SkyCity, Fletcher Building rise on flat day

File photo / NZ Herald

The New Zealand sharemarket closed flat yesterday after rising slightly in early trading following a positive lead from Wall St on Friday.

The NZX-50 closed down 0.06 points at 3352.66 after opening up 2.75 points at 3355.47. Trading was reduced by the Wellington Anniversary holiday.

The Australian market was firm even though it was knocked by a profit downgrade by retailer Woolworths. Wall St was boosted by a strong performance by General Electric, which rose 7.1 per cent to its highest intraday level since November 2008, after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings.

Air NZ was unchanged at $1.42 as investors continued to absorb its move to buy 14.99 per cent of Virgin Blue. Commentators are optimistic the investment will do better than its previous foray into Australia via Ansett.

Kathmandu was unchanged at $2.10 after the Sydney Morning Herald speculated about the future of its poorly performing British stores, while quoting the company saying it was under no pressure to make a decision on their future.

Steel & Tube rose 3c to $2.30 and Mainfreight rose 1c to $8.02. Fletcher Building rose 4c to $7.81 and SkyCity rose 3c to $3.27. Hellaby rose 4c to $2.25 and NZX rose 3c to $1.71. Goodman Fielder rose 3c to $1.74.

Telecom was unchanged at $2.31.

Restaurant Brands fell 7c to $2.51, The Warehouse fell 1c to $3.62 and TrustPower fell 4c to $7.20. Contact Energy fell 4c to $6.26 and Sky TV fell 6c to $5.21.

In the United States, the Dow and S&P 500 rose as General Electric's earnings put a positive tone on the economic recovery.

The Nasdaq was pulled lower by Google, whose shares were down 2.4 per cent, ending a week marked by investors pulling back from outperforming technology shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 49.04 points, or 0.41 per cent, to end at 11,871.84.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 3.09 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1283.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 14.75 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 2689.54.

- NZPA