Shares rise on good vibes from US and Europe

The New Zealand sharemarket ended higher but off its best levels as Asian markets rallied on strong US economic data and relief that Greece moved to seek help for its economy.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 4.59 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 3306.25. Turnover was worth $48 million. There were 49 rises and 37 falls among the 115 stocks traded.

Pumpkin Patch rose 2c to $2.22 after announcing it would open a new chain of stores targeted at the everyday wear end of the children's clothing market. The company said the move would leverage off existing infrastructure. Brokers said the key issue was whether the new budget label damaged the brand. The company said it would have different "hand writing".

"The market is just following on the US market, but is a bit subdued because Australia is not open," said Stephen Wright at ASB Securities.

Among leading shares, Contact Energy was up 2c to $6.24, Telecom lifted 1c to $2.20 and Fletcher Building gained 1c to $8.45. Auckland Airport was up 1c to $2.02, after reporting a 3.9 per cent rise in international passenger volumes last month compared with a year earlier. Nuplex lifted 1c to $3.37, and Air NZ rose 2c to $1.39.

Retailer Kirkcaldie & Stains rose 5c to $2.90 after reporting on Friday that first half net profit rose 50.4 per cent to $725,000, despite a 4.2 per cent fall in revenues to $21.96 million.

TrustPower rose 10c to $7.50 and Port of Tauranga rose 10c to $7.00. The Warehouse rose 7c to $3.89. Vector rose 4c to $2.19.

NZ Refining eased 5c to $3.70 and Sanford eased 4c to $4.41. SkyCity eased 6c to $3.22. Mainfreight eased 1c to $6.60. SouthPort fell 27c to $2.58.

In the United States, stocks rose to a 19-month high on Friday as Merck eased concerns about the impact of healthcare reform, saying its costs would be relatively low, while energy shares lifted the broad market after oil rose 1.7 per cent to above US$85 ($118) a barrel on positive economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6 per cent to 11,204.28, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.7 per cent to 1217.28, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.4 per cent to 2530.15. For the week, the S&P 500 was up 2.1 per cent, the Dow gained 1.7 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 2 per cent. It was the eighth straight week of gains for the Dow and Nasdaq, while the S&P has gained in seven of the past eight weeks.

- NZPA