NZ stocks: Top-50 index at fresh highs

12.30pm

The New Zealand sharemarket was at fresh highs today despite subdued trading after gains on Wall St overnight.

By late morning the NZSX-50 gross index was up 0.09 of a point at 2302.30 -- the highest by a whisker since it was launched seven months ago -- while the top-40 index was down 0.21 points at 2205.05.

Turnover of 11.86 million stocks, valued at $26.56 million, was topped by Telecom's $7.46 million worth of shares.

On Wall St, where stocks closed higher for the fourth session in a row, the Dow Jones industrial average added 22.67 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 9594.98; the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.5 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 1034.35; and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 12.89 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 1893.46.

In London, the FTSE-100 share index ended down 3.9 points at 4270.1 points.

Brett Wilkinson of Direct Broking said The Warehouse fell foul of profit-takers, rising to an eight-month high of 603 before easing to 596, 2c below last night's close.

"Maybe that stock's stopped for a breather after making very good headway in the last two weeks," he said.

"Second liners continue to be well-sought, with New Zealand Oil and Gas up 1c at 37, which is a new eight-month high."

Other second-tier stocks to gain today were Richina, at new highs of 40, up 1c; Postie Plus, up 3c at 121; motor-maker Wellington Drive, up 1c at 75, just 0.6c shy of its high in February 2001; and Skellmax, up 1c at 119.

Fletcher Forests rose 1c to 130 ahead of the announcement expected this week of the successful bid for its forests estate.

"We expect the (New Zealand consortium) Kiwi Forests' bid to be successful, because it's higher," Mr Wilkinson said.

Kiwi Forests has launched a $725 million cash bid for the estate, beating its Oregon-based rival The Campbell Group by $23 million, including a $17 million break fee if Fletcher Forests ends negotiations with Campbell.

Market leader Telecom was up 2c at 508, newly-listed courier company Freightways was up 1c at a high of 181, Auckland International Airport was up 4c at 651, Sky City was up 6c at 870, and Infratil rose 3c to 229.

Cavalier rose 6c to 546, jeweller Michael Hill was up 2c at 443, Pyne Gould Guinness rose 1c to 126, and fish exporter Sanford was up 5c at 520.

Restaurant Brands -- owner of KFC, Starbucks and Pizza Hut in New Zealand -- was up 3c at 128 on news that its half-year profit was down 15 per cent but sales were positive.

Carter Holt Harvey was down 1c at 178, Contact Energy lost 1c to 509, BIL International lost 1c to 71, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was down 5c at 1480, F&P Healthcare lost 9c to 1290, and Fletcher Building was down 3c at 425.

There were 45 rises and 23 falls on the 120 stocks traded.

- NZPA