NZ stocks: Market bounces as Carter Holt lifts Top 40 index

6.00pm

The sharemarket bounced today as market leader Telecom's losses were cancelled out by number two Carter Holt Harvey's gains.

Ahead of its replacement as a benchmark by the NZSE-50 index on Monday, the NZSE-40 capital index closed up 6.98 points or 0.37 per cent at 1880.85. The top-10 index was up 0.37 per cent at 858.22.

Turnover was heavy, comprising 38.61 million stocks valued at $103.28 million.

Responsible for more than one third of that was Baycorp Advantage's 13.7 million shares, offloaded by investors unhappy with the company's half-year loss yesterday.

First NZ Capital research manager Barry Lindsay said Baycorp's turnover equated to 6 per cent of its capital, followed by a further 2 per cent in Australia.

Baycorp closed at a fresh post-merger low of 107, down 8c following a 67c fall yesterday.

The trans-Tasman credit services company posted a loss yesterday of A$11.9 million ($13.0 million) for the first half.

Telecom was down 5c at 421, hovering at levels not seen since October 2001.

AMP lost a further 5c to a fresh low of 775, Auckland International Airport was down 5c at 546 following its increased first-half profit yesterday, and casino company Sky City lost 10c to 875.

On the positive side, Carter Holt Harvey rebounded 3 per cent to close up 5c at 173, Independent Newspapers Ltd gained 5c to 315, and its pay television asset was up 5c at 355.

Retailer The Warehouse bounded up 14c to 556, Contact Energy rose 3c to 440, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 3c at 970, F&P Appliances rose 4c to 964, Fletcher Building was up 7c at 354, and Fletcher Forests gained 3c to 103.

Fast food operator Restaurant Brands shed 10c to a nearly 2-1/2-year low of 125 on fears of competition from the arrival later this year of international pizza company Domino's Pizza.

Lines company and owner of UnitedNetworks' former assets Powerco was down 3 per cent, or 4c, at 129.

"For a low-risk utility company it's been on a steady decline, which continued again today," Mr Lindsay said.

Technology company Advantage Group gained 1c to 17.5c despite announcing a $177,000 after-tax loss for the period, down 120 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

There were 45 rises and 41 falls on the 129 stocks traded.

On Wall St, the Dow Jones industrials index closed up 1 per cent at 7884.99, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 1.18 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.56 per cent at 1323.96.

- NZPA