NZ stocks: Market leaders attract offshore interest

The New Zealand sharemarket gained ground today as market leaders attracted offshore cash in the first full week of business this year.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed up 25.40 points, or 1.3 per cent, at a two-month high of 1975.79 after kicking off the session in the red. The top-10 index ended up 1.68 per cent at 895.20.

Volume was fairly light at $43.21 million, with 18.02 million stocks traded, topped by Carter Holt Harvey's 3.32 million shares.

Craig Robins of Salomon Smith Barney said the two top stocks - Telecom and Carter Holt Harvey - had benefited from offshore buyers wanting to enter the New Zealand market.

"When you buy the market, you buy Telecom effectively ... being the number one (by) market capitalisation by far.

"It's mutual funds, hedge funds, coming back from holiday with new allocations of cash for the beginning of the calendar year," Mr Robins said.

"Also in a market like this, flows are very light so prices can be pushed around very easily. But there was genuine top-down buying in the leading stocks."

Telecom fell 2c in early trading but reversed that to close up 16c at a five-week high of 472, while Carter Holt was at a four-month high, up 4c at 180.

The market had received no positive steer from the United States market on Friday, where blue chip stocks slipped on a weak earnings forecast from the world's No 1 home-improvement retailer, Home Depot Inc.

The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 5.83 points to 8601.69, while the Nasdaq managed to eke out a tiny gain, extending its 2003 rally for a second day.

Three of the best performing New Zealand top-40 stocks of last year, Michael Hill, Fletcher Building and Briscoe, continued their good run. Michael Hill rose 19c to 939; discount retailer Briscoe rose 2c to 275; and Building was up 5c at 338.

Auckland Airport initially rose 3c but reversed that to close 8c down at 545.

There was good volume in Tranz Rail, which rose 2c to 110 despite bad publicity about heat causing temporary line closures and affecting timetables.

Among others to move, AMP rose 25c to 1245, Ports of Auckland rose 10c to 670, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 23c to 922 while F&P Appliances lost 10c to 1000, TrustPower rose 5c to 358, Baycorp Advantage rose 17c to 220, and The Warehouse fell 1c to 724.

The 63 rises outweighed the 27 falls on the 127 stocks traded.

- NZPA