NZ stocks: Market positive, ANZ shares rise after deal

The sharemarket finished today's session on a positive note with both major indices turning in solid performances, a broker said.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX-50 was up 20.13 points at 2318.21, while the NZSX-40 capital index was up 19.31 points at 2209.21.

Market heavyweight Telecom finished up 1c at 493, having traded $33.7 million worth on volume of 6.8 million.

On the New Zealand Exchange today there were $86.6 million worth of shares traded on volume of 33.3 million.

Among the 149 stocks traded were 70 rises and 30 falls.

ABN Amro Craigs operator Matt Willis said the news of the day was ANZ Bank, its shares closing up 10c at 2100, having traded $5 million worth.

On Friday, ANZ confirmed it was to buy the National Bank of New Zealand from Britain's Lloyds TSB in a $6.27 billion deal.

"I think the transaction is seen pretty positively both from an earnings perspective and from a price point of view by the market," Mr Willis told NZPA today.

ANZ plans a A$3.6 billion ($4.19 billion) rights issue to fund the purchase with the new shares priced at A$13.00.

"The rights issue looks very attractively priced and naturally we're seeing plenty of demand for ANZ shares," Mr Willis said.

ANZ said it would consider seeking a NZ stock exchange listing of the combined group and a public offer of shares, but not before 2006.

Elsewhere, Fisher & Paykel Appliances and F&P Healthcare regained some of the ground they lost yesterday.

Appliances closed up 10c at 1470, while Healthcare was up 44c at 1215.

"They were good recoveries," Mr Willis said.

"I suspect they got overdone yesterday, maybe there was some portfolio selling in our market," he said.

In other market news, shares on the rise included: Auckland International Airport up 10c at 655, AMP up 15c at 765, Promina up 11c at 391, Sky TV up 6c at 505, Carter Holt Harvey up 5c at 187, and The Warehouse up 12c at 572.

Among those on the slide were: Contact Energy down 3c at 505, Steel & Tube down 5c at 390, Tower down 2c at 126, and Urbus down 1c at 92.

Overseas, the Dow ended up 137 points, or 1.43 per cent, at 9745.2 while the Nasdaq added 48.59 points, 2.58 per cent, at 1931.5.

- NZPA