MARKET CLOSE: Sharemarket edges higher

Monday 9th May 2011

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose for a fourth consecutive trading day today after the United States market rebounded on Friday on strong payrolls data.

The NZX-50 index rose 12.628 points, or 0.36%, to 3518.981.

"A slight bounce in commodity prices in Asian trading is also enticing some investors back into the market after last week's rout," Ben Potter at IG Markets said.

Rakon (NZX: RAK ) rose 6c to $1.24 after winning company of the year and company of the decade awards at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards. Xero (NZX: XRO ), which today signalled a move to upmarket new offices in Wellington, fell 2c to $2.45.

Air NZ (NZX: AIR ) rose a cent to $1.14 at a time it is in the news after two Air New Zealand planes made emergency landings in recent days.

Turners & Growers (NZX: TUR ) eased 3c to $1.75 as it went to the High Court to argue that kiwifruit exporter Zespri is breaching the Commerce Act.

Steel & Tube (NZX: STU ) rose 4c to $2.65 on a day it said its chief financial officer has resigned and will leave on June 9.

Allied Farmers (NZX: ALF ) sat at 1.1c after saying it had sold remaining assets at Clearwater near Christchurch, providing funds to pay down debt.

Goodman Fielder (NZX: GFF ) rose 3c to $1.44, to recover some of the ground it lost after a recent earnings downgrade.

Mainfreight (NZX: MFT ) today welcomed news that the Government is investigating the idea of a new ferry terminal at Clifford Bay to reduce travel times between major cities. Mainfreight is investing in a rail capable terminal in Wellington and wants to move more freight on rail. Its share price rose 3c to $9.19.

New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay (NZX: NZF ) eased 2c to 71 as Olam International dispatched its latest offer at 70c a share.

Bathurst Resources (NZX: BTU ) rose 6c to $1.55 after saying on Friday that Chinese company Citic will help fund and be a customer of its Buller Coal Project.

Telecom (NZX: TEL ) eased 2c to $2.19.5, Fletcher Building (NZX: FBU ) rose 2c to $8.98 and Contact Energy (NZX: CEN ) rose 5c to $6.02.

The US market rebound on Friday was helped by an unexpectedly strong report in US payrolls, tempering worries that stocks could suffer the sharp declines seen last week in commodities.

Gains were trimmed late in the session on speculation that Greece might leave the euro zone.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4% to 12,638.81, the Standard & Poor's 500 added 0.4% to 1340.20, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 2827.56.

For the week the Dow lost 1.3%, the S&P fell 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6%.

NZPA

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