Market begins week putting worst foot forward

The New Zealand sharemarket started the week badly and brokers can see little on the horizon to lift it from its current malaise.

The NZX-50 index closed down 25.70 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 3008.41. Turnover was worth $79.6 million. There were 28 rises and 52 falls among the 110 stocks traded.

Guinness Peat Group shares rose 2c to 68c after the investment company's New Zealand-based director Tony Gibbs went public with his opposition to a demerger plan and the company said he had not consulted the board. The plan has not been well received by investors.

"There seem to be some issues among the board members, which is making investors nervous, but there is also talk of a capital return," Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene said. Gibbs' comments were seen as fair.

"Elsewhere it is a very bad start to the week. We opened flat but Australia came on stream and was down. There was no reason for buyers to come into the market," Williamson said.

Telecom fell 7c to $1.90. It had opened little changed but lost ground through the day.

Brokers say the situation of South Canterbury Finance remained uncertain and investors were happy to "take a bit off the table" in the wider stockmarket in such an environment.

Contact Energy fell 8c to $5.77, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare - which went ex-dividend yesterday - fell 5c to $3.09, and Nuplex fell 5c to $2.86.

Freightways, which joined the list of companies advising of the impact on their bottom line of changes announced in last month's Budget, slipped 3c early to $2.82. Fletcher Building was unchanged at $7.95.

Smiths City eased 1c to 31c despite reporting an increase in annual profit.

Cavalier Carpets rose 5c to $2.40, Goodman Fielder rose 3c to $1.65, Hallenstein Glasson rose 4c to $3.60, NZOG rose 1c to $1.28 and NZ Refining rose 2c to $3.18. Ryman Healthcare rose 1c to $2.03, Sanford rose 1c to $4.02 and Infratil was unchanged at $1.61.

In the United States on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 per cent to 10,143.81, the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 1076.76, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3 per cent to 2223.48. The Dow fell 2.9 per cent for the week, the S&P was off 3.6 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 3.7 per cent.

- NZPA