KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand sharemarket rose 0.4 per cent today with little corporate news to dictate direction.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index, which only fell 9 points yesterday despite a 2 per cent plunge in the US market on Friday, was up 17.26 points to 4160.16 on turnover totalling $110.3 million.
"A pretty solid day in the circumstances, it seems to be business as usual here despite volatility overseas," Don Lewthwaite of First NZ Capital said.
"Everyone seems reasonably relaxed about the New Zealand economy and the New Zealand sharemarket."
Top stock Telecom rose 4c to 445, Fletcher Building gained 2c to 1177, Contact Energy was up 5c at 915, Fisher & Paykel Appliances was up a cent at 362, and F&P Healthcare was flat at 358.
Takeover target Auckland International Airport was up 7c at 314, and Vector also gained 7c, to 249.
Sky City, which went ex a 12c dividend, was down 19c at 431, and Sky TV gained 6c to 555.
Air New Zealand rose 2c to 218, while Tourism Holdings lost 3c to 227.
Freightways was down 2c at 385, and Mainfreight lost 10c to 695.
NZX was up 8c at 965, Pumpkin Patch lost 3c to 325, The Warehouse rose 3c to 580 ahead of its annual result on Friday, and Hallenstein Glasson, which also reports on Friday, was unchanged at 465.
ING Medical Properties, formerly Calan Healthcare Properties, was down 2c at 128, while Ryman was steady at 201.
Among dual-listed stocks, Westpac was up 35c at 3200, ANZ rose 5c to 3400, AMP lost a cent to 1255, Goodman Fielder lost 6c to 305, and Lion Nathan was down 5c at 1085.
Australia's benchmark index was up 0.7 per cent at 6232, while Japan's Nikkei average was up 0.5 per cent on the back of a recovery in property shares such as Mitsubishi Estate.
Earlier on Wall Street, US stocks closed little changed as strength in semiconductor stocks tied to Intel's higher sales outlook offset lingering concerns about the mortgage market.
- NZPA