NZ stocks: Soaring electricity spot prices good news for market

Soaring spot prices for electricity saw shares in some power companies spike higher today in what was a buoyant post-holiday session for the sharemarket.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 12.07 points at 2476.82, its highest since it began in March last year.

The NZSX-40 capital index was up 10.59 points at 2302.75, its highest level since May 1998.

There was $78.3 million worth of shares traded on volume of 26.4 million. Among the 142 stocks traded were 55 rises and 43 falls.

ABN Amro Craigs broker Matt Willis said a number of electricity companies had done well while spot prices soared after high voltage lines between the North and South Islands were cut on Friday.

Shares in Contact Energy were up 4c at 552, their highest since early December. Powerco shares were up 4c at 202, a level they last saw in December 2001.

"Without a shadow of doubt those stocks were leveraging off news of the spot prices rising today," Mr Willis told NZPA today.

Paradoxically, shares in star market performer TrustPower were down 5c at 685 after the company had put in a solid campaign in 2003, Mr Willis said.

Market heavyweight Telecom saw $32 million worth of trade on volume of six million, its shares up 5c at 543 and helping pull the market to its fresh highs.

Meanwhile, retails stocks continued to do well thanks to the strong New Zealand dollar -- it hit a 6-1/2 year of US68.28c today -- low interest rates and a bumper Christmas period.

The Warehouse was up 2c at 539, Postie Plus was 1c at 110, Briscoe Group was up 2c at 173, and Michael Hill International was up 9c at 499.

Other shares on the rise today included: AMP up 5c at 565, Austral Pacific up 7c at 207, Carter Holt Harvey up 4c at 197, Hellaby up 5c at 505, Mainfreight up 8c at 174, NZX up 25c at 610, Promina up 10c at 380, and Richmond up 29c at 280.

Among those on the slide were: Cavalier down 10c at 545, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare down 25c at 1225, Lion Nathan down 5c at 685, Mooring Systems down 10c at 250, Pacific Retail down 10c at 232, and Vending Technologies down 10c at 120.

There was $53,924 worth of shares traded on the New Zealand Alternative Exchange today.

Overseas, the Dow Jones ended down 133.55 points at 10,458.89, its biggest single-day percentage drop since October 2003. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 10.06 points to 1121.86, its biggest such fall since mid-November of last year.

The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 13.33 points to 2086.92.

- NZPA