NZ stocks: Telecom's upward path underpins market

5.40pm

Telecom resumed its upward trajectory today -- following a short pause -- and that underpinned the sharemarket.

The market leader powered 9c ahead to finish on its session high of 608. UBS Warburg broker Richard Leggat said Telecom had consolidated in recent days and it was trending higher again.

The NZSX-50 gross index closed up 14.53 points at 2755.94, just under its all-time high touched on Thursday.

ABN Amro Craigs broker Matt Willis said investors were focused on Thursday's Reserve Bank review of interest rates.

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard is expected to raise the official cash rate 25 basis points to 6.0 per cent.

The Warehouse rebounded another 10c to 445 on good volume today. It has now recovered 10 per cent from its low of 402 two weeks ago. Mr Leggat said there was growing optimism amongst retailers in Australia and that had rubbed off the New Zealand discounter.

NGC fell back 6c to 268 as investors expressed disappointment that the stock increasing seemed unlikely to be "in play" as had been hoped.

Powerco, another company thought to be in play, held steady on 213. It told shareholders at the annual meeting today its npat (net profit after tax) for the June quarter was $14.4 million, up from $13.1 million, and that the result indicated this year's earnings would outstrip last year's.

Cabletalk soared 40 per cent -- up 10c to 35c -- after it told shareholders at the annual meeting that its ebitda and operating cashflows for the current year would exceed last year's.

Fishing company Sanford continued to recover. It rose 8c to 468.

Promina roses 7c to 430 and fellow insurer AMP rose 4c to 691.

Freightways jumped 8c to a new high of 258 while Steel & Tube rose 7c to a seven-year high of 440 and Fletcher Building rose 5c to 495, also a level not seen since 1997.

NZX, which gained heavily yesterday in the wake of Computershare successfully unloading its stake, rose another 5c today to 865.

Australian banks fared well with ANZ up 41 to 2015 and Westpact rose 5c to 1780.

Carter Holt Harvey rose 1c at 211.

South Island-based PPCS has increased its stake in Richmond to over 97 per cent, enough to spark a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares. On the last day of PPCS' $3.11 a share takeover offer for Richmond, the meat company was untraded after closing yesterday at 312.

Shares in DB Breweries rose 2c to 942 after its majority shareholder, Asia Pacific Breweries, yesterday bid 950c a share for the 23 per cent it did not already own.

Pumpkin Patch shares continued to do well, up 6c at 169.

On the alternative exchange, Solution Dynamics listed at a 30 cent premium. Its shares opened at 130c up from its 100c issue price and they closed on that price.

The small stocks index gained 20.55 points to a new high of 7316.71 while the top 10 index rose 6.69 to 1134.37 and the NZSX-All capital index rose 4.90 to 927.64.

Repco rose 8c to 304, Mainfreight rose 6c to 194 and Toll NZ rose 5c to 187.

There were 56 rises and 42 falls among the 152 stocks traded.

Turnover was modest at 39.1 million shares worth $96.7m with $37m of that in Telecom.

- NZPA