Market close: shares rise, pushing NZX 50 to month-high close - Chorus gains

New Zealand shares rose, lifting the NZX 50 Index to a month high, as Chorus advanced and Xero jumped above $18.

The NZX 50 Index rose 30.912 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4489.864.Within the index, 24 stocks rose, 13 fell and 13 were unchanged. Turnover was $98 million.

Chorus, the network company spun off by Telecom in 2011, rose 1.9 percent to $2.63, the highest in at least a month. The stock has a dividend yield of 9.9 percent.

"On the day the market is only up 0. 7 percent but it is quite broad," says Shane Solly, portfolio manager at Mint Asset Management. "Higher-yielding stocks that New Zealand has a lot of have certainly rallied today - Telecom, Chorus and some of the property stocks are up. Definitely those more interest rate sensitive names."

Telecom rose 0.7 percent to $2.265.

Kiwi Income Property Trust led property investors higher, rising 2.3 percent to $1.11. Goodman Property Trust rose about 1 percent to $1.03. Property for Industry gained 0.7 percent to $1.365 and DNZ Property Fund rose 0.9 percent to $1.665,

Rakon soared 17 percent to 27 cents after announcing a deal where its holding of a Chinese manufacturing business waters down to 5 percent. The gain will be used to repay debt and is offset by a slightly larger writedown.

Xero was the biggest gaining stock. The cloud-based accounting company rose 4.9 percent to $18.34, another record. Ryman Healthcare gained 2 percent to $6.64.

Shares in Infratil rose 0.7 percent to $2.275 today, before the infrastructure investor said in a statement after the close of trading that it and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund pulled out a $50 million special dividend from Z Energy. Z Energy is forecasting earnings growth of as much as 10 percent in 2014.

Fletcher Building rose 1.5 percent to $8.62. In the past year it is up 39 percent. The rebuild of Christchurch and government infrastructure schemes should stoke its order book. Steel & Tube Holdings, which sells steel building products, rose 2 percent to $$2.51.

Freightways, which this week flagged earnings growth that missed expectations, fell 2 percent to $4.12. OceanaGold, which has swung with the price of gold , rose 1.8 percent to $1.62.

Pumpkin Patch led some retailers lower, falling 1.2 percent to 81 cents. Kathmandu slipped 0.8 percent to $2.48. Sky Network Television declined 0.6 percent to $5.32.

Auckland International Airport, the nation's biggest gateway, rose 0.9 percent to $2.945. Michael Hill International, the jewellery chain, rose 0.8 percent to $1.31, while Guinness Peat Group was up 1.1 percent to 48 cents.

(BusinessDesk)