NZX 50 record comes with a caution

The index has gained ground for 12 trading days in a row, and is up almost 8 per cent in the year to date.

The good times are back with a blast in the New Zealand sharemarket, with the S&P/NZX 50 breaking through the 6000 mark for the first time yesterday to close at a fresh record.

But Craigs Investment Partners analyst Mark Lister is advising caution, saying investors aren't "out of the woods" and global concerns such as slowing growth in China could spark more of the volatility that caused markets to tumble in August.

The S&P/NZX 50 has gained 8.2 per cent since September 4 and closed up 30.35 points, or 0.5 per cent, at a record close of 6001.02 last night, driven by gains in big stocks including Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Spark and Meridian Energy.

The index has gained ground for 12 trading days in a row, and is up almost 8 per cent in the year to date.

Lister pointed out that the S&P/NZX 50, unlike its counterparts such as Australia's S&P/ASX 200, includes dividends and had been bolstered by recent payouts.

"If you were just looking at share prices then it wouldn't be at a record high," Lister said.

However, he said this month's market resurgence had been driven by a range of factors including share buying by bargain-hunting investors and upbeat annual meetings from major companies such as Auckland Airport and Air New Zealand.

A Chinese interest rate cut and hints of fresh monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank have also buoyed markets.

"You've got this backdrop of central bank stimulus that's stabilised markets and seen a bit of confidence come back in," Lister said. "But that doesn't fix some of the underlying concerns, particularly in China.

"The Chinese cutting interest rates probably tells us they still have things to worry about on the ground there."