NZ stocks: Market continues in positive territory

The sharemarket continued to track in to positive territory this morning, further bolstering Friday's gains which saw the benchmark NZSX-50 index hit an all-time high.

At 11.30am, the NZSX-50 was up 4.39 points at 2265.26, while the NZSX-40 capital index was up 0.77 points at 2166.34.

On Friday, the NZSX-50 closed at 2260.87.

Shares in Telecom were up 1c at 518, with $14 million worth traded on volume of 2.7 million.

A Forsyth Barr broker said the market was typically quiet for a Monday, with low turnover and volume.

By 11.30am, there was $30 million worth of shares traded on volume of 7.5 million. Among the 103 stocks traded were 30 rises and 18 falls.

"The news today is Mainfreight's bid for Owens which looks hopeful of succeeding," he said.

This morning, transport company Mainfreight confirmed it had upped its takeover offer for logistics company Owens from $1.03 a share to $1.10, valuing the company at $62 million.

Owens' board said the new offer was in line with that of independent advisers Deloitte Corporate Finance, and advised shareholders to accept.

Mainfreight shares were down 1c at 129, while Owens shares were up 4c at 108.

Auckland International Airport shares continued their positive trend, being up 1c at 677.

In other sharemarket news, companies going ex-dividend today were AMP NZ Office Trust (3.48 cents per share), Briscoe Group (2.75 cps), Nuplex (10.5 cps), Sky City (26 cps).

Overseas, the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 14.60 points to 9644.53.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 3.32 points at 1036.26.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 3.81 points to 1905.74, based on latest available data.

On NZX, shares on the rise included: Blis up 1c at 33, Contact Energy up 1c at 477, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare up 4c at 1264, Independent Newspapers up 3c at 455, Lion Nathan up 4c at 609, Pacific Retail up 3c at 258, and TrustPower up 4c at 495.

Shares going down included: Briscoe Group down 3c at 180, Nuplex down 12c at 385, Ports of Auckland down 1c at 810, and Shotover Jet down 2c at 85.

- NZPA