NZ stocks: Telecom, Wall St boost NZ market

The sharemarket yesterday was again driven by activity in Telecom, which had a positive influence.

The benchmark NZSE-40 index closed up 10.27 points at 2100.32. The small stocks index gained 9.23 to 5824.07.

Turnover totalling $82.17 million was boosted by some big offmarket trades of mostly Australian stocks, including $10.5 million in AMP and $8.8 million in BHP.

The positive mood was set by Wall St, which had a relief rally following the previous day's 2 per cent loss, as better-than-expected results were posted by big names like General Electric and IBM.

Telecom, which carries a 23 per cent weighting on the local bourse, rose 14c to 537 on turnover of 4.5 million shares worth $23.7 million. ABN Amro broker Nigel Scott said the stock was enjoying a bit of "price respite" after selling pressure in recent days.

After the market closed, Pacific Retail announced a $1.90 a share takeover bid for Bendon, making it a three-way tussle with Bendon's management and, reportedly, Australian magnate Solomon Lew as the mystery third bidder.

Bendon shares closed 1 cent higher at $1.93 while PRG was unchanged at $2.10.

Auckland Airport continued its good run, now well above the price it was at when Changi sold its 7.1 per cent stake a month ago. It closed up 4c at 389, compared with 380 before Changi sold and the 358c price Changi sold at.

Independent Newspapers had a strong day, rising 14c to 390. Its 66.25 per cent-owned Sky TV dropped 6c to 405 after being up earlier in the session. Mr Scott said some investors were switching to INL from Sky.

Drinks maker Frucor was steady at 228 on the final day for shareholders to accept Groupe Danone's $2.35 a share offer for the company.

Danone was expected to be near its target of 90 per cent. The offer is conditional on obtaining 90 per cent of Frucor, but analysts say the food and drinks giant is likely to waive that.

Fellow takeover target Contact Energy slipped 5c to 385. Many brokers tip Edison's $1.34 billion bid for the company to fail.

The United States energy giant's offer of $4.14 for the 49 per cent of Contact shares it does not own runs out on February 3.

The Warehouse dropped 13c to 667, despite surprisingly strong retail sales data for November. Mr Scott said there were a couple of big sellers taking advantage of The Warehouse's good run this year. Turnover was worth $4.5 million.

Briscoe rose 6c to 165. Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 10c to 1090, Carter Holt Harvey, which reports its third-quarter result on Tuesday, closed flat at 175. It is forecast to have made $10 million in the three months ended December 31.

Other significant movers included: Baycorp Advantage, which slipped 15c to 720; F&P Healthcare, up 10c to 1685; GPP, up 2c to 176; Ports of Auckland, up 10c to 555; Sanford, down 10c to 615; UnitedNetworks, down 8c to 800; AMP, down 17c to 2271; and ANZ, up 45c to 2150.

There were 43 rises and 50 falls among the 136 stocks traded.

- NZPA