NZ stocks: Shares stage leader-driven rally

Late portfolio buying and positive announcements by Telecom, Auckland Airport and Fisher & Paykel Appliances helped the New Zealand sharemarket end the week in the black.

The NZ50 gross index closed up 14.54 points at 1911.29 after a flat start, while the NZSE-40 index ended 14.37 points higher at 1945.98.

Turnover was 18.17 million shares valued at $46.57 million.

"It was a very good day, especially in the afternoon, across the board," Direct Broking's Ken Allen said.

The rally was leader-driven, with top stock Telecom closing up 4c at 460, Auckland International Airport recovering 12c to 503, Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 40c at 1005.

Telecom today announced an ambitious plan to nearly triple the number of households with broadband telecommunication services by the end of next year.

Auckland Airport said it had appointed Don Huse as new chief executive with ample airport experience, helping soothe fears the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) will hurt the company's bottom line.

"The market is still a little bit worried about Sars, but the announcement of a new chief executive from Sydney Airport is encouraging," Mr Allen said.

"In the past the stock has proven pretty resilient to things like wars and it may well be the case that it is resilient to Sars outbreak.

"There is no indication yet what the effect on passenger traffic might be and we won't know for a couple of months. Below $5 has been a support level in the past and it's proven itself again today."

Fisher & Paykel Appliances bounced sharply after saying it had sold just over a million appliances in the year to March 31, up 11.5 per cent on the previous year.

The company also said it would unveil a new "world first" top-loading clothes dryer designed for the United States at a trade show in Orlando, Florida, next week.

"The announcement was well-signalled to the market," Mr Allen said, but it helped draw attention to the stock which has been a "fairly ordinary" performer of late.

"The market was a bit short of stock overall and F&P Appliances just needed a catalyst of some sort to get it moving again."

Elsewhere in the market, Briscoe Group reversed an early slump to close up 2c at 185, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare climbed 25c to 980, Tranz Rail rose a cent to 95c, WestpacTrust was up 5c at 1575, Air New Zealand added a cent to 48c, Baycorp Advantage was up 5c at 143, Contact Energy piled on 7c to 443 and Powerco rose 2c to 145.

Rises outnumbered falls by 55 to 27 among the 128 stocks traded.

On the flipside, Fletcher Building dipped a cent to 341, Michael Hill was a cent lower at 413 and The Warehouse dropped 6c to 540.

AMP lost 3c to 812, despite chief executive Andrew Mohl putting on a brave face during a briefing to shareholders in Australia today. Mr Mohl admitted that this year would be challenging, but said he was confident AMP had the right approach to turn its business around.

On Wall St the Dow Jones industrial average finished down 44.68 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 8240.38; the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 4.45 points, or 0.51 per cent to 876.45; and the Nasdaq Composite Index ended down just 0.01 per cent, or 0.14 point, at 1396.58.

- NZPA