NZ stocks: Market closes up 1.2 per cent

The New Zealand sharemarket gained ground today with many stocks rebounding after being sold off last week.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed up 1.2 per cent, 23.7 points, at 1944.79, while the top-10 index was up 1.1 per cent at 883.85.

Turnover was moderate for a Monday with 19.36 million stocks changing hands, valued at $61.21 million.

Direct Broking equities manager Brett Wilkinson said the market was quiet, although bargain hunters had been snapping up oversold stocks.

Among stocks to rebound from sell-offs last week were retailers The Warehouse, up 7c at 587, and Briscoe Group, up 11c at 244, Fletcher Building, up 10c at 366, and Restaurant Brands, up 7c at 155.

Kicking off a busy week for half-year profit announcements, Waste Management gained 15c to 305 on its 15 per cent rise in interim profit to $15 million, beating early forecasts.

Independent Newspapers Ltd and its pay-TV asset Sky TV rose ahead of their profit announcements later this week, gaining 6c to 310 and 7c to 350 respectively.

Carpet manufacturer Cavalier was up 26c at 401 after reporting on Friday a 60 per cent rise in profit to $9.2 million. The stock was on track to match its high of $4.05 in December.

Fisher & Paykel stocks had a mixed day, with Healthcare down 5c at 995 and Appliances up 1c at 1011.

Ports of Auckland closed down 9c at 645 after its interim profit fell 10 per cent to $20.4 million, in line with market expectations.

Energy stocks rose with Contact Energy up 4c at 456, and NGC Holdings rebounding 7c to 149.

AMP rose 10c to 855, Steel & Tube was up 14c to 325 on news of a 22 per cent rise in interim profit, Sky City was up 3c at 843, fishing company Sanford rose 10c to 510, Pacific Retail lost 6c to 242, and Designer Textiles gained 4c to 104.

Air New Zealand rose 2c to 54c, Telecom was up 7c at 453, Auckland Airport rose 2c to 537, and Turners Auctions gained 10c to 290 after announcing on Friday a 53 per cent rise in interim profit.

There were 62 rises and 31 falls on the 131 stocks traded.

On Wall St on Friday the Dow Jones industrials leaped 158.93 points, or 2.05 per cent, to 7908.80; the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 17.52 points, or 2.14 per cent, to 834.89; and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 32.73 points, or 2.56 per cent, to 1310.17.

- NZPA