NZ Stocks: Telecom rebound lifts sharemarket

12.15 pm

A mild rebound in Telecom, pulled along by Telstra, helped the sharemarket rise 0.65 per cent in morning trading today.

Telecom gained 8c to 523 although it was off its morning high of 530. Telstra rose 28c to 668.

Hamilton Hindin Greene broker Grant Williamson said Telstra had a late rally in Australia yesterday and its New Zealand price rise today was a catch-up.

The NZSE-40 index was up 13.15 points to 2039.57 by shortly after 11am. Volume was very slim at $22.6 million and rises of 46 outnumbered the 25 falls among the 112 stocks traded.

Demand for Contact Energy continued on the opening bell, with the power company running up to 320, but it lost its 3c gain to return to par with yesterday's close on 317.

Auckland Airport continued its recovery from the slump last week in the wake of calls by the Commerce Commission to regulate its runway charges. It was up 4c to 351.

GPG also gained 2c to 170. Brokers said it had been oversold on the publicity over Enza's foreign exchange losses. GPG owns 36 percent of Enza with FR Partners.

Fisher & Paykel stretched to new highs, rising 10c to 1235, as demand for the soon-to-be-split group continued unabated.

Sky City was another stock to push onwards and upwards, rising 15c to 1115.

Other moves of interest included, The Warehouse up 5c to 540, Carter Holt Harvey, up 2c to 176, Kirkaldies, up 10c to 500, and Baycorp up 30c to 1290.

Westpac NZ share recovered from yesterday's losses, rising 23c to 1540.

- NZPA