A2 Milk leads market to a fresh record

Shares in electricity generator Contact Energy advanced 2.6 per cent to close at $5.18.

New Zealand shares reached a fresh record despite a lack of corporate news, with A2 Milk Co, Ebos Group and Contact Energy leading the index higher.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 11.69 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7503.53. Within the index, 25 stocks rose, 18 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $133.1 million.

The index was buoyed on Monday after Nuplex shares ceased trading at the close of trade, with money reallocated pushing most stocks higher, Craig Stent, director and research analyst at Harbour Asset Management, said. Nuplex shares will be delisted from the NZX and ASX at the close of trading on September 13.

A2 Milk Co was the biggest gainer, up 3.2 per cent to $1.96. It dropped 17.8 per cent to $1.89 over eight trading sessions after its full-year results were released in late August when it announced a return to full-year profit and a 127 per cent jump in revenue driven by infant formula sales in Australia and China. Investors were concerned about growth in the United States, where progress is behind schedule, which A2 attributed to delays in achieving distribution with a number of larger retailers.

"There are a few offshore buyers, it obviously came under pressure post its earnings result so a bit of a bounce back today," Stent said.

Ebos Group rose 3 per cent to $19.39, Contact Energy advanced 2.6 per cent to $5.18, and Metro Performance Glass rallied 2.4 per cent to $2.17.

Steel & Tube Holdings gained 2.3 per cent to $2.27, and Skellerup Holdings advanced 1.5 per cent to $1.38. Both will drop out of the NZX 50 Index on September 16, to be replaced by agribusiness group Scales Corporation and cinema software developer Vista.

Steel & Tube shares hit a 15-year low of $1.79 in June after a difficult few months. In March the Commerce Commission began an investigation into earthquake reinforcing mesh products that were not certified as claimed, and the company was forced to cut guidance in May as intense competition in the domestic steel market squeezed margins and its Chinese-sourced road reinforcing for the Huntly bypass was found to be weaker than specified.

SkyCity Entertainment Group was the worst performer, down 2.5 per cent to $4.66. Kathmandu Holdings dropped 2 per cent to $1.95 and Orion Health Group fell 1.5 per cent to $4.02.

Argosy Property was unchanged at $1.165. The country's fourth-biggest listed property investor has announced the sale of two sites in Auckland and Palmerston North for a combined total of $9.3m.

Outside the main index, Veritas fell 6.3 per cent to 30c and is down 33 per cent this year.