shares rose in a broadly bullish market for global equities driven by speculation global growth is coming back. Trade Me, the auction website, rose to a record close and Telecom reached a new high since the spin-off of Chorus in November.
BUSINESSDESK: New Zealand shares rose in a broadly bullish market for global equities driven by speculation global growth is coming back. Trade Me, the auction website, rose to a record close and Telecom reached a new high since the spin-off of Chorus in November.
The NZX 50 Index rose 18.44 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3470.81. Within the index, 29 stocks rose, 13 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $123 million, greater than the daily average of trading in all assets classes on the NZX last month of $109 million.
Trade Me climbed 1.5 percent to $3.31, the highest close since it listed last year.
"I sort of had in my head they are worth $3.30 to $3.40 a share so they might push up a little yet," said Mark Warminger, institutional fund manager at Milford Asset Management.
"It has been a good strong week with the New Zealand market outperforming others," he said.
Telecom rose 1.9 percent to $2.46 while Chorus snapped a rally that pushed the stock to a record yesterday, slipping 0.8 percent to $3.60 today.
"The dust has settled people - understand where both stocks are going," Warminger said. "People are rebalancing their portfolio post split. If you look at it since the beginning of the year, Telecom is up about 18 percent and Chorus 15.4 percent. Telecom is the steady uptrend."
Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 3.3 percent to 47 cents, gaining some reprieve from the kiwi dollar, which has fallen from its late-February highs.
Pumpkin Patch, the children's clothing chain, rose 4.9 percent to 86 cents though retailers generally were weaker. Michael Hill International fell about 1 percent to $1.02.
Kathmandu, the outdoor equipment retailer, fell 0.6 percent to $1.82 and Restaurant Brands declined 0.5 percent to $1.90.
Fletcher Building, the nation's biggest construction and building products group, rose 1.1 percent to $6.76, amid signs the home building may pick up.
Government valuer Quotable Value New Zealand said today residential property values rose 1.1 percent in the three months ended Feb. 29 and have gained 2.9 percent over the past year.
QV research director Jonno Ingerson said there has been " a noticeable increase in activity in the market over the last month, which is typical for this time of year.” Separately Real Estate Institute figures today showed home sales jumped 37 percent in February.
Fletcher disappointed investors by lowering its guidance with its earnings last month as it waits for the ground beneath Christchurch to settle and has said it faces weak demand for Australian housing as well.
"Fletcher is still going up - but there is a little bit more caution around rebuild and the sluggish Australian economy," Warminger said. "Management also stumbled with the downgrade."
Warehouse, the biggest retailer on the NZX 50, rose 0.7 percent to $2.73 and has fallen 6.7 percent this year.
The company's result "was pretty average and the outlook looks average - I'm certainly not excited," Warminger said.
