New Zealand share prices closed 0.50 percent higher Monday, in quiet trading following gains in US stocks at the end of last week, dealers said. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 15.82 points to 3,173.97 on turnover worth 118.2 million dollars (87.8 million US). There were 49 rises and 35 falls among the 116 stocks traded. "The market is slightly firmer but it is still lagging behind what is happening in the offshore markets," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton, Hindin, Greene.
"I think buyers are a little bit scarce and a number of them are probably holding back for a number of the initial public offers (IPOs) coming up," he said. An upcoming IPO from Synlait was particularly welcomed by investors because it gave exposure to the dairy sector, the country's most important export industry. Kathmandu, which debuted at a premium to its IPO offer price on Friday, was unchanged at 2.23 dollars. Among the leaders, Fletcher Building was unchanged at 8.00 dollars, as was Telecom at 2.56. Infrastructure investor Infratil fell one cent to 1.54 dollars ahead of its interim results Tuesday. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose a cent to 3.11 dollars and Mainfreight was unchanged at 5.65.
Contact Energy rose 16 cents to 6.10 dollars and TrustPower gained two cents to 7.52. Freightways rose nine cents to 3.23 dollars, and Air New Zealand added two cents to 1.30. Ryman Healthcare rose three cents to 1.97 dollars, discount retailer The Warehouse added seven cents to 4.18 and electronics firms Rakon gained a cent to 1.18.