KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket held up well today as Asian markets started easing.
Wall Street was up overnight, which helped get the New Zealand market off to a good start.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 58.042 points, or 2.101 per cent, at 2820.862. Volume was worth $77.59 million. There were 58 rises and 18 falls.
"It was extremely light volume," said Peter McIntyre, investment adviser at ABN Amro Craigs.
The major gainers were Mainfreight, up 13c at 523, Fletcher Building, up 31c at 580 and PGG Wrightson, up 8c at 170.
Methven, which yesterday posted a half year 29.4 per cent lift in net profit to $5 million, was up 8c to 148.
Mr McIntyre said trading became more cautious as Asian markets weakened. The Australian market was down more than 1 per cent during the New Zealand afternoon.
TrustPower rose 15c to 740 and Contact Energy gained 14c to 725. Telecom lifted 4c to 235.
NZ Refining Co added 5c to 600 after today saying it expected net profit to be between $115m and $125m in 2008.
Freightways eased 5c to 295, having fallen 6c yesterday after reporting a lift in revenue and profit in the September quarter.
SkyCity rose 10c to 330 after it said its first quarter was tracking ahead of last year. Nuplex rose 16c to 527 after sending out mixed signals about its profit expectations.
NZ Farming Systems rose 6c to 116 and Sanford rose 15c to 555.
Fisher & Paykel Appliances was down 5c at 135.
In the US, stocks climbed as investors snapped up shares trading near their lowest levels in five years on optimism that aggressive rate cuts by global central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will help cushion a worldwide economic downturn.
Investors also found support in signs that efforts to loosen up clogged credit markets were taking hold as the rate that banks charge to lend US dollars to each other fell, freeing up cash needed to avert a sharp slowdown.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.1 per cent to 9180.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.6 per cent to 954.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.5 per cent at 1698.52.
- NZPA
