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NZX CLOSE: Shares rise; Telecom gains, firms more confident

Tuesday 6th April 2010

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New Zealand shares gained for the third day in a row as investors rallied behind Telecom, while data showed the country’s firms were more optimistic about the economic outlook in the coming year.

The NZX 50 Index rose 32.67, or 1%, to 3308.90. Within the index 23 stocks gained, 15 fell and 12 were unchanged. Turnover was $79.7 million.  

Telecom gained 3.7% to $2.24 on a turnover of $23.8 million. The country’s largest phone company has been beset by problems over the past couple of months with ongoing problems on its XT mobile network forcing it to downgrade its forecast, while government regulation of the company’s obligations to commercially unviable customers prompted a further cut to its outlook.  

“It’s obviously come down a long way, and whether people think there’s value” at these levels might have contributed to its gains with no specific news, said Craig Brown, who helps manage $3.3 billion at ING New Zealand.  

Firms were buoyed by gains on Wall Street last night, though today was fairly quiet with a lot people away for school holidays, Brown said.  

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion showed firms were more optimistic about the state of the economy and its prospects over the coming year in the three months through March, though retailing remained weak.  

Jewellery retailer Michael Hill International  declined 2.9% to 68 cents while clothing chain store Hallenstein Glasson Holdings fell 0.9% to $3.43.  

Pan Pacific Petroleum and its part-owner New Zealand Oil & Gas gained 9.7% to 34 cents and 2.6% to $2.24 as commodity prices continued to rally around the world. NZOG also reported the resumption of drilling operations at its Hoki-1 well in the Taranaki Basin, following repairs.  

Westpac Banking Corp. and ANZ Banking Group rose 2.5% to $36.85 and 1.8% to $33.25 respectively, following gains on the Australian Stock Exchange after KPMG’s latest bank survey showed the sector was back in the black with an estimated combined net profit of $1.05 billion in the three months through December.  

Air New Zealand, the national carrier that’s majority owned by the government, surged 5.3% to $1.38 as analysts boosted their forecasts for the company’s outlook with the Rugby World Cup set to boost tourist numbers next year.  

NZ Refining Co. was the biggest decliner on the index, dropping 4.5% to $3.80.  

ING’s Brown said Restaurant Brands NZ, the franchise holder of Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbuck’s, is expected to report a strong result tomorrow after turning around its performance in the past year. The shares slipped 1 cent to $2.03 today. 

 

Businesswire.co.nz



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