Shares recover more ground after 10 days on the skids

Photo / File

The New Zealand sharemarket clawed back more ground yesterday, climbing sharply soon after it opened and retaining about half the gains seen during an early afternoon spike.

The NZX-50 index finished at 3408.37 points, up 16.35, or 0.48 per cent, following a gain of 6.1 points on Tuesday in the wake of 10 successive trading days of decline.

Bargain-hunters seeking out stocks they regarded as oversold during that slump caused the prices of 65 stocks to rise, compared to 35 falls, as 35.4 million shares worth about $104 million changed hands.

Shares in Fletcher Building were up 8c to $8.12, after reaching a 5-month low $7.92 on the previous two days.

Cornerstone stock Telecom was up 2c to $2.55.5, after reaching an 18-month high on Tuesday following an announcement that Mark Ratcliffe would stay on as head of the Chorus unit if it was spun off as a separate public company.

Shares in gold explorer Glass Earth Gold were unchanged on 62c after the company announced what it described as "significant" results from sampling at its Muirs prospect in the Bay of Plenty. The company's shares were 25c last October. The nation's biggest gold miner, Oceana Gold, fell 5c to $3.60.

Mainfreight lifted 12c to $10.22, and NZX - the exchange operator - bounced back 10c to $2.22 apparently after overcoming some investor uncertainty over the implications of its problems with the Clear Grain exchange.
Restaurant Brands lifted 9c to $2.43, and Pumpkin Patch put on 3c to $1.06. Sky City lifted 3c to $3.57.

PGG Wrightson fell 1c to 48c while APN News & Media fell 3c to $1.52.

Electricity company Vector finished down 3c at $2.39, while NZ Refining fell 7c to $3.53.

Across the Tasman, Australian shares rallied, adding $23 billion to the market's value. Locally traded News Corp shares rallied for a second day, with non-voting A class shares rising A67c, or 4.8 per cent, to A$14.75, while B-class shares, which hold voting rights, added A74c, or 5.1 per cent, to A$15.24.

In the US, strong corporate results and renewed hope for an agreement in Washington on thorny budget issues boosted investor confidence.

The Nasdaq gained more than 2 per cent, led by big-cap tech companies, including Apple, which hit a 52-week high during regular trading. After the market closed, the maker of iPhones and iPads reported revenue well above analysts' estimates, sending its shares up 6.7 per cent to US$402.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.6 per cent at 12,587.27, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.6 per cent at 1326.71, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.2 per cent at 2826.52.

-NZPA