NZ stocks: Market trickles lower on thin trade

The New Zealand sharemarket tracked quietly just below yesterday's close in largely featureless trade this morning.

At 11.35am the NZSX-50 gross index was 1.38 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 2433.41, while the NZSX-40 capital index was 1.82 points or 0.08 per cent lower at 2244.95.

Turnover was $14.38 million, with 27 rises and 25 falls on 105 stocks traded.

Macquarie Equities' David Cleal said trading on the market so far looked featureless, "It looks exactly the same to me as it did yesterday".

Market leader Telecom quickly reversed a small early slip and was trading 2c higher at 564 by late morning.

Amongst other leading stocks, Fletcher Building was down 2c to 406, Carter Holt Harvey was unchanged at 190 and Contact Energy was up 2c to 510.

Mr Cleal said the market was still obviously "in two minds as to whether there's going to be a placement of Edison Mission's 51 per cent Contact stake, or if there's a trade sale on the way -- certainly in recent weeks its been thought the latter".

He believed the stock was currently "a bit oversold" on investor concerns about the company's possible move into Australia.

The biggest movers early on in the top 50 were the Warehouse which fell 5c to 459, and Independent Newspapers which fell 6c to 470.

Further down the board, medical supplier Ebos which yesterday reported a 40 per cent rise in net earnings for the six months ended December was rewarded by a 20c surge in its share price today to 370.

Other stocks to move by 11.30am included: Cavalier Corp down 3c to 515, Fisher & Paykel Appliances down 6c to 361, Freightways down 4c to 232, Mainfreight down 5c to 165, NZX down 2c to 760, Ports of Auckland down 5c to 735, Promina up 2c to 370, Repco up a cent to 314, Steel & Tube down 3c to 395, TrustPower down 5c to 695, and Turners Auctions up 7c to 412

- NZPA