Markets little changed again, stocks mixed

By NZPA

Tuesday 29th May 2007

The benchmark share index closed little changed again, as offshore holidays flattened interest.

The NZSX-50 index rose 4.58 points to 4308.99, on turnover valued at $101 million. Rises outnumbered falls 50 to 48.

Joe Gallagher of Goldman Sachs JBWere said the market was very mixed.

"You've got stocks like Fletcher Building which are off a percent -- you've seen a decent-sized placement of the stock; it's rallied sharply from there and you've potentially seen some people maybe take some profits . . ."

Fletcher Building closed at $12.90, down 13c, while top stock Telecom rose 2c to $4.88, sticking to its recent range.

"You've also got the Fisher stocks, Appliances and Healthcare, a little bit weaker today. The volumes aren't anything too flash -- the currency's weaker so that shouldn't be a major driver," Gallagher said.

F&P Appliances fell 2c to $3.73, while F&P Healthcare lost 3c to $3.59. Contact Energy was up 5c at $8.85, Sky City rose 5c to $5.19, and Sky TV fell 4c to $5.70.

Takeover target The Warehouse lost 11c to a seven-month low of $6.26 amid uncertainty over the takeover of Coles in Australia, which may have implications for The Warehouse.

Restaurant Brands was up a cent at 91c after it reported first quarter sales rose 4.1% to $70.5 million, thanks mainly to a further recovery in its KFC chain.

Same store sales for the 12-week period to May 21 did even better, rising 4.4%.

Clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson fell 6c to $5.04 after news that managing director Cliff Kinraid is resigning this week.

Hellaby Holdings fell 3c to $3.95, having lost 7c yesterday on a second warning about annual profit, this time due to its automotive and industrial assets.

Tower gained 3c to $2.44, after spun off company Tower Australia reported a maiden first-half net profit of $A17.1 million ($NZ19.50 million) and expected to improve its results in future.

NZX jumped 50c to a record high $11.00, jeweller Michael Hill was up 18c at $9.48, and PGG Wrightson rose 2c to $1.81.

Among dual-listed stocks, Westpac rose 15c to $29.50, ANZ lost 22c to $32.78, AMP was flat at $11.30, and Lion Nathan lost 9c to $10.20.

Australia's benchmark index rose 0.8% to 6299.1, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5%.

Markets were closed around Europe and in the United States for holidays.

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