Telecom shares sank to new a low on the New Zealand sharemarket today, while rises in Fletcher Building, Contact Energy and other leaders helped carry the market higher.

"Telecom is once again making all-time lows. Investors are still concerned about the growth prospects and a possible dividend cut going forward and it does appear to be mainly retail investors selling," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

Telecom closed on a session low of $2.11, down 4c from yesterday. Other leading shares were, in contrast, well supported with investors arguably shifting their money into them.

Fletcher Building rose 3c to $8.35, Contact Energy rose 9c to $6.12, Auckland Airport rose 4c to $1.95 and Sky City Entertainment continued a run higher to end up 3c at $3.42.

The benchmark NZX-50 closed up 9.718 points, or 0.3%, at 3230.404, after a 19.7-point gain yesterday. Turnover was worth $95.96 million. There were 36 rises and 37 falls among the 109 stocks traded.

Kathmandu shares closed up 8c at $2.46 after setting a new all-time high of $2.50 after the retailer yesterday reported its first interim result since being floated last November.

Other retailers also gained, with The Warehouse up 4c early to $3.90 and Briscoe Group up 1c to $1.35.

Sky TV rose 10c to $5.12 and NZ Refining lifted 6c to $3.76. Trustpower fell 9c to $7.10, Infratil dropped 2c to $1.66, and APN News fell 5c to $3.00.

NZOG eased a cent to $1.57 after saying drilling of the Hoki-1 exploration well off the Taranaki coast would be delayed by three weeks by repairs to the drilling rig.

Air NZ eased 2c to $1.30 after yesterday advising of a new product offering on trans-Tasman and Pacific flights. Mr Williamson said the airline's shares had traded in a narrow range for several months.

Port of Tauranga rose 5c to $7.05 after yesterday announcing the purchase of Tapper Transport.