NZ markets: Modest gain on quiet day

The New Zealand sharemarket rose for an eighth successive trading day to a six-week high but brokers described it as a quiet day.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 1.086 points, or 0.034 per cent, at 3214.643. Overall market turnover was worth $59.5 million. There were 41 rises and 31 falls among the 111 stocks traded.

Restaurant Brands fell 5c to 193 after saying fourth-quarter sales rose 5.3 per cent.

"There was just some profit-taking today. But the sales figures confirm the good results they are having," said Stephen Wright at ASB Securities.

Leaders were little changed with Fletcher Building down 2c at 810 and Contact Energy down 3c at 608.

Telecom eased a cent to 225 on a day in which former boss Theresa Gattung got good coverage from selective media interviews ahead of the release of her book.

SkyTV eased 4c to 508 as TVNZ said it would partner in a New Zealand content channel on the Sky pay television platform.

NZOG rose 2c to 157 and investors are keeping an eye on its Hoki-1 exploration well now that the Kan Tan IV drilling rig is on location in the offshore Taranaki basin.

Guinness Peat Group ended unchanged at 92 but the stock has had a good run this week.

Nuplex eased 3c to 333 and TrustPower eased 3c to 727. Air NZ eased 1c to 131 and NZX eased 6c to 196.

Pan Pacific Petroleum rose 4c to 35 and New Zealand Experience rose 1c to 29. Smartpay fell 0.2c to 4 and Allied Farmers fell 0.3c to 7.6. Wellington Drive Technologies fell 0.3c to 8.

In the US stocks rose as optimism stirred by retailers' better-than-expected monthly sales pointed to stabilisation in consumer spending, pushing the Dow back into positive territory for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.46 per cent to end at 10,444.14, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.37 per cent to 1122.97, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.51 per cent to 2292.31.

- NZPA