Sharemarket rises on day of bleak news

The New Zealand sharemarket rose today when many other markets were weak and large volume was traded in the shares of New Zealand Oil & Gas, the 29 per cent shareholder of Pike River Coal Ltd.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 10.446 points, or 0.321 per cent, at 3269.215 after initially opening down 10.48 points. There were 36 rises and 39 falls among the 112 stocks traded. Turnover was worth $91 million.

"Generally the market has had a good day and has shrugged off international and domestic events," Ross Cuthbert, an adviser at Craigs Investment Partners said.

Telecom rose 2c to 219, Fletcher Building rose 6c to 806 and Tower rose 1c to 189. SkyTV rose 1c to 528 and Ebos rose 5c to 725.

NZ Oil & Gas closed 2c higher at 89, having ended down 33c yesterday. There were some bargain hunters in the stock today before news broke that there had been a second explosion at the mine and all hope was lost for the 29 trapped miners. Pike River Coal shares remain suspended.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares fell 7c to 295 after the company reported half year net profit, before a one-off non-cash deferred tax change, fell to $28.6 million, compared to $37 million a year earlier. Mr Cuthbert said the result was slightly better than guidance but a subdued outlook statement caused the price to fall.

Sanford was unchanged at 465. The fishing company reported a mixed annual result late today but said the acquisition of Pacifica Seafoods in November will boost next year's operating earnings.

TrustPower was down 5c to 735 but was trading ex-dividend today.

Pyne Gould Corp shares rose a cent to 40 on a day that CBS Canterbury shareholders approved a merger plan with subsidiary Marac.

Kathmandu rose 1c to 156 after telling shareholders at the annual meeting that its trading environment was still difficult. Ecoya was untraded after reporting an interim loss.

Vital Healthcare Property rose a cent to 112 after unit holders approved the acquisition of 12 healthcare properties in Australia. Charlie's rose 1.1c to 18.1.

Contact Energy fell 2c to 588, The Warehouse fell 4c to 373, Nuplex fell 5c to 325 and Rakon fell 3c to 116.

In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average ending down 1.3 per cent to end unofficially at 11,036.37, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.4 per cent to 1180.73, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.5 per cent to 2494.95.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting early this month showed officials downgraded their assessment of the US economy, with the Fed expecting the economy to grow at a moderate pace next year, with unemployment staying high and inflation low.

- NZPA