NZ sharemarket falls, ending run of rises
The New Zealand sharemarket fell for the first time in 16 days today as leading stocks became susceptible to profit-taking.
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The New Zealand sharemarket fell for the first time in 16 days today as leading stocks became susceptible to profit-taking.
Brokers reported large sellers in Telecom, while a decline in the price of Fletcher Building was also a drag on the index.
The benchmark NZX-50 index closed down 19.5 points, or 0.6%, at 3449.876 after opening down 6.71 points. Yesterday it reached a 31-month intraday high around 3472 points before ending the day up 9.9 points.
"It is only natural to see a little bit of profit-taking and volume is light," said James Snell at First NZ Capital.
Telecom fell 5c to 201.
"It looks like there is heavy selling around in Telecom. The orders started from the start of the day and there are two or three sellers out there," Mr Snell said.
Fletcher Building, which rose to 942 yesterday and ended at 941, was down 9c to 932. The company has been on the rise with the $1.3 billion deal to buy Australia's Crane Group, transforming it into the largest building materials business in this country and Australia.
The stock's inclusion in the S&P/ASX 200 Index and its larger weight in local indices has also attracted more heavy-weight investors.
Ebos Group shares fell 20c to 745, and The Warehouse dropped 12c to 343.
Hallenstein Glassons fell 7c to 374, NZ Refining fell 14c to 465 and Pyne Gold Corp fell a cent to 26.
SkyCity fell 5c to 342, Port of Tauranga fell 3c to 827 and Infratil fell 3c to 189. OceanaGold rose 24c to 379 as the gold price continued to set records.
Nuplex rose a cent to 301, Tower rose 3c to 188 and Contact Energy rose 4c to 365. Cavalier Carpets rose 4c to 365 and TrustPower rose 1c to 721. Sanford rose 5c to 530. Property for Industry rose 1c to 117.
NZPA
Wed, 06 Apr 2011
Wed, 06 Apr 2011
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NZ sharemarket falls, ending run of rises
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