NZ stocks: Strong rise for sharemarket

The New Zealand sharemarket enjoyed a leader-led rally today and out performed other markets in Asia.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 62.491 points, or 2.403 per cent at 2663.137.

Turnover was worth $115.47 million, of which $38 million was in Telecom and $40 million was in Fletcher Building.

There were 56 rises and 17 falls among the 108 stocks traded.

A rally in United States equities helped get the New Zealand market off to a good start and when other markets faltered on news of disappointing Chinese growth data the New Zealand market carried on undaunted.

"One or two of our major stocks were obviously dominating play," said Nigel Scott of ABN Amro Craigs.

Fletcher Building rose 23c to 673. Brokers said its recent capital raising increased the company's size and its weighting in key market indices, and investors were also becoming keener on cyclical stocks.

Mr Scott said Fletcher Building was a standout performer on the day.

Contact Energy rose 23c to 570. A seller was said to have retreated and a report today predicted higher gas prices.

Mr Scott said brokers were fielding a lot of calls from investors about the many share purchase plans currently on offer.

Companies are raising equity by various methods. It also helped the market that rights trading in the large Nuplex capital raising was strong before its close. Nuplex was unchanged at 35c, which is above the 23c a share the rights issue is priced at.

SkyCity rose 8c to 297 and SkyTV rose 10c to 405.

Sanford rose 10c to 555 after announcing investments in both offshore and inshore fishing activities.

Telecom rose 7c to 245.

Air NZ is now trading above $1, closing up 2c at 102.

Auckland Airport rose 7c to 170.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 6c to 293 and the appliances stock rose 2c to 46.

Mainfreight rose 10c to 430 and Freightways was unchanged at 265.

Finance sector stocks were firm with AMP rising 23c to 678 and Tower up 2c at 130. Westpac rose 40c to 2580.

Hellaby eased 3c to 50, Cavalier eased 10c to 175 and NZX eased 12c to 688.

United States stocks rose on Wednesday on signs the recession could be abating.

Financial stocks provided a major lift late in the session as American Express Co climbed almost 12 per cent after defaults rose only slightly after months of deterioration.

A report said manufacturing activity in New York State contracted less severely in April, while the Federal Reserve's Beige Book indicated the economy continued to weaken, but the contraction's speed was fading.

After a choppy session, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 109.44 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 8029.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 10.56 points, or 1.25 per cent, to 852.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.08 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1626.80.

- NZPA