Contact Energy the standout in cautious trading

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The New Zealand sharemarket started the week on a positive note but investors are cautious ahead of an official cash rate review by theReserve Bank of New Zealand on Thursday.

The NZX-50 index closed up 9.88 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 3293.18 after opening down slightly.

There was little corporate news to react to but Treasury figures showing that corporate tax revenue was $784 million, or 28 per cent, lower than forecast in the four months to the end of October were a reminder of the pressure on the corporate sector.

The standout performer was Contact Energy, which rose 14c to $6.21. Investors have been positive after the company explained at its annual meeting in October that two major new assets will restore significant flexibility to its portfolio from 2011. The stock is trading at levels not seen since May.

Telecom rose 3c to $2.18 on good volume as investors continue to wait for news on the Government's broadband plans. Vector fell 5c to $2.43.

Fletcher Building fell 5c to $7.90, Port of Tauranga dropped 10c to $7.35, Ebos Group fell 1c to $7.62, and Tourism Holdings fell 3c to 71c.

Retailers were mixed with The Warehouse up 8c to $3.82, Michael Hill was unchanged at 81c and Hallenstein Glasson fell 5c to $4.20.

Nuplex gained 6c to $3.48, Mainfreight rose 8c to $7.56 and Tower rose 3c to $1.99.

Infratil was up 2c to $1.87 on a day TrustPower fell 9c to $7.37.

SkyCity rose 6c to $3.19 and Sky TV rose 1c to $5.19.

Xero lifted 7c to a new high at $2.25, and Smartpay rose 0.2c to 2.9c.

In the United States on Friday (local time) stocks shrugged off tepid jobs growth at the end of the best week in a month.

The Dow Jones rose 0.2 per cent to end at 11,382.09, the Standard & Poor's 500 added 0.3 per cent to 1224.71, and the Nasdaq gained 0.5 per cent to close at 2591.46.

- NZPA