KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand share market rose today as offshore markets recovered but the flow of local corporate news remained light.
US stocks rose overnight as investors bet the government would provide fresh capital to crisis-hit banks, including the Bank of America, while falling oil prices buoyed hopes that lower energy costs would spur business and consumer spending.
The benchmark NZSX-50 closed up 9.325 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 2752.16.
Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene, said there was little news today and even the low NZ dollar failed to move stocks that usually benefited from it.
"The word is that the interest rate cut at the end of the month is going to be bigger than originally thought so investors are continuing to concentrate on the high-yielding stocks," he said.
"Conditions in the economy are still looking reasonable rough so investors are still cautious," he said.
Top stock Telecom was unchanged at 235 and Fletcher Building was also unchanged at 585.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down 3c to 325 and Contact Energy was up 2c at 732.
Port of Tauranga was down 2c at 630 on a day it emerged that Ports of Auckland was a customer of a would-be new terminal operator at Tauranga.
Freightways was down 4c at 282 and Tourism Holdings was down 3c at 68. Air NZ was down 2c at 89.
Sanford was down 10c at 525 and Rakon was down 6c at 115.
Auckland Airport rose 8c to 179.
The Warehouse rose 2c to 360 and Pike River Coal rose 2c to 102.
US stocks rose on Thursday on optimism the government will act to prevent the year-long recession from deepening, offsetting worries about banks.
Shares of Bank of America and Citigroup plummeted on fears the embattled banks may need more government help to deal with soaring credit losses. Bank of America shed more than 18 per cent, while Citigroup lost more than 15 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 12.35 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8212.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.12 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 843.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22.20 points, or 1.49 per cent, at 1511.84.
- NZPA
