Market close: shares rise - led by Ryman, Telecom, Fletcher

New Zealand shares rose, joining a global rally on optimism about world growth, as Ryman Healthcare charted another record high and Fletcher Building and Telecom gained.

The NZX 50 rose 51.90 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4596.22. Within the index, 31 stocks rose, 10 fell and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $122 million.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed to a record close on Friday after the US economy added more jobs than expected and commodities rallied. Gains continued through much of Asia.

Ryman, the retirement village operator, rose 3.9 percent to $6.46 and has gained 37 percent this year. Rival Summerset Group fell 0.6 percent to $3.19, though it is up 43 percent this year.

Metlifecare gained 1.4 percent to $3.69 for a 17 percent gain this year.

"It is a sector the market is very much enamored with," says James Smalley, client adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. "The momentum in that stock [Ryman] shows no signs of abating."

He says investors have to be wary of some of the gains recorded in New Zealand stocks. "Even great companies can be poor investments if they are overpriced."

Xero, the cloud-based accounting company, rose 2.3 percent to $13.50 and has risen 74 percent this year. A2 Corp, which markets milk with a protein variant said to have health benefits, fell 1.4 percent to 73 cents, trimming this year's gain to about 40 percent.

Fletcher Building rose about 2 percent to $8.19. Mr Smalley says the stock is bouncing back after a selloff on Friday spurred by weaker Australian housing data and an investor presentation "that left some market participants thinking they'd reach the lower end of guidance".

Telecom climbed 2.1 percent to $2.68 and transport group Mainfreight rose about 2 percent to $10.40. Contact Energy was up 1.9 percent to $5.38.

OceanaGold, operator of the Macraes gold field, rose 3.3 percent to $2.50 as prices of metals rose.

Guinness Peat Group, which expects to rebrand itself as UK threadmaker Coats later this year, climbed 1.8 percent to 56 cents after announcing the sale of its 20 percent stake in ASX-listed agri-products maker Ridley Corp. It expects to reap $A54 million in cash proceeds from the sale.

APN News & Media, publisher of the New Zealand Herald, rose 4.4 percent to 47 cents on the NZX after saying it has appointed News Ltd's Michael Miller as its new chief executive, effective from mid-June.

Nuplex Industries was the biggest decliner on the NZX 50. The specialty chemicals maker fell 2.2 percent to $3.15.

(BusinessDesk)