NZ stocks: Telecom contributes to 'positive' result, says broker

6.30pm

After getting off to a slow start this morning the sharemarket finished on a positive note after "chunky" trading in market leader Telecom, a broker said.

At 5pm, the benchmark NZSX50 was up 5.38 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 2110.37, while the NZX40 capital index was up 4.01 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2052.13.

By market's close there had been $112.2 million worth of shares traded on volume of 35.7 million. Among the 140 stocks traded were 30 rises and 56 falls.

Telecom finished up 5c at 505, having traded $46 million worth on volume of 9.2 million.

Forsyth Barr broker David Price said the sharemarket had a "good performance with quite chunky volume again on Telecom".

"There was also quite large portfolio on the market with someone raising cash across the board," Mr Price told NZPA.

Through most of the morning the major indices softened as the recent trend of profit taking by overseas investors continued.

Overseas markets were down across the board in overnight trading, with the United States' Nasdaq having its biggest percentage loss in two months as disheartening news from bellwethers IBM and Nokia raised doubts about a profits rebound.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 49.95 points, or 2.86 per cent, at 1,698.02. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average dropped 43.77 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 9,050.82. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 fell 12.27 points, or 1.23 per cent, at 981.73.

On NZX, wood processor Carter Holt Harvey finished down 1c at 161 after it yesterday announced a half-year profit of $92 million, but said the Kinleith industrial dispute had affected its earnings.

Of other corporates in the news, troubled insurer Tower lost 2c at 122, Tranz Rail closed unchanged on 97c, while Powerco had gained 1c at 168 after announcing a $13.1 million first quarter net operating profit.

Powerco said it was on track to achieve its full-year forecast.

Shares on the rise today included: ANZ Bank up 12c to 2002, Auckland International Airport up 6c to 576, Contact Energy up 3c to 463, Fletcher Building up 3c to 374, JPM Fleming up 15c to 1055, NZ Refining up 8c to 1660, Telstra up 2c to 529, TrustPower up 9c to 500, and The Warehouse up 7c to 479.

On the slide were: AMP down 7c to 570, Briscoe down 3c to 194, Genesis Energy down 5c to 110, Port of Tauranga down 12c to 405, Sky City down 5c to 120, and Turners Auctions down 7c to 330.

- NZPA