NZ market posts modest gains

The New Zealand sharemarket posted modest gains on a day in which investors were focused mostly on the Australian interest rate decision.

The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 12.826 points, or 0.409 per cent, at 3151.548.

It was up around 8.5 points shortly before the headlines flashed in dealing rooms at 4.30pm local time that the Reserve Bank of Australia had raised rates to 3.25 per cent from 3 per cent.

Turnover was worth $79 million. There were 47 rises and 31 falls among the 107 stocks traded.

"Once again the marketplace is lacking domestic news that is causing stocks to move," said Grant Williamson, director of Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.

"Initially we were firm on the back of what happened overseas overnight but since then the market eased back in anticipation of the Australian decision," he said.

Among the leaders Telecom eased 3c to 258, while Contact Energy rose 10c to 590 and Fletcher Building rose 7c to 840.

NZOG rose 4c to 170 as investors follow their drilling programme.

NZ Refining rose 16c to 486 on media speculation that there is interest in Shell assets in New Zealand, which include a stake in NZ Refining.

NZX was unchanged at 800 on light volume on a day it announced the purchase of an on-line commodity trading exchange in Australia.

Trustpower fell 5c to 745, SkyTV fell 6c to 467 and Cavalier fell 5c to 255. SkyCity fell 3c to 324 and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare fell 3c to 317. Freightways fell 1c to 300 and NZ Farming Systems fell 1c to 45.

Pyne Gould rights were at 1.2c and volume was less than yesterday. The existing shares eased a cent to 42. PGG Wrightson rose 3c to 62 and investors continue to wait for news of a capital raising from the company.

GPG rose 1c to 87, Auckland Airport rose 2c to 194 and Mainfreight rose 4c to 529. Air NZ rose 5c to 126 and Tourism Holdings rose 3c to 70.

Fisher and Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 67.

The Warehouse rose 8c to 433, Tower rose 3c to 168 and Nuplex rose 3c to 235. Pike River Coal rose 3c to 106.

Opus rose 3c to 153 and Xero rose 1c to 134.

In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 112.08 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 9599.75 on Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 15.24 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 1040.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 20.04 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 2068.15.

Financial stocks moved higher after Goldman Sachs upgraded the large-cap bank sector to "attractive" from "neutral," saying share prices for companies in the industry didn't reflect their earnings power. Goldman upgraded Wells Fargo & Co to "buy," and the stock surged 6.9 per cent.

The latest US earnings season begins Wednesday when Alcoa Inc, a Dow component, is scheduled to post quarterly results. With second-quarter earnings primarily boosted by cost-cutting, investors want to see if the latest results will show an improvement in revenues.

NZPA