KEY POINTS:
Top stocks turned positive to mark the end of the week and financial quarter, following a series of undistinguished sessions.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 1.7 per cent, or 61.1 points, at 3624.2 on heavy turnover totalling $213.5 million. That followed a 16 point gain yesterday that
halted more than a week of declines.
Amid talk of changes to the global MSCI stock indices which guide institutional trading, top stock Telecom gained 6c to 402, Fletcher Building jumped 22c to 800, and Contact Energy resumed trading with a 37c, or 4 per cent, increase to 948.
Majority owner Origin Energy today declined an increased takeover offer from BG Group, with Origin and Contact both on a trading halt ahead of the announcement.
If successful, BG would have had an exemption to launch an immediate takeover offer for Contact, but had to make a move within a month.
"It looks like the status quo will remain there in the meantime," said Hamilton Hindin Greene director Grant Williamson.
"There was uncertainty, so that uncertainty has been removed to a degree."
Sky City was up 2c at 375, Sky TV gained 11c to 456, Auckland Airport was up a cent at 217, Infratil gained 8c to 223, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 6c at 240, and F&P Appliances was up 13c at 233 on expectations the appliance maker would increase its prices.
Freight and logistics company Mainfreight surged 43c, or 6 per cent, to 718 after reporting an 83 per cent rise in annual net profit to $101.6 million, boosted by one-off gains from asset sales.
"It's been a fantastic stock, that - even though the New Zealand operations are probably flat, they're still expanding and growing very well in Australia and further afield," Mr Williamson said.
The Warehouse lost 15c to 530, Nuplex was down 14c at 575, NZ Farming Systems Uruguay was down 9c at 186, and Hellaby lost 12c to 152.
Vector gave up early gains to close down a cent at 195 after the Commerce Commission said it had accepted a settlement proposal from Vector as an alternative to regulatory control being imposed on its electricity distribution business.
Tourism Holdings rose 10c to 170, Rakon was up 10c at 315, Air New Zealand was up 4c at 116, Guinness Peat Group rose 2c to 160, and NZX was up 10c at 840.
ANZ lost 20c to 2600 while rival Westpac jumped 50c to 2820, AMP gained 15c to 900 and Lion Nathan was up 51c at 1162.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.6 per cent at 5674, while Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.6 per cent.
Earlier on Wall Street, stocks rose as the swift drop in oil soothed inflation fears, while an upward revision in a broad measure of US economic growth suggested a recession may be avoided.
- NZPA