NZ stocks: Buildings data and Wall St help lift NZ market

Some positive buildings data and a healthy pre-Thanksgiving session on Wall St gave the New Zealand sharemarket something to run on this morning.

Trading got off to a relatively busy start with $29 million worth of shares having changed hands just after 11am.

The benchmark NZSE-40 capital index was up 8.37 points or 0.43 per cent to 1954.50 .

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday in the US was expected to take some steam out of the New Zealand market, said Richard Burton of Forsyth Barr Frater Williams.

"That means we're going to be flying blind because the world likes America to be open but the Dow had a strong run-up last night. Our market here had some good data on the building consent front, we're getting closer to this Auckland Airport deal, we've got some adjustments to the MSCI index at the end of the week...so that might provide a bit of interest tomorrow."

Air NZ was strongly traded, rising a cent to 52 as investors settle in for a long wait over whether its deal with Qantas will get regulatory approval.

Auckland Airport rose 4c to 520, consolidating a 4c gain yesterday after the stock plunged 4 per cent on Tuesday.

The fall followed speculation that a potential trade buyer of the Auckland City Council's quarter stake in the airport had changed its mind.

Battered plastics manufacturer Vertex rose 4c to 140 after its half-year result came in line with its profit warning in September. It reported a net profit after tax of $1.7 million, up 19 per cent on the same period last year, and revised its full-year earnings forecast before interest and tax to $10.1 million.

Mr Burton said stocks related to carpets, appliances, building materials and other home-oriented products were looking positive, as new dwellings data out yesterday hit the largest monthly total since March 1976.

Fletcher Building was up 1c to 320, Fisher & Paykel Appliances rose 15c to 1070, and carpetmaker Cavalier was up 3c to 796.

Retailer Briscoe gained 4c to 259, and the Warehouse was down 5c to 715 following a 15c dive yesterday after the company hinted it was looking at expanding beyond Australasia.

Market bellwether Telecom was up 3c to 478 and another leader, Carter Holt rose 4c to 169, topping the turnover by value on 1.5 million shares.

There were 31 rises and 20 falls on 100 stocks traded so far.

On Wall St, stocks rallied as investors got a shot of confidence from a slew of economic data.

Consumer spending and durable goods orders rose in October while weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest in 21 months. Other data showed business activity in the Midwest expanded in November, topping forecasts and bolstering the argument that the economy has crossed its soft patch.

The Dow Jones industrial average leaped 256.35 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 8932.77, hitting its best level in more than three months. The Dow's pre-Thanksgiving gain topped a 2.5 per cent surge on the same day in 1957, according to MarketHistory.com.

The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 44.17 points, or 3.06 per cent, to 1488.59, scoring its highest level since June. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 25.65 points, or 2.81 per cent, to 938.96.

- NZPA