Market close: Pacific Edge leads NZ shares higher

Pacific Edge led the market higher, jumping almost 17 per cent to 83 cents. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's main share index rose after Pacific Edge announced a US healthcare provider would now be able to order its cancer test more quickly and easily.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 64.89 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 11,373.24. Turnover was $137 million.

Pacific Edge led the market higher, jumping almost 17 per cent to 83 cents, after it announced healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente had given the green light to add Cxbladder to its electronic medical records system. While it may sound technical, this project has been under way for months and will mean that clinicians in the Kaiser group will be able to order tests and view results much more easily.

Pacific Edge chief executive Peter Meintjes said he expected the rate of adoption to increase once the test is integrated into the records system. Some investors had been hoping this milestone would have been achieved and announced when the company reported earnings last week and were disappointed when it wasn't.

Kaiser Permanente operates 39 hospitals and covers more than 12.6 million members, 85 per cent of them in California.

Plexure recovered 10 per cent to 22 cents per share, having more than halved in value since the start of this year.

Cannabis company Cannasouth was up almost 11 per cent at 36 cents after beginning its first commercial harvest. Rival Rua Bioscience also rose 6.7 per cent to 32 cents, and Greenfern was up 2.8 per cent at 11.1 cents.

Dairy stocks gained, with Synlait Milk up 3 per cent at $3.48, Fonterra Shareholders' Fund Units climbed 2.8 per cent to $2.99, and A2 Milk was up 1.9 per cent at $5.30.

Comvita climbed 2.5 per cent to $3.34 as it fended off rumours it was the target of a takeover bid from the investment arm of a Chinese state-owned conglomerate.

Bloomberg reported CR Capital Management was working on a bid to take the honey maker private and was holding talks with bankers to secure financing. The company itself threw cold water on the buzz saying it had not been approached and was not engaged in any discussions about a potential takeover transaction.

Pushpay Holdings fell 2 per cent to $1.43 after a few quiet days with no news from takeover bidders who are interested in taking the company private.

ASB economist Mike Jones said global markets were back to worrying about higher interest rates, with "stagflation" concerns flaring up after a brief reprieve last week.

"This general sagging in risk appetite has triggered the standard response in currency markets, with the NZD/USD running into stiff resistance," he said.

The NZ dollar was trading at 65.18 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, down from 65.31 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 72.31, from 72.37 yesterday.