KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket halted over a week of declines today with a broad-based recovery, but stocks fell short of the 1 per cent gain across the Tasman.
The NZSX-50 index closed up 16 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 3563.1 on turnover totalling $104 million.
The index's seven consecutive falls were mostly modest, with the market only descending 3 per cent since May 19.
Stocks throughout the market rose today, with steady gains particularly among the top 10.
"Trading was mixed, stock-specific issues driving the market," said First NZ Capital director Philip Hunter.
Top stock Telecom was up 3c at 396, while Contact Energy was up a cent at 911 before trading in the energy company was halted, awaiting news of the takeover of parent Origin Energy.
Fletcher Building recovered 18c to 778 having hit a 27-month low yesterday of 760. The building materials and construction stock had been sold off after a pessimistic monthly National Bank business outlook survey on Tuesday.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances closed up 7c at 220, rallying after hitting a record low of 210 despite reporting a relatively strong result this morning.
F&P Appliances blamed the high dollar for a 14 per cent fall in its March net profit to $54.2 million. Normalised profit, taking out the one-off cost of restructuring, was $65.5 million, up 4.3 per cent.
Sky City was up 5c at 373 and Sky TV gained 5c to 445, while Auckland Airport lost a cent to 216, Infratil was down 5c at 215, and F&P Healthcare lost 6c to 234.
Air NZ rose a cent to 112 after yesterday's 3c loss when it issued a profit warning. The 80 per cent government owned airline said it expected its full year earnings to be at least 25 per cent below last year's level due to higher fuel costs.
The Warehouse was up 6c at 545 as the market awaited a court judgement on whether Woolworths and Foodstuffs could launch a takeover on the nationwide retailer.
Bathroom fittings manufacturer Methven gained another 7c to 178 after yesterday's 21c jump on news of a 27.7 per cent rise in annual net profit.
Seafood exporter Sanford surged 6 per cent, or 27c, to 454 on slim turnover after news yesterday of a more than tripling in annual net profit on the sale of assets. The company earlier hit a year high of 466.
Freightways was down 7c at 328, Mainfreight lost 2c to 675, Steel & Tube was down 4c at 306, Pumpkin Patch lost 3c to 162, and Tourism Holdings was down 15c at a two-year low of 160 on small volume.
Among dual-listed stocks, ANZ was up 20c at 2620, Westpac rose 70c to 2770, AMP lost 14c to 885, and Lion Nathan rose 36c to 1111.
On Wall Street, US stocks fell in choppy trading as renewed fears about the health of the financial sector overshadowed stronger-than-expected data on business investment that suggested an improving economy.
- NZPA