Market close: NZ shares mixed in light trading

BUSINESSDESK: New Zealand shares were mixed as investors wait for companies to offer guidance on how they see the current environment when the local earnings season kicks off later this month.

PGG Wrightson led gainers, while Kathmandu was the biggest decliner.

The NZX 50 Index rose 1.49 points, or 0.04%, to 3480.19. Within the index, 20 stocks gained, 18 fell, and 12 were unchanged. Turnover was a smaller-than-normal $53.3 million.

Analysts are waiting for the local company earnings season to begin later this month so they can update their forecasts for listed companies.

Firms have been reluctant to issue strong forward-guidance since the global financial crisis in 2008, as developed economies falter and unemployment in Europe and North America stays resiliently high.

"Investors are taking a breather as we get into a new week and they look for further guidance from overseas markets," said James Smalley, client adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene.

The upcoming earnings season "will be interesting to see if [companies] are a bit more confident and make calls" about the future.

PGG Wrightson was the biggest gainer on the benchmark index, up 3.2% to 32 cents after the rural supplies firm's second-biggest shareholder Pyne Gould Corp sold down its stake last week.

Retailer Kathmandu was the biggest decliner in the benchmark index, falling 2.7% to $1.46, though just 52,000 shares changed hands.

Index heavyweights Telecom rose 1.4% to $2.49, while Fletcher Building fell 1.1% to $6.20.

Heartland New Zealand rose 2% to 52 cents after Pyne Gould Corp's sell-down last week coincided with South Island businessman Craig Tomlinson building his stake in the would-be lender in recent months. He is now the lender's biggest shareholder with 8.8%. 

Retailers gained after data from electronic payments firm Paymark showed a 5.1% increase in spending last month, ahead of tomorrow's official electronic card spending figures.

Jewellery chain Michael Hill International rose 1% to 99 cents, fast-food franchise operator Restaurant Brands increased 0.5% to $2.11 and Warehouse gained 0.4% to $2.53.

Chorus gained 0.3% to $3.21 after the telecommunications network operator cut a deal with phone company TelstraClear to settle disputed levies for providing unprofitable rural phone services.

The terms of the deal were kept confidential, though it settles all outstanding issues after a Supreme Court decision ruled the regulator made a mistake in setting the levy.