The New Zealand sharemarket posted modest gains today with some companies exporting to the strong Australian economy seen as benefiting from a low Australian dollar cross rate.Asian shares also rose for the fourth straight session as investors became less
The New Zealand sharemarket posted modest gains today with some companies exporting to the strong Australian economy seen as benefiting from a low Australian dollar cross rate.
Asian shares also rose for the fourth straight session as investors became less worried about debt-ridden Greece. Locally, the flow of corporate news slowed and investors continued to assess the information from the earnings season.
The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 15.284 points, or 0.5%, at 3198.523. Turnover was worth $77.4 million. There were 52 rises and 38 falls among the 120 stocks traded.
"It was another reasonable day on the market. Australia is having a good day, and our dollar being under a bit of pressure on the Australian cross is helping as well," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene.
Fletcher Building rose 13c to $8.10 and it was seen as benefiting from stronger than expected Australian growth data as well as the cross rate.
Guinness Peat Group rose 2c to 92c. The stock has rallied from around 82c since indicating when reporting earnings that an objective of returning value to shareholders had been restored as a top priority.
"Pumpkin Patch continues its good run after its result," Mr Williamson said. Pumpkin Patch rose 5c to $2.14. Vector rose 2c to $2.06 in further reaction to its earnings.
Telecom rose 2c to $2.21 but traded as low as $2.19 today.
Infratil rose 2c to $1.66 after saying on Monday that documentation of the planned acquisition of Shell NZ's business was at an advanced stage with an anticipated completion date of March 31.
Dual-listed Westpac rose 90c to $35.20 and ANZ rose 30c to $30.80.
Auckland Airport rose 1c to $1.19 and Tourism Holdings rose 2c to 95c. Hellaby rose 5c to $1.65 and Restaurant Brands rose 4c to $1.82.
SkyCity rose 2c to $3.21 and Cavalier Carpets rose 2c to $2.72.
Stocks losing ground included Contact Energy down 4c to $6.15, Mainfreight down 2c to $5.86 and Nuplex down 4c to $3.40. Pike River Coal fell 1c to 85c and NZOG was unchanged at $1.53.
Allied Farmers fell 0.6c to 7.9c after the company wrote down the value of the loan book of recently purchased Hanover and United Finance.
PGG Wrightson was unchanged at 61c, Affco rose 1c to 38c and Delegats rose 1c to $2.10.
In the US, stocks ended slightly higher as mergers and acquisitions supported some sectors, while investors pared gains in big-cap technology and bank shares late in the session.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.02% to 10,405.98. The S&P 500 Index added 0.23% to 1118.31 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.32% to 2280.79.
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