The New Zealand sharemarket managed to turn around a weak start on the back of a weak US market to close higher on a day in which profit results were mixed.The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 4.515 points, or 0.1%, at 3130.882. Turnover was worth $114 mi
The New Zealand sharemarket managed to turn around a weak start on the back of a weak US market to close higher on a day in which profit results were mixed.
The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 4.515 points, or 0.1%, at 3130.882. Turnover was worth $114 million of which $44.5 million was in Telecom shares. There were 34 rises and 44 falls among the 110 stocks traded.
"The market opened down and even when Australia opened it stayed weak. But support came into it," said Stephen Wright at ASB Securities.
Telecom rose 2c to $2.32, which compares with a year low of $2.22 in March last year. Brokers said the adverse publicity about the company's XT network was not helping the stock.
"Our market has generally taken the XT problems in its stride but it certainly doesn't help," Mr Wright said. "It is a lot of noise and it is a brand problem but Telecom is keen to get it fixed."
Pike River Coal fell 5c to 89c after saying a $50 million capital raising should be its last. Pike announced that shareholder NZOG will refinance a bond facility with Liberty Harbor. NZOG, which reported an interim loss today, fell 2c to $1.55.
Tourism Holdings shares were mixed after the company reported a return to profit in the six months to December 31 before closing down 1c at 95c.
Rubicon shares were on trading halt ahead of a capital raising.
Contact Energy rose 17c to $5.89 after easing yesterday on a flat profit report. TrustPower was unchanged at $7.34. State-owned power companies Meridian and Genesis both announced strong results today.
Fletcher Building rose 2c to $7.97. Freightways rose 3c to $2.99 while Mainfreight fell 4c to $5.90.
Port of Tauranga fell 7c to $6.98 and Sanford fell 6c to $4.52.
SkyTV fell 1c to $4.87 and The Warehouse rose 2c to $3.75. Ebos fell 3c to $5.97 and Hellaby fell 2c to $1.48.
Air New Zealand, Auckland Airport and Port of Tauranga are among the companies still to report earnings this week.
In the US, stocks suffered their biggest one-day drop in nearly three weeks after a sharp drop in consumer confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to close at 10,282.41. The S&P 500 Index fell 1.2% to close at 1094.62, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.3% to end at 2213.44.
