The New Zealand sharemarket nudged up in early trading, as Restaurant Brands received a boost with news of continued strong trading in its KFC brand.The company reported a 4.2 percent rise in first quarter sales, with KFC up 8.5 percent, although sales at
The New Zealand sharemarket nudged up in early trading, as Restaurant Brands received a boost with news of continued strong trading in its KFC brand.
The company reported a 4.2 percent rise in first quarter sales, with KFC up 8.5 percent, although sales at the Starbucks Coffee and Pizza Hut brands were down.
Shortly after the market opened today Restaurant Brands shares were up 5c to 230.
Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 4.78 points to 3066, following on from a 13.5-point gain yesterday.
Other shares up early included Steel&Tube, up 7c to 240 but on low volume, The Warehouse up 4c to 354, Contact Energy up 3c to 590, Trustpower up 2c to 712, and Freightways up 2c to 302.
Fisher&Paykel Healthcare was down 2c to 322, while dual-listed bank Westpac fell 40c to 2850, and ANZ fell 29c to 2771.
Among the market heavyweights, Telecom shares were unchanged early on 190, having closed up 4c yesterday after falling to a record low last week. Fletcher Building, which gained 14c yesterday, rose a further 1c early today to 827.
Markets in Britain and the United States were closed for holidays, while European stock exchanges closed generally weaker in sluggish trade following a debt rating downgrade for Spain, and Japanese shares closed flat after a mixed session weighed down by eurozone worries.
