent in the past fortnight. The shares closed up 3c or 1 percent at 269, after hitting a high of 282 earlier.
Turnover totalled 2.2 million shares.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index fell 3.7 points to 4202.58, below its record high 4223.28 earlier in the session. Rises outnumbered falls 58 to 47, while turnover totalled $79.9 million.
Top stock Telecom shed 8c to 480 amid ongoing uncertainty about its future as the Government tries to boost competition.
"It's pretty hard to make a definitive case about which way to jump at the moment," Mr Price said.
"There's too many possible outcomes for what could happen and there's a lot of vested interest barrows being pushed left, right, and centre."
Fletcher Building was up 2c at 1152, Contact Energy fell 5c to 870, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was flat at 375, and F&P Appliances jumped 12c to 371.
Air New Zealand rose a cent to 285 on heavy turnover of nearly 2 million shares.
"There were a few people panicking, wondering what would be the upshot with the Qantas bid falling over," Mr Price said.
"Air NZ has gone up of their own volition and nothing to do whatsoever with the Qantas bid. They've had an outstanding turnaround."
Ryman Healthcare was up 4c at 246, Sky TV gained 3c to 590, Mainfreight was up 2c at 715, and Guinness Peat Group rose 2c to 232.
On the down side, NZ Refining fell 10c to 715, The Warehouse was off 9c at 676, Sky City was down 2c at 482, and NZX fell 10c to 990.
Among dual-listed stocks, Lion Nathan fell 5c to 1025, ANZ rose 3c to 3418, Westpac was flat at 3050, and AMP was steady at 1205.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.4 percent at 6330.6, about five points below its earlier record high, while Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.5 percent on a softer yen and Wall Street's gains.
US stocks ended higher on Friday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to its fourth straight record close, helped by talk of potential takeovers and economic data that calmed inflation concerns.
- NZPA