Fletcher Building rise buoys market

The New Zealand sharemarket rose today, with strength in Fletcher Building again a feature of trading.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 24.218 points, or 0.773 per cent, at 3155.393. Turnover was worth $91.98 million. There were 45 rises and 31 falls among the 117 stocks traded.

Fletcher Building rose 16c to 845 as investors became more optimistic about an economic recovery, particularly in Australia where the company also operates.

Yesterday all things being equal Fletcher Building would have been down 14c due to its dividend no longer being payable but it rose 4c.

The move today came as the Australian market rose 1.73 per cent and after merger activity buoyed Wall Street.

"It's risk on," said Peter Sigley, dealer at Goldman Sachs JBWere.

Telecom fell 2c to 263, which he put down to ongoing "regulatory noise" during a transition period in the telecommunication sector.

Nigel Scott at Craigs Investment Partners said the New Zealand market was fairly stable.

"New Zealanders reorganised their New Zealand equity portfolios a long time ago," he said.

Skellerup eased 1c to 54 and its rights eased 1.4c to 13.6.

TrustPower fell 5c to 745 and Contact Energy rose 8c to 581.

Outside the top 50 Pyne Gould Corp was a feature, the share price falling 20c to 50 as investors sold stock ahead of the company's $237m rights issue. The six-for-one issue at 40c a share is underwritten and is expected to bring new shareholders to the register.

Nuplex rose 1c to 244. SkyCity rose 4c to 329 and Auckland Airport rose 2c to 187.

Fisher and Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 69 and the healthcare stock rose 2c to 322.

Pike River Coal rose 2c to 101 and The Warehouse rose 8c to 420.

Ebos rose 2c to 587 and Freightways rose 1c to 312. NZX rose 2c to 812.

Horizon Energy, the target of partial offer from Marlborough Lines, rose 17c to 340.

Seeka rose 15c to 275 and Delegats rose 4c to 240. Pumpkin Patch rose 5c to 190 and Colonial Motor rose 8c to 250.

US stocks rallied on Monday US time as a spurt of corporate takeovers created optimism about share values.

Xerox Corp agreed to buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc, and Abbott Laboratories said it would pay US$6.6 ($9.31) billion for Solvay's drug unit.

"It's always a positive sign when you see companies putting money to work, whether they buy other companies, invest in new plants, (or) buy back their own stock," said Tim Smalls, head of US stock trading at brokerage firm Execution LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 124.17 points, or 1.28 per cent, to end at 9789.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 18.60 points, or 1.78 per cent, to 1062.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 39.82 points, or 1.90 per cent, to 2130.74.

- NZPA