NZ stocks: Rise on opening as Carter Holt perks up

12.15pm

The sharemarket made ground this morning with wood processor and forester Carter Holt Harvey recovering slightly from its recent losses.

By 11.45am the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was 6.68 points higher at 2809.49, while the NZSX all capital index was up 2.12 points at 935.66.

Carter Holt Harvey which has lost 25c in the last two sessions on a disappointing third quarter result and modest forest sale plans was 3c higher at 211.

Elsewhere, Telecom was up 2c at 589 while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 4c to 285.

There was high turnover again in lines company Powerco. Some 2.8m shares changed hands and the stock rose a cent to 213 after Prime Infrastructure's $2.15 a share takeoffer gained grudging approval from Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday and an independent report found the offer to be of fair value.

The independent report advised shareholders to register their stock overseas so they could be fully paid in cash.

Across the rest of the top 50 most moves were modest, with Ryman Healthcare up 4c to 330 and Waste Management was down 4c at 538.

Dorchester Pacific was up 7c to 290 on a small parcel.

NZ Refining, the beneficiary of higher oil prices and margins, rose another 55c to 2680.

Total turnover by 11.45am was worth $31 million on 36 rises and 25 falls among 123 stocks traded.

- NZPA