NZ stocks: Market rises slightly

The New Zealand sharemarket posted gains today but they were modest compared to the Australian market.

Brokers said the local market is directionless ahead of the June 30 balance date reporting season.

The US corporate earnings season, in contrast, is under way and is so far providing good news for investors.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 15.58 points, or 0.567 per cent, at 2764.081. Turnover was worth $94.96 million. There were 43 rises and 20 falls among the 111 stocks traded.

As the New Zealand market closed the Australian market was up 1.2 per cent on the back of a strong performance by mining and financial stocks.

In New Zealand, top stock Telecom was down 2c at 264.

But Contact Energy rose 5c to 580 and Fletcher Building rose 7c to 667.

SkyCity rose 4c to 269, The Warehouse rose 2c to 375 and TrustPower rose 2c to 750.

A speech by Prime Minister John Key outlining a vision for the economy had little impact on the market and investors were also keeping an eye on the rising NZ dollar.

"We are still completely directionless in the New Zealand marketplace and everyone continues to wait for the corporate reporting season," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

Mainfreight rose 2c to 409 and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare rose 3c to 285.

Ebos eased 13c to 507, NZ Refining fell 16c to 679, Restaurant Brands fell 2c to 102 and Auckland Airport fell 3c to 151.

A lot of stocks were unchanged, including Fisher and Paykel Appliances at 67, Tower at 170 and Tourism Holdings at 47.

Charlies was down 0.7c at 9.3c after it signalled earlier this week that it will report a loss. Diligent eased 2c to 20.

In the US, Intel reported quarterly earnings of US18c a share, far exceeding forecasts of US8c a share, and also gave an outlook that blew away past forecasts.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Wall Street's largest investment bank, reported profits rose by a third in the second quarter, far exceeding expectations.

"They're terrific numbers ... I think things are very fragile but they manage to make money in all environments, which is what you're supposed to do," said William Smith, chief executive of Smith Asset Management in New York, Reuters reported.

Analysts said the bulk of Tuesday's news during the regular session was already accounted for on Monday, when major stock indexes climbed more than 2 per cent in anticipation of strong bank results.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 27.81 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 8359.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 4.79 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 905.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.52 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 1799.73.

- NZPA