Telecom and Ebos up as NZ shares buck the trend

The New Zealand sharemarket rose yesterday when many other markets were weak and a large volume was traded in the shares of New Zealand Oil & Gas, the 29 per cent shareholder of Pike River Coal Ltd.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 10.45 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 3269.22 after initially opening down 10.48 points. There were 36 rises and 39 falls among the 112 stocks traded.

Turnover was worth $91 million.

"Generally the market has had a good day and has shrugged off international and domestic events," Ross Cuthbert, an adviser at Craigs Investment Partners said.

Telecom rose 2c to $2.19, Fletcher Building rose 6c to $8.06 and Tower rose 1c to $1.89. SkyTV rose 1c to $5.28 and Ebos rose 5c to $7.25.

NZ Oil & Gas, a shareholder in Pike River Coal, closed 2c higher at 89c, having ended down 33c yesterday.

Shares were placed on a trading halt on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) after confirmation all 29 miners trapped in the Pike River Coal Mine had perished.

Pike River Coal shares remain suspended.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares fell 7c to $2.95 after the company reported half year net profit, before a one-off non-cash deferred tax change, fell to $28.6 million, compared to $37 million a year earlier. Cuthbert said the result was slightly better than guidance but a subdued outlook statement caused the price to fall.

Sanford was unchanged at $4.65. The fishing company reported a mixed annual result late yesterday but said the acquisition of Pacifica Seafoods in November will boost next year's operating earnings.

TrustPower was down 5c to $7.35 but was trading ex-dividend yesterday.

Pyne Gould shares rose a cent to 40c on a day that CBS Canterbury shareholders approved a merger plan with subsidiary Marac.

Kathmandu rose 1c to $1.56 after telling shareholders at the annual meeting that its trading environment was still difficult. Ecoya was untraded after reporting an interim loss.

Vital Healthcare Property rose a cent to $1.12 after unit holders approved the acquisition of 12 healthcare properties in Australia. Charlie's rose 1.1c to 18.1c.

Contact Energy fell 2c to $5.88, The Warehouse fell 4c to $3.73, Nuplex fell 5c to $3.25 and Rakon fell 3c to $1.16.

- NZPA