New Zealand shares rose to a new record close yesterday as holidays in Auckland and Australia kept trading volumes light. The gains were led by companies offering relatively high dividend yields, such as Spark New Zealand.
The NZX 50 index rose 23.42 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 5698.66. Within the index 24 stocks rose, 15 fell and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was a smaller-than-usual $59.4 million because of the public holidays.
New Zealand utility and property stocks offering high dividends have been attractive to global investors seeking a real return in a low-interest-rate environment, which has helped propel the local market higher in recent months.
Spark, with a dividend yield of 7.1 per cent, rose 3.6 per cent to $3.345, leading the benchmark index higher.