KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket was virtually flat yesterday, dragged lower by continued uncertainty about Telecom's regulatory outlook.
The NZX-50 index closed down just 3.8 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 4164.30.
Telecom fell 13c to $4.74, after an 18c surge on Thursday.
Brokers cited uncertainty over the size of a promised capital return and news that Telecom was offering to spin off its copper wire network rather than accept the latest regulatory proposal.
Telecom's statement from chairman Wayne Boyd had been "reasonably aggressive", and there were fears of a stalemate with the regulator, Goldman Sachs JBWere broker Jeremy Coe said.
"I think what could probably be construed from his address is that they are looking at ownership separation and there are a number of subsequent effects that would result from that.
"There's lots for investors to sort through and nothing clear on the table yet."
Elsewhere, Fletcher Building climbed 24c to $11.48 on moderate volume after indicating it was looking at buying a business for between $700 million and $800 million within the next year. "No word as to what that business would be, it's certainly not a new topic so I don't think that's really the driver," Coe said.
Contact gained 5c to $9.05, Auckland Airport nosed up 3c to $2.43, and The Warehouse gained 2c to $7.17.
The Fisher & Paykel sisters, Healthcare and Appliances, were up 2c to $3.68 and down 3c to $3.62 respectively, while Sky City inched up 2c to $4.70.
Coe noted that GPG, which was off a cent to $2.28, continued to struggle to gain traction as profitability in its Coats subsidiary got further pushed out.
Port of Tauranga gained 10c to $6.35 as speculation continued about which terminals shipping giant Maersk might be interested in buying.
- NZPA