NZ stocks: Sharemarket bounces back

12.00pm

After a quiet start the sharemarket moved up this morning, led by rises in bellwether stock Telecom.

After a faltering start, the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was up 10.52 points to 2614.32 by 11.34am, while the NZSX-All capital index rose 2.76 points to 876.73.

Yesterday Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard raised the Official Cash Rate (OCR ) from 5.5 per cent to 5.75 per cent in a widely anticipated move, but also signalled two more possible rate hikes later this year.

ASB Securities' Stephen Wright said the rate hike had been well flagged to the market, which has bounced back today after initially falling following the announcement.

"Obviously our market may stay subdued for some time yet, but nobody is panicking over the rate rises so far" Mr Wright said.

International markets also likely to be subdued today, due to the long weekend in the US for the funeral of former US president Ronald Reagan.

Market leader Telecom was up 7c at 559 by 11.34am on turnover worth $13 million.

Total market turnover by 11.34am was worth $22.9 million.

Sky City Entertainment was up 3c at 470, after yesterday announcing it had acquired 95.75 per cent of Sky City Leisure, sparking a compulsory acquisition of the shares it did not currently own.

Sky City Leisure was unchanged at 76c.

Tenon was also unchanged at 197 after yesterday's board reshuffle which saw Rubicon and Guinness Peat Group director Tony Gibbs named as new chairman in place of incumbent Sir Dryden Spring.

Other stocks on the move by 11.34am included Carter Holt Harvey up 1c at 198, Cavalier down 8c at 482, DB Breweries up 6c 806, Michael Hill Jeweller up 1c at 583, NZX down 5c at 820, The Warehouse down 1c at 429 and NZ Refining down 15c at 1920.

Of the 110 stocks traded by 11.34am this morning there were 37 rises and 23 falls.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 41.66 points at 10,410.10, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed up 5.14 points at 1,136.47, the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.26 points at 1,999.87.

- NZPA