Market close: Shares close slightly higher

Monday 29th September 2008

The sharemarket rose slightly today with the NZSE50 up 0.03% to end the day at 3,188.

Top stock Telecom increased 1.8%, but Fletcher Building dropped 4.2% and Contact Energy lost 1.4%.

The retail space was weaker with Michael Hill falling 1.3%, The Warehouse Group losing 0.3%, and Pumpkin Patch dropping 1.5%.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, the clothing chain operator, posted a 26% drop in annual profit and said earnings will decline in the first half of the current year as surging household costs sap consumer spending. Hallenstein Glasson shares closed unchanged today.

Today's top gainer was Steel & Tube Holdings who jumped over 26% on the back of Australia’s OneSteel offering to buy the 49% of shares that it doesn’t already own. OneSteel offered NZ$4.00 cash, or NZ$175 million, for the rest of Steel & Tube, a 33% premium to its price on Friday.

Other increases included Dorchester Pacific up 15%, OceanaGold Corporation up 10%, Charlie's Group up 9%, Pike River Coal up 6%, Pacific Brands up 4%.

Decreases were Dairy Equity down 25%, Sealegs Corporation down 8%, Xero down 5% and Plus SMS Holdings down 3%.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 86.7 points, or 1.77%, at 4818.10, dragged lower by mining stocks.

The Dow rose 121.07 points, or 1.10%, to 11,143.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.83 points, or 0.32% to 1,213.01, while the technology-heavy NASDAQ fell 3.23 points, or 0.15%, to 2,183.34.

NZ Top 50	3,188.538	+0.954 (+0.03%)
ASX 200	4,818.100	-86.700 (-1.77%)
Dow	11,143.13	+121.07 (+1.10%)
Nasdaq	2,183.34	-3.23 (-0.15%)
FTSE 100	5,088.47	-108.55 (-2.09%)

NZX Top 50

As at: 29/09/2008 4:24pm

AIA	2.00	+0.01
AIR	1.00	-0.01
AMP	8.50	+0.25
ANZ	23.00	+1.50
APN	3.97	0.00
APT	1.10	-0.01
CAV	2.70	+0.11
CEN	8.30	-0.11
EBO	4.58	+0.18
FBU	6.96	-0.01
FPA	1.70	+0.02
FPH	2.92	+0.01
FRE	3.35	0.00
GFF	1.64	-0.02
GMT	1.19	-0.02
GPG	1.26	+0.03
HLG	2.87	0.00
IFT	2.07	+0.02
IMP	1.10	-0.01
ING	0.72	-0.02
KIP	1.18	0.00
LNN	10.40	0.00
MFT	6.80	0.00
MHI	0.77	+0.01
MVN	1.44	0.00
NPX	6.20	+0.02
NZO	1.38	+0.01
NZR	6.80	0.00
NZS	1.35	-0.01
NZX	6.49	-0.02
PFI	1.13	-0.01
PGW	1.75	-0.08
POT	6.70	0.00
PPL	1.37	-0.01
PRC	1.62	+0.10
RAK	2.34	-0.01
RYM	1.69	+0.05
SAN	6.00	0.00
SKC	3.63	0.00
SKL	0.89	0.00
SKT	4.48	0.00
STU	3.80	+0.80
TEL	2.78	+0.05
THL	1.26	0.00
TLS	5.10	+0.01
TPW	8.15	0.00
TWR	1.78	-0.02
VCT	2.21	0.00
WBC	29.00	+0.15
WHS	3.20	+0.02

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