NZX-50 hits six month high on opening

File photo / Paul Estcourt

Shares in medical equipment company Ebos rose to a new high in early trading, adding to gains on Friday and Thursday when the company announced a 20c a share special dividend.

With a 7c lift early today, Ebos shares have gained 21c since Thursday to be at $7.19.

Sharemarket operator NZX was up 5c early to $1.60, after news yesterday that Singapore's stock exchange has launched an A$8.4 billion takeover bid for the Australian Securities Exchange.

The benchmark NZX-50 pushed to its highest level in around six months early and about 10.15am was up 10.21 points to 3299.95, after gaining 24.8 points on Friday and being closed for the Labour Day public holiday yesterday.

Sanford gained 3c to $4.43 and The Warehouse lifted 3c to $4.03, Telecom gained 2c to $2.11, Fletcher Building was unchanged on $8.20, and Contact Energy was unchanged on $5.85.

Both the dual-listed Australian-based banks were up with ANZ adding 75c to $31.25 and Westpac lifting 70c to $30.10, after rising across the Tasman yesterday spurred by some short-covering ahead of the results season which kicks off tomorrow with National Australia Bank.

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In the United States, stocks rose to a 5-1/2-month high as a falling US dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier assets.

"We have a lower dollar, we have low and benign interest rates, and you can't beat that combination for reflating the economy or stock prices," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 per cent to 11,164.05, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.2 per cent to 1185.62, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 2490.85.

- NZPA