Market eases after gains

Sharemarket - close

The New Zealand sharemarket eased today, turning its back on nine consecutive days of gains despite the release of positive results from two of the smaller companies.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed down 9.6 points, or 0.3 percent, at 3213.21, reversing yesterday's 8-point gain.

Retailer Briscoe Group was unchanged at 135 after reporting an 81-percent lift in full year net profit to $21 million. Sales revenue rose 7.3 percent, despite continued economic uncertainty and only a partial recovery in overall retail spending.

Clothing retailer Postie Plus was also flat, at 40c, after reporting a smaller first half loss of $1.1m compared with a year earlier as sales rose.

Among the top stocks, Telecom fell 3c to 221, Fletcher Building was flat at 810, Contact Energy was up 4c at 615, and Auckland International Airport was down a cent at 193.

Mainfreight closed up 7c at 607, having earlier hit its highest point since October 2008 at 608.

Also on the rise were NZ Oil and Gas, up 2c at 160, Freightways, 3c higher at 310, and Kathmandu, up 3c at 225.

Casino operator Sky City slipped 7c to 325, Trustpower fell 4c to 720, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lost 3c to 329.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 12 points, or 0.3 percent, at 4819, while Japan's Nikkei was down 0.1 percent.

Earlier in the United States, technology shares pushed the Nasdaq higher on an otherwise flat day for stocks, led by BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and Cisco Systems.

- NZPA