The New Zealand sharemarket rose today as stocks in the retail industry were snapped up by eager investors.

The NZX50 index was up 0.2 per cent or 6.99 points to 3676.02. Within the index, 27 stocks rose, 12 were unchanged and 11 were down.

BT Funds Management portfolio manager Matthew Goodson said The Warehouse, Pumpkin Patch and Kathmandu Holdings were among the retail stocks chased aggressively.

The Warehouse rose 3.2 per cent to $2.91, Kathmandu Holdings was up 2.2 per cent to $1.86 and Pumpkin Patch rose 0.8 per cent to $1.21.

"Kathmandu was up a couple of per cent and Pumpkin Patch held the strong gains it made in the last day or so but it doesn't feel as though the retail is that buoyant out there," Goodson said.

Tower led decliners, falling 3.3 per cent to $1.78. It had revealed its exposure to the Christchurch earthquakes which it had been coy about. It had $325 million of cover.

"It could go about $9.4m over the top of that. 'They feel they are being conservative and one hopes so because once reinsurance cover is used up, exposure is open ended."

OceanaGold was up 3.4 per cent to $3.32. Investment holdings company Guinness Peat Group was up 3 per cent to 51c. Would-be bank Heartland rose 1.85 per cent to 55c.

Auckland electricity and gas supplier Vector was up 1.8 per cent to $2.82. Restaurant Brands, the operator behind fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut was up 1.8 per cent to $2.29.

New Zealand Refining was down 2.9 per cent to $2.72. ANZ Bank fell 2 per cent to $31.26 while Westpac was down 1.55 per cent to $31.22.

Fletcher Building fell 1.2 per cent to $6.52. Carpet maker Cavalier was down 1.1 per cent to $1.78. National carrier Air New Zealand fell 0.9 per cent to $1.07. Telecom was down 0.8 per cent to $2.43.

- © Fairfax NZ News