Michael Hill International shares rose 10.6% to 73c today after the jewellery retailer reported a 4.4% lift in same store sales for the half year to the end of December.
Brokers said the positive trading statement from the company was a contrast to flat
Michael Hill International shares rose 10.6% to 73c today after the jewellery retailer reported a 4.4% lift in same store sales for the half year to the end of December.
Brokers said the positive trading statement from the company was a contrast to flat trading report by The Warehouse. The discount chain saw its situation as indicative of the non-retail market overall. Its shares fell 4c to $4.11 today.
Overall, leading shares rose as a new year rally gained momentum. Fletcher Building rose 21c to $8.32 and Telecom rose 6c to $2.59. Contact was unchanged at $6.32.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index rose 25.415 points, or 0.8%, to a 15-month high of 3310.226. Turnover was worth $53 million. There were 41 rises and 29 falls among the 102 stocks traded.
"It is just a general rise on the market as people look for opportunities for the new calendar year," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.
He said the Michael Hill figures were good and caused the stock to be a stand out on the day.
Michael Hill said all countries in which it operated performed well and improved their same store trading but retail conditions were still difficult in North America.
Mainfreight rose 10c to $5.78 on thin volume and Fisher&Paykel Healthcare rose 4c to $3.39.
Tourism Holdings was another stand out in percentage rise terms, rising 8c, or 9.4%, to 93c on light volume.
Steel&Tube rose 3c to $2.90, Nuplex rose 12c to $3.13 and Rakon rose 2c to $1.16. APN rose 4c to $3.04 and Methven 2c to $1.67.
Restaurant Brands rose 5c to $1.74 and Infratil 1c to $1.66. TrustPower rose 3c to $7.28, Port of Tauranga 3c to $7.15 and Xero rose 3c to $1.65.
NZX eased 2c to $2.26, SkyTV 10c to $5.18 and GPG 1c to 90c
• On Wall Street, the Dow and the S&P 500 ended at fresh 15-month highs as shares of financial companies and big manufacturers advanced after positive broker comments on Bank of America and General Electric.
Even so, caution ahead of the government's December US non-farm payrolls report on Friday (local time) limited a broader market advance and led the Nasdaq to finish just shy of breakeven.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to close at 10,606.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 1141.69 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.05% to 2300.05.
