NZ sharemarket ends little changed

The New Zealand sharemarket ended little changed on a day in which Kathmandu ran into resistance after touching a new high and Ryman Healthcare put in a strong performance.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up just 0.073 points at 3495.187. There were 31 rises and 49 falls among the 117 stocks traded.

Investors noted a fall in the New Zealand dollar, particularly against the Australian dollar, and waited for unemployment data tomorrow after receiving little direction from Wall Street.

Many Asian markets were weaker, with commentators citing lower commodity prices as a source of nervousness.

James Smalley, at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said retailers may be riding on the coattails of strong sales results from Kathmandu yesterday.

Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Kathmandu closed down 2c at 258 but rose to a new high of 264 after yesterday reporting a 30% rise in sales in the quarter ended May 1. The Warehouse rose 2c to 373 and Pumpkin Patch rose 3c to 121.

Ryman Healthcare rose 5c to 256 ahead of its result on May 19. The high today of 258 has not been seen since 2007 when the stock was at an all time high. Investors still liked the story of its exposure to the trend of an ageing population.

Mr Smalley said there was good volume traded today in Telecom and Guinness Peat Group but dual-listed stocks did not seem to reflect all of the benefit of the weak New Zealand dollar.

Telecom rose 4c to 216.5 as investors shrugged off comments from the Commerce Commission yesterday about over-valuing its assets.

Westpac fell 79c to 31.55 on a day it reported a strong interim profit but investors said the stock had a strong run into the result.

Bathurst Resources fell 10c to 154 after completing a placement that raised $A55 million. Auckland Airport eased 0.5c to 222 even though it announced a large property deal with a Toll Holdings' subsidiary.

Argosy Property Trust was unchanged at 79 on a day it said its assets in Albany sustained minimal damage from yesterday's tornado in Auckland.

APN News fell 14c to 194 on light volume. Fletcher Building rose 6c to 911. PGG Wrightson rose 4c to 50. TrustPower fell 11c to 744.

Shares in gold mining company OceanaGold closed down 3c to 346, after commodities suffered the biggest one-day loss in two weeks on fears that huge price gains last month had made everything from oil to silver too costly.