NZ stocks: Swag of corporate news as NZX closes higher, both indices up

A swag of corporate news was aired on the sharemarket today as leading stocks Telecom and Contact pulled it to a positive close.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 4.71 points at 2436.53, while the NZSX-40 capital index was up 3.05 points at 2244.52.

Telecom finished the day up 6c at 567, their highest closing level since May 2001, after hogging $32.6 million -- or 50.6 per cent -- of the $64.4 million traded today.

Shares in Contact Energy spiked 3c to 508 after it today said it had been granted a licence to sell electricity on the retail market in Victoria, Australia.

ABN Amro Craigs broker Matt Willis said it would be interesting to see how mum and dad investors reacted to Contact's news.

"Their operations over there will be viewed with a degree of scepticism," Mr Willis told NZPA today.

"Right now, I think there's an element of nervousness about general investment over there," he said, noting trade on NZX today had been modest.

Also today, Air New Zealand posted a December half net profit after tax (npat) at $105.35 million, up 12 per cent on the year earlier period, but did not issue an interim dividend.

The airline -- whose shares closed unchanged on 41c -- was sticking with its $220 million full year profit forecast despite achieving 68 per cent of this in the first half.

"I think (that result) looked pretty good," Mr Willis said.

"I think there might have been an expectation that this period might have been flat on the previous comparable period, but it was quite a bit better.

"At an operating level they look to be doing very well."

Discount retailer The Warehouse Group today placed its shares in a trading halt ahead of an announcement tomorrow morning.

Mr Willis said it was unclear what the company planned to say, but announcements on its future profits or Australian unit were likely candidates.

Its shares were down 5c at 432, the price at which trading was halted.

Allied Farmers finished up 10c at 220 after reporting a December half npat of $1.3 million, down 10 per cent on the previous same period.

Listed hire company Hirequip was down 1c at 99 after posting an improved December half npat of $3.7 million and issued a fully imputed one cents per share dividend.

Other movers today included: AMP down 4c at 541, Baycorp Advantage down 4c at 324, Briscoe Group down 5c at 141, Ebos, down 8c at 352, Independent Newspapers Ltd up 10c at 480, Lion Nathan down 10c at 670, Hellaby up 5c at 505, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare up 3c at 1168, F&P Appliances down 9c at 382, Ports of Auckland down 15c at 715, Ports of Tauranga down 10c at 440, and Sky TV up 5c at 522.

There were 45 rises and 56 falls among the 144 stocks traded on NZX today.

Overseas, the Dow Jones closed up 35.25 points at 10,601.62, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 4.58 points at 1143.67, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 17.54 points to 2022.98.

- NZPA