NZ stocks: Top 50 index sets new high

NZX's new top 50 stocks index set a new high today as Auckland Airport and Fletcher Building propelled the sharemarket higher.

Fletcher Building reported a $168 million year net profit that comfortably exceeded market expectations of $156 million. Its shares traded up 4c to 422, just 1c off an all-time high, but by 11.45am had eased to 420.

The company reported a strong result in all divisions and said the outlook was for a further improvement in the current year despite softening conditions.

Auckland Airport has been a big beneficiary of Air New Zealand's announcement yesterday that it planned to reduce trans-Tasman airfares which is expected to significantly stimulate the market.

The airport is expected to see a significant increase in competition and traffic as a result. It gained 8c yesterday and rose another 15c today, also to a record high of 626 in early business.

Air New Zealand itself was up 1c to 50c. There was a line of 1.7 million Air New Zealand shares traded and by 11.45am some 3.8 million had turned over.

The benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was up 11.76 points to 2215.15, just beating by three points the previous high set on June 30. The index was introduced in March but has been plotted back to February 1, 2001.

The old top 40 capital index was up 10.23 points to 2136.87.

Telecom trading made up a third of the total market turnover of $25 million. The market leader was up 2c at 525.

Sky City shares rose 6c to 923. The Government last night softened its anti-gambling stance on pokie machines in amendments made in the second reading of the Responsible Gambling Bill.

NZ Refining continued its good run, rising 8c to 1660 as did The Warehouse, which rose 18c to 530. The stock has risen 18 per cent this month.

Waste Management, another to improve after a well received report this month, rose another 7c to 395 today.

Contact Energy was up 4c to 496, CDL Hotels was up 10 per cent, 3c to 33c, Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 15c to 1415, and Healthcare rose 6c to 1211.

There were few falls of significance with only 18 stocks down against 37 improvers in the 105 stocks traded to date.

The local market got its positive lead from the United States where stocks surged on the Federal Reserve's announcement that it would keep US interest rates unchanged at 45-year lows.

The central bank's rate-setting committee warned again about the risk of falling prices and said rates could stay low for "a considerable period."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92.71 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 9,310.06; the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 9.76 points, or 1 per cent, at 990.35 and the technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite Index gained 25.5 points, or 1.53 per cent, to 1,687.01.

- NZPA