NZ Shares: Sky City rises, falls, in early trade

Sky City shares rose early but soon after lost ground following an institutional placement of 71 million shares at the top end of the book-build range.

A halt on the company's shares was removed before the market opened today after the company said it raised $185.3 million at $2.61 per share. Sky City shares were up 5c early to $2.90 but within about 20 minutes of opening had reversed course, dropping 8c from the opening level to $2.77.

The sharemarket generally made a modest gain, after a solid performance overnight by stocks in the United States where Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner indicated most banks had sufficient reserves to protect against possible losses.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 8.28 points to 2673.14, after yesterday losing 34 points.

The main early gains today included Fletcher Building up 6c to $6.34, Contact Energy up 6c to $5.70, Sky TV up 5c to $4.10, Freightways up 3c to $2.68, and Infratil up 2c to $1.56.

Leading stock Telecom was unchanged at $2.55, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare lost 4c to $3.04, and Cavalier Corp lost 3c to $1.72.

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In the US, Treasury Secretary Geithner's comments sparked a rebound in bank shares, while earnings from a handful of blue-chip companies boosted sentiment, led by United Technologies Corp as the industrial bellwether forecast a return to growth next year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.6 per cent to 7969.56, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.1 per cent to 850.08, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.2 per cent at 1643.85.

- NZPA