NZ stocks: Market benefits from power price hopes

The prospect of higher power prices sent Contact Energy skywards today, and the overall sharemarket up by half a per cent.

The NZSX-50 gross index closed up 13.681 points or 0.58 per cent at 2346.80 while the NZSX-40 capital index was 12.774 points higher at 2232.35. Total turnover was a healthy $89.8 million.

The indices' gains were underpinned by power generator and retailer Contact Energy, which jumped 21c to a new high of 560 on $8.6 million worth of shares.

Brokers said reasons for the rise were two-fold. There was fresh speculation about what majority shareholder Edison Mission planned to do with its stake, and there was also positive momentum from yesterday's decision by Genesis Energy to raise its gas prices to North Island customers.

"The trend for (electricity) prices is up," one broker said.

Investment company Infratil was also up 8c to 258 on the back of its stake in electricity company Trustpower.

Elsewhere, turnover was high in market leaders Telecom and Carter Holt Harvey. Telecom topped turnover at $23.7 million and rose 4c to 514 compared to a 13c fall by Australian rival Telstra.

Brokers said Telstra had been hurt by concern over possible acquisitions in Asia, while Telecom has been riding a crest of positivity, with talk of an increased dividend within a year.

Forester Carter Holt Harvey gained a cent to 180 on $3.9 million worth of shares.

Fishing company Sanford was up 5c to 535 as the company announced a 28 per cent rise in annual profit, mainly due to foreign exchange gains and capital profit.

On the downside, insurer Tower slipped 5c to 129 after posting a September year loss above expectations at $149 million. The half year net profit of $5.5 million disappointed and the company reported ongoing problems in Australia.

The Warehouse also slipped 10c to 552 on moderately low turnover. No one reason was apparent although Christmas sales could be a factor, brokers said.

First NZ Capital's Phil Hardie Boys noted the market's steady progress since April but said much focus would be on the Reserve Bank's next interest rate announcement next week.

Sky City Casino lost 6c to 449 on moderate turnover as the stock settles down after its share split last week.

Rises outweighed falls 56 to 34 on 157 traded. Among the rises were Wakefield Hospital, up 10c to 212, Repco up 9c to 287, Nuplex up 10c to 420, NGC up 3c to 180, Michael Hill up 10c to 460, Hellaby up 6c to 484, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare up 10c to 1210.

Falls included Cavalier down 7c to 550 and Westpac down 7c to 1718.

In New York, stocks rose slightly on the back of robust GDP and consumer confidence data. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 12 points at 9759.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.42 points at 1054.50 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.33 points at 1948.47.

- NZPA