KEY POINTS:
Returning confidence helped the sharemarket gain some traction today, defying a weaker Wall St .
The NZSX-50 benchmark index closed up 25.2 points or 0.7 per cent to 3608.47, picking up from early losses after Australia started trading.
Rises outnumbered falls 52 to 37 on turnover worth $134m.
Grant Williamson, a partner at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene, said there was some "pretty good buying" in sold-off blue chip stocks and sidelined investors appeared to be creeping back.
"Investors still have in the back of their minds concerns over what's happening offshore but we're not experiencing the same volatility on those international markets that we have in the last three months."
One of the star performers today was NZ Oil and Gas which rose 6c to a new record high of 162 after oil prices neared US$120 ($152) a barrel.
Less fortunate was Air NZ which sank 10c to a year low of 119 after downgrading its operational profit outlook due to high jet fuel prices. Airline stocks overseas also fell overnight.
But a weakening New Zealand dollar against the Australian currency was also thought to have assisted some stocks, such as exporter Pumpkin Patch up 5c to 182.
However, it didn't seem to help F&P Appliances down 3c to 252, Rakon, down 4c to 208 or F&P Healthcare, which fell 3c to 268 on a hefty $22m worth of shares.
Sky TV also fell 9c to 461 but battered Sky City enjoyed continued support up 9c to 388.
A 7c jump in top stock Telecom to 386 supported the market, with another high turnover of $56m shares.
Contact Energy rose 13c to 915, and Fletcher Building retraced early losses, ending up 3c to 853.
Infratil gained 3c to 230 and Mainfreight rose 15c to 682, shrugging off higher fuel prices.
"Of course the company continues to perform extremely well and may not be too exposed to the oil prices," Mr Williamson said.
"I believe most of their drivers are owner-operators so they would have to bear the cost of that."
NZ Farming Systems rose 6c to 146 after upgrading its annual profit forecast on the back of rising dairy prices. Its parent PGG Wrightson gained 3c to 208.
In Australia, banking stocks bounced after ANZ's results with the stock jumping 116 to 2609, and Westpac up 75c to 2900.
In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 104.79 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 12,720.23, as oil prices neared $120 a barrel and fed worries about inflation and consumer spending.
A series of disappointing profit outlooks made the mood even worse, and airline stocks were particularly hard hit, plunging 12.4 per cent as jet fuel costs hit record levels.
Retailers' shares dropped 2.2 per cent on fears that Americans will curtail shopping to pay for higher petrol prices.
- NZPA
