New Zealand stocks have closed mixed with Fletcher Building and Telecom weighing on the market as investors took the opportunity to take profits.
The NZX 50 Index eased 2.134 points, or about 0.04 per cent, to 4967.511 on Tuesday.
Within the index 13 stocks fell, 27 rose and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $123.2 million.
Fletcher, New Zealand's largest listed company, fell 1.5 per cent to $9.72, from a near three-month high of $9.87.
Last week Fletcher reported first-half earnings were held back by the strong currency, though some investors later became upbeat about its outlook for Australia.
"A mixed bag on the local market, with Fletcher Building being the main culprit that has really weighed on the index," said Grant Williamson, broker at Hamilton Hindin Greene.
"Fletcher had rallied relatively strongly the two days previous, so we've just started to see a few investors take profit on that stock."
Telecom fell 2.5 per cent to $2.39, after trading on Monday near a nine-month high. On Friday, Telecom announced plans to rebrand and launch a new internet-based television service from the middle of the year.
Summerset rose 3.3 per cent to $3.44 after it doubled its annual profit to a record $34 million as sales in its retirement villages reached an all-time high.
Chorus rose 4.9 per cent to $1.49 leading the day's gainers.
On Monday the telecommunication provider commissioned to build the government's ultra-fast broadband network reported a 7.1 per cent decline in first-half profit and it won't pay an interim dividend as it prepares for regulated price cuts on its copper wires in December.
Freightways, New Zealand's largest listed courier company, climbed 2.1 per cent to $4.80, a seven-year high after touching an intraday record of $5.
The company reported three per cent growth in its first-half earnings on Monday.
