New Zealand shares rose on Thursday, rounding out a 6.9 per cent quarterly gain for the NZX 50. The rise followed Telecom's announcement of plans to cut as much as $110 million in annual costs and Contact Energy shrugged off worries Rio Tinto may shut its aluminium smelter, denting power demand.
The NZX 50 rose 10.69 points, or 0.2 per cent, to a record high of 4422.75 on the final day of the first quarter. Within the index, 27 stocks rose, 18 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover was $136.9 million.
Telecom rose 0.9 per cent to $2.34 and was the most heavily traded stock by value after saying it would slash as much as $110 million a year in costs by cutting up to 1230 jobs.
Job cuts had been flagged though they have arrived "a lot quicker than most people thought," said James Lee, head of institutional equities at First NZ Capital. "Lower costs equal higher profits" though the news was already partly in the share price."