NZ sharemarket makes modest gains

File photo / NZH

The New Zealand sharemarket pushed modestly higher today to its highest level in nearly seven months and brokers talked of an underlying optimism in the wake of slightly more upbeat statements at annual meetings.

A bumper Westpac profit, which included a 58 per cent rise in second half profit from first half in New Zealand, provided another point of interest.

The benchmark NZX-50 closed up 8.313 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 3333.074.

Nuplex rose 7c to 353 after shareholders at the annual meeting were told that the chemicals company was heading for another record profit this year. SkyCity rose 3c to 319 after upbeat commentary at its annual meeting last week.

"Nuplex came out reasonably upbeat," said Stuart Hardie, investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. "At a lot of annual meeting the outlook has been cautious but SkyCity was better and it is back on investors' radar.

SkyCity was concerned it was regarded as a defensive stock but argued it was a growth stock. "I think it was a shot in the arm for the market," Mr Hardie said.

The market was bouncing around in a range on light volume but there was increasingly a positive undertone.

Mainfreight rose 8c to 733, Sanford rose 5c to 460 and Rakon rose 2c to 130. Contact Energy rose 5c to 600 and Air NZ rose 2c to 136. Tower rose 1c to 187.

Telecom rose 1c to 206 ahead of its first quarter result on Friday but Fletcher Building eased 2c to 822.

The Warehouse fell 9c to 387 and Hellaby Holdings lost 7c to 197. Both stocks went ex-dividend today.

In the United States, stocks rose on the expectation the midterm election and a Federal Reserve decision would create a more business-friendly environment, though many traders forecast a selloff in the days ahead.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.6 per cent at 11,188.72, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.8 per cent at 1193.57, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.1 per cent at 2533.52.

The Fed is expected tomorrow to announce a programme of asset purchases of at least US$500 billion via quantitative easing -- in effect printing money to buy bonds and lower borrowing costs.

- NZPA