NZ stocks: Market buoyed by top stocks and corporate news

6.10pm

A surge in the share price of top stocks Telecom and Contact Energy helped shunt the market higher in a session also buoyed by a spate of corporate news.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 24.23 points at 2588.96, while the NZSX-All capital index was up 7.82 points at 877.66.

Telecom accounted for 43 per cent of the $81.9 million turnover on NZX today, its shares finishing up 9c at 564.

Contact Energy was up 6c at 560 after going ex-dividend at 7c per share (cps) today.

There was 39 rises and 51 falls among the 154 stocks traded today.

ASB securities broker Stephen Wright said trade on NZX today was quiet but buoyant.

"We're alone on that front. The rest of the Asian markets are all in the red," Mr Wright told NZPA today.

Among stocks on move today Restaurant Brands, its shares up 6c at 137 after a mysterious takeover bid by little-known Auckland-based firm King Win Laurel (KWL).

KWL has offered 150c a share for Restaurant Brands, which operates the KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks chains in New Zealand.

Restaurant Brands said it had not heard of KWL and urged shareholders not to accept the offer, which it believed did not comply with the Takeovers Code.

"Despite the fascicle nature of the bid, it seems to have spurred some buying, plus the fact it goes ex dividend next Monday," Mr Wright said.

"Restaurant Brands goes in and out of favour so quick over time," he said.

"It gets caught up in fast food worries or it has a poor result in one of its three chains."

Children's clothing chain Pumpkin Patch launched an initial public offering (IPO) today, seeking to raise between $97 million and $113 million during a two-week institution-only offer.

"We've had quite a bit of interest from the mums and dads, not necessarily from extra sophisticated investors," Mr Wright said.

"There's certainly more wide-spread interest (in the Pumpkin Patch IPO) than we've had for other issues we've had."

Utilities investor Infratil today reported its March year net profit fell 20 per cent to $22.5 million. Its shares were up 15c at 320.

"A good result and obviously the share price has reflected that," Mr Wright said.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings' shares were up 7c at 447 after it said it was cutting costs to compete with cheap imports from China and South Korea.

Lion Nathan was up 1c at 737, after today signing a joint venture deal with Heineken to manufacture, import, market, sell and distribute Heineken in Australia.

Heineken controls Lion Nathan rival DB Group, whose shares were down 2c at 815.

Others stocks to go ex dividend today were Kirkcaldie & Stains, which was down 2c at 248 (5cps) and Calan Healthcare, down 1c to 88 (1.7167c cps).

Other stocks on the move included: AMP down 6c at 639, Fletcher Building up 9c at 437, NGC Holdings up 6c at 257, TrustPower up 5c at 420, The Warehouse up 5c at 437, Promina down 5c at 394, and Sky City Entertainment down 7c at 458.

Overseas, the Dow Jones closed up 2.13 points at 10,012.87, the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.74 of a point to 1095.70, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 21.78 points to 1904.25.

- NZPA