NZ stocks: Sharemarket benefits from Wall St rally

A bullish night on Wall St gave New Zealand shares a morning boost although it tailed off as the session wore on.

The sharemarket closed up 3.93 points or 0.20 per cent to 1991.41 but earlier in the day rose some 21.68 points or 1.20 per cent. Turnover was a solid 41.8 million shares worth $108 million.

Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones strengthened 4.6 per cent as investors piled in to grab bargains from the recent large selloffs.

That fed through to US-listed Telecom, which traded as high as 508 before closing up 2c to 497 on $44 million worth of shares.

The telco is also enjoying heightened local demand following a major selldown last week , and changes to the Stock Exchange's index system which could give Telecom a heavier weighting.

The most actively traded stock, however, was recent market darling Fletcher Building, which slipped 3c to 294 on 9.4 million shares worth $27.8 million. Brokers remained upbeat, however, about the company's prospects following its purchase of Australia's Laminex Group.

Other stocks to receive a boost from the big US rises were fellow blue chips discount retailer The Warehouse, up 7c at 712, and Auckland Airport, up 5c at 440.



Tightly held stocks that were expected to lose weighting under the proposed index changes included Air NZ, down 3c to 47 today, INL, 4c to 311 and its majority-owned subsidiary Sky TV, down 6c to 329.

Other moves included Carter Holt Harvey up 2c to 160, Fisher & Paykel Appliances up 5c to 990, F&P Healthcare up 15c to 990, Sky City up 7c to 730, and AMP up 45c to 1405.

ANZ rose 20c to 2100 after announcing the bank was looking to lower its risk profile by concentrating on its Australasian home markets.

Fletcher Forests slid a cent to 22 but Guinness Peat Group remained unchanged at 159 and Rubicon at 73 on speculation that GPG might make a bid for the Central North Island Forestry Partnership.

Port of Auckland, one of the winners from the P&O Nedlloyd contact, fell 15c to 600 although brokers pointed to its recent good run. Mainfreight was steady at 106 but turnover was strong, reflecting the benefits transport companies are expected to receive from changes in cargo traffic.

Lyttelton Port Company regained 8c to 153 after being excluded from the P&O contract yesterday.

There were 55 rises and 33 falls on the 123 stocks traded.

In the United States, stocks soared in a late comeback to kick off the fresh quarter as a preliminary deal between Iraq and the US drew bargain-hungry investors back into the ravaged market.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 346.86 points, or 4.57 per cent, to 7938.79; the Nasdaq composite index rallied 41.51 points, or 3.54 per cent, at 1213.57; and the broader Standard and Poor's 500 index climbed 32.64 points, or 4 per cent, to 847.92.

- NZPA