MARKET CLOSE NZ shares gain; Wynyard, Xero lead tech advance

New Zealand shares rose as intelligence software firm Wynyard Group rallied for a second day, leading gains among tech stocks perceived to have strong growth prospects, including Xero, SLI Systems, Snakk Media and GeoOp.

The NZX 50 Index gained 20.179 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4779.804. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 19 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover was $75 million.

Wynyard Group climbed 11 percent to a record-high close of $1.48, adding to a 12 percent gain yesterday, when the company said United Arab Emirates money exchange GCC Exchange will use its anti-money laundering software. The value of the contract, which follows four deals signed in November and December, wasn't disclosed.

"The outlook for Wynyard is very strong," said Mark Warminger, a portfolio manager at Milford Asset Management. "The company is in very early days of selling this product around the world so I think they have got an incredibly strong future ahead of them."

Xero, the cloud-based accounting company, gained 7.5 percent to $36.56. SLI Systems, the search engine software developer, rose 2.7 percent to $1.88. Snakk Media, which aggregates publishers' ad space on mobile devices, rose 6.7 percent to 12.8 cents. GeoOp, whose software allows small businesses to manage their workforce, rose 2.4 percent to $2.15.

Diligent Board Member Services fell 2.7 percent to $4.65, snapping a 26 percent rally this year.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings rose 3.6 percent to $4.04, leading gains among retailers after eftpos transaction processor Paymark said retail spending rose 7.5 percent in December compared to the same month of 2012.

Michael Hill International rose 2.8 percent to $1.45 and Trade Me gained 1.5 percent to $4.09. Warehouse Group rose 0.3 percent to $3.71.

Summerset Group rose 1.2 percent to $3.48 after the retirement village operator said sales rose by 50 percent in the fourth quarter, pushing annual sales above 400 for the first time. Metlifecare rose 1.4 percent to $4.26, while Ryman Healthcare slipped 0.3 percent to $7.85.

Telecom gained 0.2 percent to $2.315 and Fletcher Building fell 0.2 percent to $8.43.

OceanaGold rose 0.6 percent to $1.76 after the gold miner said it plans to scale back operations and shed staff at the Macraes goldfield in Otago in response to a falling gold price, and has flagged smaller production and an impairment charge in 2014.

(BusinessDesk)