KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket closed in positive territory yesterday, with little news to provide a firm direction.
Unprecedented intervention by the Reserve Bank in the currency market on Monday failed to stir the sharemarket, although the move appeared to have capped the kiwi at about US75c.
"The equity market has got just a bit of a watching brief on the currency [after that move], without really reacting to it," Don Lewthwaite of First NZ Capital said.
The NZX-50 index closed up 22.04 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 4227.56.
The sharemarket was looking for direction after recent merger and acquisition activity had quietened, and news flow relating to the leading stocks had dried up.
Three consecutive interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank had also kept investors on the sidelines as they looked for the tightening effects on the economy.
"[The sharemarket's] gone a bit flat in the last couple of weeks, and so it's really looking for the next driver," Lewthwaite said.
Top stock Telecom rose 6c to $4.63, accounting for much of the index's rise.
Fletcher Building was up 4c at $12.80, Contact Energy rose 7c to $8.82, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 6c at $3.53, and F&P Appliances rose 6c to $3.70.
Among stocks which benefit from a high dollar, Air NZ shed 8c to $3 and Sky TV was flat at $5.64.
Dental software company Software of Excellence was down 3c at $2.65 after it received a previously signalled takeover offer from US-based Fortune 500 company Henry Schein.
Henry Schein has offered $2.70 for each SOE share, after payment of a dividend of 3c per share, in a bid worth $77.2 million.
Pumpkin Patch, having lost 16c to a year low of $3.64 on Monday in the wake of Friday's profit warning, recovered 11c to $3.75.
Hellaby shed 11c to $3.64.
- NZPA
