Orion and SkyCity keep index buoyant

Restaurant Brands rose 3.1 per cent ahead of its earnings announcement.

Health systems software developer continues rebound, bargain hunters snap up SkyCity but A2 retreats.

New Zealand shares rose after Orion Health Group said it won new UK clients and SkyCity Entertainment rebounded following a conference call for analysts while A2 Milk Co dropped.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 0.91 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 6726.02. Within the index, 24 stocks rose, 20 fell and six were unchanged. Turnover was $168 million.

Orion led the index, advancing 4.5 per cent to $4.20 - a nine-month high - after the health systems software developer signed up a pair of new clients in the UK. It's gained 20 per cent in the last week, having announced three significant deals in the last fortnight. The shares have risen from $3.12 before the first announcement on March 30, having fallen to an all-time low of $2.53 in late February from a listing price in November 2014 of $5.70.

"That announcement has certainly seen a very nice rebound in the share price," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. "It has been under pressure for quite some time, but they've made a few good announcements recently and it really does appear to have turned the trend on that stock quite nicely."

SkyCity grew 4 per cent to $4.92. Last week it shed 7 per cent over Thursday and Friday's trading sessions after the resignation of its chief executive Nigel Morrison.

The company also gained on Monday after it ran a conference call with investors and analysts.

"They're rebounding nicely after the resignation of the CEO sell-off, there's obviously a bit of bargain hunting going on," Williamson said. "[The analyst call] has flowed through to investors, and they like what they hear."

Restaurant Brands, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr and Starbucks franchises, rose 3.1 per cent to $5.05. The company will announce its earnings tomorrow.

Sky Network Television grew 2.2 per cent to $4.66 and Xero added 2.1 per cent to reach $16.70.

A2 Milk was the biggest decliner, dropping 6.3 per cent to $1.78. Along with fellow listed Australian infant formula producers Bellamy's and Blackmores, A2 has suffered after Chinese import regulations and taxes changed on April 8. "The A2 sell-off is actually coming from further Chinese regulations into importing foodstuffs," Williamson said. "Although dairy is really quite exempt, it has flowed through ... I think it's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to that news, and it will be pretty limited. It's just caught up in the hype, and normally when that's the case you will see the share price rebound pretty quickly."

Spark shed 1.7 per cent to $3.47, Mighty River Power lost 1.6 per cent to $2.85, and Stride Property fell 1.5 per cent to $2.26.

Outside the main index, Cavalier Corp declined 1.4 per cent to 69c. It was asked by the NZX to explain a 27 per cent jump in its share price in less than a week. Cavalier said it continues to meet its obligations and was aware of was a report published by Vulcan Capital on April 7 which advised investors to buy the shares at 57c.

Cavalier posted an improved first-half profit in February.

"That share price has been improving since they came out with their half-year report in February," Williamson said.

"It's not a highly traded stock, so any recommendation can push that stock around temporarily quite a way."