KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket ended positively today, led by Telecom and following a good session on Wall Street.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index rose 5.73 points to 4233.74.
Turnover totalled $180.6 million, with falls outnumbering rises 61 to 32.
Telecom was up 9c at 462 on solid turnover, having lost 6c yesterday.
It surpassed Friday's level when it rose 11c in the wake of the appointment of BT's Paul Reynolds as CEO.
After the local market closed yesterday, US broker Citigroup said it had raised its recommendation on Telecom to a buy from hold.
Fletcher Building remained flat after soft housing data from the US and Australia, falling 8c to 1227. Third-ranked Contact Energy fell 8c to 902.
"We're lacking news still in the marketplace, there's not a lot of news anywhere," said Hamilton Hindin Greene partner Grant Williamson.
Elsewhere among the blue chips, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 4c at 330, F&P Appliances was flat at 347, Auckland Airport was steady at 328, and Sky City rose 2c to 502.
Tourism Holdings rose 4c to 254 after forecasting annual net profit at the upper end of previous guidance, around $18.5 million, but a soft outlook.
THL is the subject of a $2.80-per-share takeover offer by Australia's MFS Living and Leisure.
"It looks like a disguised attempt at getting more shareholders to accept the takeover offer that the directors have already recommended," Mr Williamson said.
Freightways was up 9c to 409, after yesterday announcing it had bought information management businesses on both sides of the Tasman.
Small cap honey company Comvita fell 13c to 361 after a profit downgrade yesterday.
Also under pressure was finance company Dorchester Pacific, which until April had Bridgecorp - in receivership since last night - as a key shareholder.
Dorchester Pacific was down 10c at 155, while Marac owner Pyne Gould Corp was down 13c at 445.
"I think just one or two investors are a bit nervous about the whole sector . . ."
Mr Williamson said, noting volume had been light.
NZX rose 9c to 1169 after reporting a rise in activity, Tower fell 3c to 234, The Warehouse fell 6c to 604 and Ryman Healthcare fell 3c to 230.
Infratil was off 6c at 316, Port of Tauranga rose 5c to 714, and TrustPower was flat at 845.
Pumpkin Patch fell 6c to a nearly two-year low of 320, Hallenstein Glasson was up 5c at 470, and Postie Plus was down at cent at 74.
Japan's Nikkei average edged higher, and Australia's benchmark index was up 0.5 percent at 6293.5.
Earlier on Wall Street, stocks were boosted by strong manufacturing data, and a fresh round of takeover activity despite concerns about tightening credit. Canada's largest telephone company, BCE Inc, agreed to a $US32.6 billion ($NZ42.2b) buyout.
- NZPA