KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand share market posted modest gains in light volume in a decidedly pre-Christmas market today.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 24.445 points, or 0.921 per cent, at 2679.754.
There was not much direction from Wall Street on Friday, while current account data today confirmed New Zealand's deficit with the outside world is of historic proportions.
Confidence about the short-term outlook declined in the McDermott Miller survey today but some people were still confident about their own situation.
Gross Domestic Product data due tomorrow was expected to show recession for a third quarter, completing a bleak picture.
Buyers continued to hug the sidelines with volume on the share market today worth just $37.37 million. There were 36 rises and 39 falls among 114 stocks traded.
Adrian Vance at Hamilton Hindin Greene said it was a quiet session.
Telecom was one of the stocks with reasonable volume but it was flat at 226.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances was also flat at 127 and Guinness Peat Group was still below $1, ending unchanged at 94.
Fletcher Building was the standout among the leaders, rising 27c to 610 and TrustPower rose 15c to 700.
Contact was unchanged at 705. NZX fell 17c to 542.
Casino operator SkyCity continued to benefit from its status as a defensive stock, rising 10c to 296.
PGG Wrightson continued to be out of favour after last week issuing a profit warning. It fell 10c to 105.
Cavalier eased 8c to 180. Rakon eased 5c to 130 on a day one of its directors sold down his shareholding, which in part was picked up by the chairman.
Sanford rose 11c to 516.
The Warehouse eased 1c to 353 as news was awaited for all retailers about the key shopping season.
NZOG eased 3c to 125 after lifting its stake in Australia's Pan Pacific Petroleum to just shy of the 15 per cent level.
Air NZ was unchanged at 89, Infratil unchanged at 166 and Tower was unchanged at 143. Westpac rose 50c to 2000.
In the United States, the market ended last week with little change on the day, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising on Friday after the US government said it would throw a US$17.4 billion ($30.6 billion) lifeline to automakers grappling with falling consumer demand.
But the Dow Jones industrial average ended lower, pulled down by another fall in energy shares, including Chevron and Exxon Mobil, as oil sank for the sixth day in a row on fears the anaemic economy would swamp demand.
The Dow slipped 0.3 per cent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.8 per cent.
- NZPA
