KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand share market closed slightly higher today as the profit reporting season continued in full flow.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 6.28 points at 3324.80. There were 41 rises and 42 falls and turnover was worth $79.29 million.
Top stock Telecom rose 2c to 326 after the company announced high profile businessman Kevin Roberts is to join the board.
Port of Tauranga was unchanged at 715 after reporting a $2.782 million lift in net profit to $42.117m for the year to June 30. Lyttelton Port was unchanged at 230 after reporting its profit rose 7.3 per cent to $10.3m.
Nigel Scott of ABN Amro Craigs remains positive about the equities market, saying there have not been many nasty surprises in the reporting season other than the impact of restructuring costs at Fisher & Paykel Appliances.
He said New Zealand fund managers were generally about 4 per cent underweight in New Zealand equities in their portfolios.
"The ramifications for a potential change of government for the outlook for domestic and global investors to rebalance to New Zealand could be something they will look at in the next period," he said.
Auckland Airport rose 3c to 206.
Nuplex rose 10c to 640 after posting a 42 per cent rise in full year operating profit to $53.4m.
SkyCity rose 12c to 356. Fletcher Building rose 3c to 730 and Contact eased 4c to 835.
In the US, stocks rose as surprisingly strong data on durable goods orders soothed some concern about the sluggish economy while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led a rally in financial shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.79 per cent at 11,502.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.80 per cent at 1281.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.87 per cent at 2382.46.
Trading volume, which has been light for much of August, was especially thin ahead of the US Labour Day holiday weekend. Thin trade can exaggerate price moves.
- NZPA
