NZX shares rise, Hallenstein Glasson falls

Shares in Hallenstein Glasson were knocked back hard on the New Zealand sharemarket after the clothing retailer said it expected half-year net profit to be 13-18% lower than a year earlier.

The company said net profit for the six months to February 1 was projected to be between $7 million and $7.4 million, while sales were expected to be down 1.6% to $100.6 million.

Hallenstein Glasson shares closed down 24c, or 5.85%, at 386, their lowest level in more than four months.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed down 4.349 points, or 0.1%, at 3354.72. Turnover was worth $50.25 million on a day in which Australian investors were on holiday. There were 23 rises and 37 falls among the 103 stocks traded.

"Volume is okay today but it is still a quiet period for the market," said James Lee, head of institutional equities at First NZ Capital.

There was a lot of interest in Prime Minister John Key's signal today that the government was considering using the ownership model of Air NZ, where the company is listed but the Crown retains a majority shareholding, for state-owned Mighty River Power, Meridian, Genesis and Solid Energy. It was also considering reducing its 75% holding in Air NZ, while maintaining majority ownership.

NZX rose 4c to 175 today. Mr Lee said the government announcement was the best news the market had had for a long time.

Air NZ shares fell 2c to 143. Mr Lee said the market reaction was overdone and any selldown was a "long-dated process" and Air NZ should be trading in its merits.

The partial privatisations would bring big companies with stable earnings – that represented the gross domestic product of the country – to the market.

The energy sector currently made up about 15% of the market and investors would have more choice in energy investments when the state-owned enterprises were listed.

"I think the market will be happy to deploy capital there," Mr Lee said.

Otherwise, Restaurant Brands dropped to 240, their lowest level in around six months, before making up some lost ground to close down 21 to 243, having also fallen 7c yesterday. The movement was queried by NZX.

Telecom was unchanged at 231 as was TrustPower on 722.

Cavalier Carpets fell 4c to 320, NZ Refining fell 5c to 454 and Contact Energy fell 3c to 622.

Sanford rose 15c to 490 after expressing optimism about its aquaculture ventures at its annual meeting.

Wellington Airport owner Infratil fell 3c to 189 on a day plans were revealed for the development of Paraparaumu airport.

The Warehouse rose 3c to 371, Nuplex rose 3c to 365 and Ryman Healthcare rose 1c to 237.