KEY POINTS:
New Zealand shares inched into positive territory after an early fall today, as the market outperformed others in the region on the back of buying interest in domestic stocks.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 3.68 points at 4324.97 on turnover valued at $202 million.
"We've outperformed everybody in the world by the looks of things," said Stephen Wright of ASB Securities.
"Just domestic stocks saved us, the likes of Contact Energy in particular."
Contact Energy hit a record high of 960 before closing at 954, up 17c. Telecom rose 2c to 487, Vector was up a cent at 268, Port of Tauranga rose 22c to 712, and Mainfreight was up 2c at 757.
Exchange operator NZX was up 10c at 1160 after nearly doubling its June half-year net profit to $4.21 million despite struggling in traditional business.
Fletcher Building rose a cent to 1301, Sky City was up 2c at 497 and Sky TV rose a cent to 567.
Auckland Airport fell a cent to 338 on heavy turnover, as speculation continued about the chance of the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise's offer succeeding and the likelihood of another bidder emerging.
"The price won't drop away because there are still other people circling around who might have a differently constructed bid," Mr Wright said.
"The market's just going to tread water until we see the next development."
Air NZ was down 4c to 255. It has been under pressure due to concerns that if Dubai Aerospace won its bid for Auckland Airport, it will open the door to rival Emirates setting up a hub there.
There was a small improvement for exporters which have been punished by the strong New Zealand dollar. Rakon was up 3c at 483, Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 367, Sanford gained 2c to 420, and Pumpkin Patch was up 4c at 340.
Worries about a possible hike in interest rates tomorrow failed to seriously dampen sentiment.
Tourism Holdings was steady on 250 after losing 20c yesterday on news MFS Living and Leisure's takeover attempt had failed.
Software of Excellence was up 1c at 265 despite telling shareholders at the annual meeting the high dollar was likely to knock margins and raw profit to the turn of 15 per cent.
- NZPA