KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket made modest gains today, helped by a rise in top stock Telecom.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 2.41 points to 3256.57, having lost 1 per cent on Friday after strong gains on the two preceding days.
Rises outnumber falls by 46 to 39 and turnover was $73.18 million.
Telecom's 12c rise to 361 today was a standout feature of the market but its impact was countered by a 20c fall in Fletcher Building to 649.
"Fletcher Building was giving up some of its recent gains," said Grant Williamson, director of Hamilton Hindin Greene.
He said there was not particular reason for the recovery in Telecom other than it might be considered a safe haven stock.
Australian bank stocks have taken a hammering this year and ANZ was down 10.91 per cent as the New Zealand market closed after the bank announced A$1.2 ($1.56) billion of provisions, days after National Australia Bank announced a large provision.
Many of the New Zealand blue chip stocks had a good day.
Contact rose 5c to 817 and Sky City rose 13c to 340. Trustpower rose 5c to 775.
Auckland International Airport fell 6c to 186 after it emerged the company is in dispute with unsuccessful Canadian bidders over unpaid expenses.
AIA said it had sought $7.6m for expenses, while Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) had paid $1.34m.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances eased 9c to 198, while F&P Healthcare was unchanged at 257. Guinness Peat Group eased a cent to 135.
Tourism Holdings rose 12c to 148 on low volume.
US stocks rose 0.2 per cent on Friday (local time), boosted by better-than-expected reports on orders for durable manufactured goods and new home sales that eased fears about a sinking economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19 per cent to 11,370.69 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index added 5.22 points to 1257.76. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 1.33 per cent to 2310.43.
- NZPA
