KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket rose to a three-month high today, boosted by offshore markets and a 1 per cent gain for market leader Telecom despite a fall in quarterly profit.
The NZSX-50 Index closed up 0.9 per cent, or 30.93 points, at 3661.34 on light volume of $94 million.
Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 1.9 per cent, and Japan's Nikkei rose 2 per cent, following solid gains on Wall Street where confidence returned after prices for oil and gold retreated.
"Generally, I'd say firmness across the board in the blue chips, a few of those looking a little oversold so a little bargain hunting going on late Friday afternoon," said Tom Bliss of Forsyth Barr.
Top stock Telecom closed up 5c at 390, having swung from 381 to 395 as the market digested a nearly $100 million fall in March quarter net profit to $140 million.
Chief executive Paul Reynolds said Telecom's operations in New Zealand for the quarter were slightly better than anticipated.
"I don't think there were any surprises in the Telecom result, which is pretty much indicated by where the share price is trading," Mr Bliss said.
Elsewhere among blue chips, Contact Energy was down 14c at 956 as uncertainty about its future weighed on the stock after a takeover offer for majority owner Origin Energy.
Fletcher Building was up 11c at 876, Auckland Airport rose 3c to 219, Sky City was flat at 395, Sky TV rose 19c to 462, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 2c at 267.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances jumped 13c, or 5 per cent, to 253.
"If you're looking at the longer term valuations on FPA across the board, they have increased with this move (of production) offshore," Mr Bliss said.
The whiteware manufacturer plans to move its plants in New Zealand, Australia and the United States to Thailand, Italy and Mexico.
Among the few top-50 stocks to decline, Infratil was down 6c at 224, Freightways lost 7c to 324, Nuplex lost 8c to 636, PGG Wrightson fell 3c to 205, and Sanford was off 10c to 445.
The Warehouse fell 7c to 575 as the market awaited a Court of Appeal decision on whether Woolworths and Foodstuffs can bid for the discount retailer.
Just before the market closed, Guinness Peat Group announced a partial bid for Tower Ltd. GPG will offer $2.30 a share for 15.30 per cent of Tower, adding to its 19.7 per cent stake and at a premium to Tower's last price of 208.
GPG shares closed up a cent at 175.
Among the oil-related stocks, NZ Oil and Gas was up 7c at 159, Air New Zealand rose 2c to 128, and NZ Refining was up 15c at 790.
Earlier in the US, the three major indices closed at their highest levels since the first half of January as equities extended a rally on optimism that credit markets and the economy have begun to stabilise.
- NZPA
