Comvita, Fletcher Building lead index up to fresh record

The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 49.26 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 7355.61.

New Zealand shares rose to a fresh record, led by Comvita and Fletcher Building.

The S&P/NZX 50 index rose 49.26 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 7355.61. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 16 fell and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $164 million.

James Smalley, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said there was a bit of "buy the rumour" happening in the market, with stocks bought up ahead of reporting season.

"It appears the market does have a reasonable amount of momentum heading into reporting season, and some shares prices are starting to look stretched on the fundamentals," Smalley said.

"Investors will be looking for guidance and a good result doesn't necessarily mean a good share price reaction. That will be the main risk investors want to keep an eye on."

Comvita led the index again, up 4.6 per cent to $11.27. It has gained 28 per cent this year but fell to a three-month low of $10.35 on Tuesday. Smalley said it was thinly traded and probably bouncing back after profit-taking.

Fletcher Building gained 2.4 per cent to $9.69, a price not seen since April 2014. It's advanced 29 per cent this year as expectations of residential construction, particularly in Auckland, have increased. Fletcher also yesterday said it paid $12 million below the flagged purchase price to buy rival construction company Higgins Group Holdings after dropping Horokiwi Quarries from its application.

Auckland International Airport rose 2 per cent to $7.38, an all-time high.

Trading for the first time under its new name, Mercury New Zealand rose 1.3 per cent to $3.13. Formerly known as Mighty River Power, it has combined its generation arm and its retail arm, Mercury Energy, into one and has a new NZX ticker: MCY.

Genesis Energy advanced 1.8 per cent to $2.22 while Spark New Zealand gained 1.7 per cent to $3.945. NZ Oil & Gas gained 2.2 per cent to close at 46c after a relatively positive quarterly production and cashflow update.

NZX fell 1 per cent to $1.02, as did Trade Me Group at $5.12, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 0.9 per cent to $10.50.

Outside the main index, Moa Breweries' chairman Ashley Waugh told the annual meeting Moa has no "specific plans for corporate activity to talk about", harking back to a "please explain" notice on July 13 after a 47.5 per cent jump in the share price to 87c. The shares were trading up slightly at 90c yesterday.

OceanaGold fell 0.6 per cent to $5.05.