NZ share market slips on opening

Tuesday 5th July 2011

The New Zealand sharemarket lost ground in opening trading today, failing to lift on the back of improving overseas markets.

The benchmark NZX-50, which closed yesterday at 3478.494, lost 7.6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3470.877 at 10.15am.

Leading the decline were Telecom, down 2c to 251, Telstra, off 2c to 378, and Westpac, shed 25c to $28.50

Fletcher Building slipped 4c to 852, Infratil dipped 2c to 180 and Ryman Healthcare was chipped down 1c to 277.

Auckland Airport lost half a cent to 224, Steel & Tube shrank 3c to 264 and Sky City eased 3c to 362.

Goodman Fielder was unchanged at 135, as was ANZ Bank at $28.50 and AMP at 632.

Improving stocks were NZ Oil & Gas, up 1c to 85, Kiwi Income Property Trust gained 0.5c to 104.5, Pumpkin Patch, up 3c to 116, and Mainfreight rose 1c to $10.30.

Yesterday the market returned to its familiar pattern of rising in early trading only to fade badly through the afternoon and finished up retaining only a quarter of the intra-day gains it had notched up.

The Australian share market yesterday closed higher but underperformed its Asian and US counterparts as disappointing retail spending figures surprised the market and left retail stocks struggling.

Australia's benchmark S&P ASX200 index closed 19.5 points higher, or 0.42 per cent, at 4610.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 22.5 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 4670.4.

European shares extended a winning run to six sessions on Monday, as worries about Greece receded further, though volumes were low with Wall Street closed.

Strategists said shares might remain in a range on concerns over Western governments' deficit issues among other things.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 0.2 percent to end the session unofficially at 1121.95 points, the highest close in a month. The index is in the middle of a range defined by its 2011 high of mid-February and its low of mid-March.

US markets were closed for the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

NZPA

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