NZ shares rise as EU vow stokes appetites

New Zealand shares rose, joining a global rally in equity markets after European leaders agreed to use their rescue funds to aid the region's lenders.

Telecom and Fletcher Building paced the advance.

The NZX 50 Index rose 40.32 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 3440.16.

Within the index, 31 stocks rose, nine fell and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was a lower-than-average $77.8 million.

The local bourse rose after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 2.5 per cent in New York on Friday while Germany's DAX 30 gained 4.3 per cent.

On Friday, euro-zone leaders agreed to allow their joint emergency funds to be tapped by the region's banks and pledged to create a single banking supervisor for euro-zone banks, moves that may alleviate the debt crisis.

Fletcher Building rose 3.2 per cent to $6.06 after announcing the sale of the metals distribution businesses it acquired when it bought Crane Group last year for about $70 million.

Telecom rose 2.5 per cent to $2.45.

Cavalier gained 4.6 per cent to $1.59, the biggest percentage gain on the NZX 50.

Nuplex Industries rose 1.6 per cent to $2.54.

"Sentiment has certainly improved. We saw some positive thing come out of the summit in Europe," said Michael Milne, an adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.

Still, "markets are pretty fickle at the moment".

Freightways rose 0.8 per cent to $3.83 after saying it had purchased printing and data management firm Dataprint NZ Limited for up to $6.5 million, including $3.5 million based on meeting performance targets over the next three years.

Dataprint would be "immediately earnings-per-share positive" and funded from existing debt facilities, said managing director Dean Bracewell.

Retailers were mixed. Pumpkin Patch, the children's clothing chain, fell 3.3 per cent to 88 cents. Michael Hill International, the jewellery chain, declined 2 per cent to 96 cents.

• Find a personal loan
• Find a credit card
• Find a home loan
• Find a savings account