KEY POINTS:
Shares ended firm today after an early boost from Wall Street and a soft currency, although the performance of blue chips was mixed.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index, which yesterday rose 1 per cent, was up 15.5 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 3653.3. Turnover totalled $81.4 million.
"I think investors are still being very selective in what they go for, and are maybe not looking too closely at the stocks that are reliant on the domestic economy, but more so the offshore influence," said Grant Williamson of Hamilton Hindin Greene.
Top stock Telecom was flat at 394, second-ranked Contact Energy was down 9c at 900, and Fletcher Building bounced 17c to 835.
Some exporters benefited as the kiwi slid back below US77c, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare up 3c at 266, F&P Appliances up 2c at 265 and Rakon up 6c at 329.
Auckland Airport was up 2c at 225, Sky City fell 2c to 392, Sky TV rose 4c to 459, and Infratil gained 5c to 236.
Investment company Guinness Peat Group jumped a further 6c, or 3.3 per cent, to 190.
London-listed GPG's upcoming dividend payment sparked strong buying interest, and a recent presentation had prompted several brokers to start recommending the stock, Mr Williamson said.
The Warehouse was up 10c at 530 ahead of a Court of Appeal decision on whether Foodstuffs or Woolworths can launch separate takeover bids, possibly not far away.
"It'd be good to get the uncertainty removed from The Warehouse, one way or the other, but we are probably going to see a fair movement in that share price as soon as it's released," he said.
Mainfreight gained 17c to 688, Freighways was up 10c at 348, Trustpower rose 18c to 820, Tower was up 6c at 217, Air New Zealand rose 3c to 117 and NZX gained 4c to 815.
There was also some buying interest in property stocks, despite the lack of share price movement.
"Certainly it does look like investors are starting to chase yield again with the expectations of a much lower interest rate over the next 12 months," Mr Williamson said.
Kiwi Income Property Trust was flat at 124 on $1m worth of shares traded, National Property Trust rose 2c to 52, AMP Office Trust gained a cent to 121, Goodman Property Trust was flat at 137 on turnover totalling $1.7m, and Property for Industry lost a cent to 126.
On the down side, Hallenstein Glasson lost 2c to 351, Methven was down 2c at 147, Vector fell 2c to 200, Ebos lost 5c to 481, and Ryman Healthcare fell 3c to 172.
Among dual-listed stocks, ANZ fell 80c to 2900, Westpac shed 100 to 3100, AMP gained 25c to 985, and Lion Nathan was flat at 990.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.3 per cent at 5813, while Japan's Nikkei was up 1.3 per cent.
In the United States, stocks rose on Monday as the introduction of a faster BlackBerry spurred optimism about business spending on technology, while cooling oil prices eased inflation concerns.
- NZPA
