NZ market rises after Wall Street surge

The New Zealand sharemarket galloped away on Monday after Wall Street rose strongly on Friday but brokers said volume was thin in most stocks.

Shares in retailer Hallenstein Glasson rose 12c to 424 after the company reported full year earnings before tax on normal business activity rose nearly 60 per cent to $29.2 million, boosted by an improved buying regime and the stronger New Zealand dollar.

Overall, the benchmark NZX-50 index rose 27.988 points, or 0.872 per cent, to 3239.143. That was less than the 1.9 per cent rise in the Dow Jones industrial average on Friday.

"Post daylight saving and the market has a spring in its step. It was quite a strong market offshore and we've been marked up on the back of it but the volumes have been pretty sporadic," said David Price at Forsyth Barr.

He said there were no real surprises in the Hallenstein's result as the company had given guidance ahead of it.

"They are one retailer that has managed to hold their margins," he said.

The Warehouse rose 5c to 380, Pumpkin Patch rose 2c to 193 and Kathmandu rose 4c to 182. But Hellaby, which owns retailers, fell 2c to 202 and Michael Hill fell 1c to 70.

Among the leaders Telecom rose 1c to 204, Fletcher Building rose 7c to 853 and Contact Energy rose 9c to 581.

Port of Tauranga gained 10c to 691, Freightways rose 2c to 297, and Mainfreight was unchanged at 715.

TrustPower rose 2c to 735 and Auckland Airport rose 2c to 207.

AMP Office Trust rose 2c to 77 and ING Property Trust rose 1c to 73. ING Medical Property Trust rose 2c to 125 and Kiwi Income Property Trust rose 1c to 101.

In the United States, stocks notched their fourth week of gains as investors used a rise in business spending to revive the September rally after three days of losses.

Economic data gave a mixed picture, but traders latched on to a rise in August business spending as the latest sign the recovery is on firmer ground.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.9 per cent at 10,860.26, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index finished up 2.1 per cent at 1148.65, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.3 per cent at 2381.22.

For the week, the Dow was up 2.4 per cent, the S&P rose 2.1 per cent and the Nasdaq added 2.8 per cent.

- NZPA