NZ stocks: Market pushes up to fresh all time highs

The New Zealand sharemarket put in a sterling performance today with two of its key indices hitting fresh all-time highs, a broker said.

At 5pm, the benchmark NXSX-50 was up 26.43 points at 2696.07, while the NZSX-All capital index was up 8.87 points at 905.71.

Both indices trumped their previous all-time highs in trade today.

Top stock Telecom helped the market along, its shares up 9c at 588 on turnover of $53.2 million.

There was $150.9m worth of shares traded on NZX today, and among the 156 stocks to change hands were 70 rises and 42 falls.

ABN Amro Craigs broker Matt Willis said the sharemarket had a solid day, and a marked rise in the value of NGC Holdings' shares was the main story.

Shares in NGC were up 9c at 285 on turnover of $8m.

"I think these energy stocks are trading on the merger and acquisition story more than the equity story," Mr Willis told NZPA today.

"There has been more confident speculation that Australian Gas Light will take the Edison (Mission Energy) stake in Contact Energy.

"The expectation is they will fund that through a trade sale of their (two-thirds) stake in NGC," Mr Willis said.

Contact shares were up 3c at 586. Edison has yet to announce whether it has sold its 51 per cent stake in Contact.

Meanwhile, shares in meat firm Richmond were up 1c at 331, a new high, on turnover of $527,262.

Rival meat firm PPCS is offering 311c a share for the 37 per cent of Richmond it does not already own, but Richmond shares have surged after it announced on Monday a likely hike in full-year profit to $39 million.

Oceana Gold fell 10c to 81 following a sharp fall in the price of gold.

AMP fell 4c to 696 after yesterday rising above $7 for the first time in 14 months.

Other shares on the move included: Auckland International Airport up 10c at 674, Austral Pacific down 11c at 365, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare up 10c at 1320, Metlifecare up 10c at 240, Nuplex up 13c at 530, Pyne Gould Corporation up 12c at 580, and TrustPower up 10c at 470.

Overseas, the Standard & Poor's 500 added 2.85 points to 1136.20, the Dow Jones rose 56.34 points to 10,413.43, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 15.11 points to 2034.93, its highest since April 26.

- NZPA