NZ stocks: Shares led up by bargain hunters

The New Zealand sharemarket enjoyed a positive start to the week, as bargain hunters swooped on certain stocks.

The benchmark NZX-50 index gained 12.28 points or 0.34 per cent to 3598.15 on solid turnover worth $141.6 million.

The NZSX all capital index rose 3.14 points to 1029.03.

Top stock Telecom was of the profit-takers' targets, rising 4c to 408 on robust volume of 17 million shares worth $69m.

Grant Williamson, a partner with Hamilton, Hindin Greene, said there had been some retail selling on the back of some press reports with low forecasts for Telecom's share price.

"However, the larger institutions and offshore buyers are in the market at the moment and they're obviously doing a bit of bargain hunting and they just managed to firm the price up today."

Some of the interest might also have been explained by today being the first trading day of the Australian financial year.

Other leading stocks Contact and Fletcher Building also saw good support. Contact clawed back 6c to 718 after being sold off because of the cancellation of its merger with Origin Pacific.

Fletcher Building appeared to be holding its value "extremely well" up 5c to 920, as analysts compared its value to other Australasian property stocks.

Nuplex fell 4c to 630 after announcing a $20m restructuring plan.

Feltex was flat at 22 as it assured the market that its bank had given it a three month reprieve over a breach of certain contracts.

Mr Williamson said investors were betting due diligence being down by an unnamed party would pay off; otherwise "it's difficult to see where Feltex goes from that".

Tower added a cent to 345 as it announced a new chairman and takeover rumours persisted.

A profit downgrade of 10 per cent hit PGG Wrightson hard, with investors sending the stock down 22c to 200. It was a "harsh reaction" to poor growing conditions and unrealised asset sales, Mr Williamson said, and he expected the stock to improve over time.

Other moves included Vector up 3c to 247, Sky City down 3c to 537, Oceanagold up 9c to 105, and Infratil up 7c to 417.

Lion Nathan rose 3c to 943 and as trading closed, the Commerce Commission announced Lion had applied to buy privately owned Independent Liquor.

Rises outnumbered falls at 63 to 41 on 159 stocks traded.

In Australia the market was down slightly but mining and banking were supported by gold prices and a slower-than-expected inflation rise in May.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down just 5.2 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5068.7 by late afternoon NZT.

- NZPA