Little change in NZ markets

The New Zealand share market was little changed today another capital raising was carried out.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed down 1.92 points, or 0.072 per cent, at 2662.939. Turnover was worth $78.4 million. There were 29 rises and 30 falls among the 92 stocks traded.

Wall Street demonstrated some composure on Tuesday night but Asian share markets were mixed to weaker today.

The spotlight shone on SkyCity, which successfully raised $185.3 million by selling shares at 261 each in an institutional placement.

Brokers said it was a good price but the share purchase plan for small shareholders was an understandable weight on the stock today and it closed down 6c to 279.

A rash of capital raisings is a weight generally on the market as some investors sell shares to buy shares in the capital raisings.

Investors are also waiting to see if Fisher & Paykel Appliances finds a cornerstone shareholder and raises money to pay down debt ahead of a deadline at the end of the month.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances was unchanged at 44c.

"All in all the SkyCity placement was successful," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

He said that overall investors were nervous about the direction of Wall Street and tending to take profits from a rally that returned the New Zealand share market to levels seen at the start of the year.

"I think the next couple of nights on Wall Street will be quite important to see whether the upward rally we have been having is going to continue," he said.

Fletcher Building eased 1c to 627, Contact Energy rose 6c to 570 and Telecom eased a cent to 254.

Auckland Airport rose 1c to 170, though it reported lower passenger numbers for March from a year ago.

The Warehouse rose 3c to 349 and Hallenstein Glasson eased 1c to 237. Hellaby was unchanged at 50. Rubicon rose 7c to 63.

Sky TV was up 1c to 406, Freightways was up 3c to 268, and Infratil was up 2c to 156. Xero rose 4c to 124. Tower eased 2c to 130 and TrustPower eased 5c to 710. Cavalier eased 5c to 170.

In the US, comments by the Treasury Secretary sparked a rebound in bank shares, while earnings from a handful of blue-chip companies boosted sentiment, led by United Technologies Corp as the industrial bellwether forecast a return to growth next year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 127.83 points, or 1.63 per cent, to 7,969.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 17.69 points, or 2.13 per cent, to 850.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 35.64 points, or 2.22 per cent, at 1643.85.

- NZPA