Sky TV was the best performer, up 3.1 per cent to $2.70, having been the worst performer yesterday when it dropped 5.1 per cent.
A2 Milk Co rose 1.9 per cent to $11.66, Investore Property gained 1.3 per cent to $1.52, and Stride Property was up 1.1 per cent to $1.88.
Summerset Holdings gained 0.4 per cent to $7.56. Its first-half profit rose as much as 26 per cent as stronger development margins made up for a lower volume of new sales.
Underlying profit, which excludes unrealised valuation gains in the fair value of investment property, was between $43m and $45m in the six months ended June 30 from about $36m a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Earnings grew 45 per cent in the first half of last year. Summerset will release its detailed results for the first half on August 14.
"It's pretty much in line with what the market had expected, though potentially some may see it on the weaker side," McIntyre said.
"The concern was that new sales volumes looked weak in the second quarter, about 20 units lower than we'd expected, though development profit still looked reasonably strong, the softer volume slightly offset by higher margins."
Gentrack Group gained 0.7 per cent to $6.95. It came out of a trading halt yesterday after raising about $52.4m in a discounted stock offer to institutional investors as part of a two-stage share sale aimed at raising funds to repay debt used for a recent flurry of acquisitions.
That bookbuild, of 3.4 million entitlements, achieved a clearing price of $6.69 per share, a premium of 50 cents per share over the offer price of $6.19, and a discount of 19 cents per share to the theoretical ex-rights price of $6.88.
"It continues to trade well post entitlements - they've broadened their product offering but more importantly for investors they're still on the lookout for acquisitions," McIntyre said.
Precinct Properties was unchanged at $1.36. It has refinanced its $760m bank debt facility, which was due to expire in November 2020, extending $460m of the existing facilities in two new tranches expiring in July 2022 and July 2023, with the balance of the facility expiring in November 2020.
"For a property-based company that refinancing is really important," McIntyre said.
"You've seen a lot of property companies rotate capital, sell assets to buy assets but also come to the market with debt issues as well. This is further insulating their debt from potential interest rate increases."
Outside the benchmark index, ERoad fell 6.9 per cent to $3.25. It registered slower first-quarter growth than anticipated as prospective buyers put off their purchasing decisions across Australasia and in North America, after a period of rapid expansion in the US.
PGG Wrightson rose 4.8 per cent to 66 cents. It says it has no comment on Australian media reporting that ASX-listed agribusiness company Elders is looking to buy it for $600m.
Blis Technologies jumped 14.3 per cent to 1.6 cents. The biotechnology firm expects to post a "small profit" for the fiscal 2019 year as it reported revenue more than tripled in the first quarter while its losses narrowed.
