Sky City gains as NZ market rallies

Shares in Sky City were a highlight in the New Zealand sharemarket today, with the casino operator saying first quarter revenue was 3.3 per cent up on a year ago and net profit was up 3.7 per cent.

Sky City lifted 12c to 302, and medical equipment company Ebos also rose another 10c, to a new record 735, adding to a string of recent gains after it last week announced a 20c special dividend.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 14.889 points, or 0.453 per cent, at 3304.89, after gaining 9.7 points yesterday.

The rise came even though the US market was mixed on Thursday as investors waited for mid-term election results and insight into the extent of a policy easing by the US Federal Reserve next week.

In New Zealand, the annual meeting season continued and the proposed merger of Pyne Gould Corp's Marac unit with two building societies, destined to list on the market, got the thumbs up in an independent report.

PGC rose 1c to 44 on a day it announced the payment of a 1.5c a share special dividend.

Telecom, which reports its first quarter result next week, fell 2c to 205.

Restaurant Brands added 2c to 277, and Michael Hill lifted 3c to 81.

Among leading shares, Contact Energy edged down a cent to 585 and Fletcher Building rose 1c to 821.

Pike River Coal was unchanged at 104 on a day it received an award for good communications. Hallenstein Glasson rose 5c to 450 and NZ Refining rose 10c to 370.

SkyTV, which had its annual meeting earlier this week, rose 8c to 543.

In the United States, stocks ended little changed as cautious investors pulled back before expected upheaval from next week's US elections and a likely announcement of more stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.1 per cent to 11,113.95, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.1 per cent to 1183.78, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2 per cent to 2507.37.

- NZPA