KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket opened weaker today with retail stocks led down by Briscoe Group which reported a dire first quarter sales report.
Shares in Briscoe today fell 5 per cent, or 5 cents, to a 40 month low of 117 after the company said first half net profit could halve. It reported today its first quarter same store sales to April 27 (correct) were nearly 10 per cent lower than a year ago.
Managing director Rod Duke blamed the economy - rising interest rates, and petrol prices, putting the squeeze on household spending.
He predicted other stocks would be similarly affected.
"You watch other stocks go. We are just the first cab off the rank."
Shares in general discount retailer The Warehouse were down 4 cents to 572.
The NZSX-50 Index, which yesterday fell 29.4 points, was down 8.6 points to 3642.5 at 10.25am.
Fletcher Building, which fell 25c yesterday on concerns about how the economy will affect it, fell another 5c to 855.
Telecom was unchanged on 397, while Contact Energy was down 9c to 911. It lost a further 24c yesterday to 920, having lost 12c on Monday as excitement ebbed about BG's bid for Contact's parent Origin Energy.
Auckland International Airport fell 1c to 218 as investors digested the prospect of the top-10 airport operator having to fill two top jobs at the same time. Chief financial officer Robert Sinclair said yesterday he is quitting in August to emigrate to Britain, while chief executive Don Huse has already announced his departure by late October.
Freightways, a possible target for Toll Holdings, which this week sold the NZ railways back to the Government, continued to prosper, rising 5c to 345 after gaining 14c yesterday.
NZ Oil and Gas rose 3c to 164 as oil prices rebounded again, but NZ Refining fell 29c to 760.
Port of Tauranga fell 8c to 652. Ebos fell 5c to 475.
Fund manager and insurer Tower fell another 4c to 216 to add to yesterday's 3c fall, having jumped 15c following 19.7 per cent shareholder Guinness Peat Group's bid for a further 15.3 per cent at 230 per share.
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On Wall Street, US stocks rose as Fannie Mae's reassuring comments about the credit and housing markets buoyed financial shares, while record crude oil prices lifted shares of energy companies.
Speculation that Microsoft Corp could resume takeover talks with Yahoo Inc fed a rebound in technology shares. Yahoo gained 5.5 per cent, while Microsoft rose 2.1 per cent, leading the S&P 500's advance.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 51.29 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 13,020.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 10.77 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 1418.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 19.19 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 2483.31.
- NZPA WGT sml nb