The good times have well and truly returned with the S&P/NZX 50 breaking through the 6000 mark for the first time today to close at a fresh record.

Investors adopt a 'risk-on' attitude as trade pact is finalised and amid speculation US will keep interest rates low.

Shares go against international trend at end of volatile quarter where Fed and China took turns in spotlight.

Share prices firmed by just under one per cent after major offshore markets surged higher overnight.

In the first minutes of trade, the S&P/NZX50 was up 28 points, led by post-result gains from Air NZ and Metlifecare.

The New Zealand sharemarket staged a comeback yesterday after being 2.5 per cent down at one point but China's sharemarket rout continues.

New Zealand experts surveying the fallout from China's "Black Monday" stock market tumble will look to see if it reflects bigger problems in that country's economy, which is a big buyer of our exports and a source of tourists.

The local sharemarket opened down 2.4 per cent, after a wild overnight ride on world markets.

The New Zealand dollar slumped to its lowest level in six years after billions of dollars were wiped from financial markets in the US, Europe and Asia.

New Zealand share market slumps 2 per cent and almost $60 billion has been wiped from Australia's share market as concerns about China's economy shake investors.

Qantas today reported an annual profit of A$557 million, from a loss of A$2.8 billion the previous year.

NZX boss Tim Bennett remains bullish about the outlook for new sharemarket floats, despite the a lack of listings this year.

New Zealand shares rose, buoyed by the prospect of lower interest rates making returns on equities more attractive.

With half of 2015 done and dusted, it's probably a good time to take stock of the sharemarket's winners and losers in the year to date.

New Zealand shares fell as global uncertainty over China's financial markets and Greece's debt crisis spooked investors. Kathmandu Holdings, Warehouse Group and Restaurant Brands declined in a broad-based selloff.

NZX says a lack of basic shareholder protections could tarnish the reputation of the country's capital markets.

The NZX will this week launch the NXT board, a new market for small, growth-focused firms.

Craigs Investment Partners has been fined $30K and censured by NZX's disciplinary tribunal for sloppy record-keeping.

Powerco, the energy lines company, reported a 20 per cent drop in annual profit as it paid more tax.

Contact Energy shares jumped more than 14 per cent after announcing it will increase returns to shareholders.

The company expects to open 150 Esquire Coffee stores in China in the next five years.

Share trading platform Unlisted is applying for an exemption from the Financial Markets Authority.

No other advanced economy in the world would allow almost all of its banking system to be owned overseas, writes Paul Glass. "Let's require the big four banks to list 25 per cent of just their NZ operations on the NZ Stock Exchange."

Z Energy posted a 10 per cent increase in full-year operating earnings, as fuel and refining margins improved and the service station chain sold more fuel.

London-listed and Kiwi-funded Arria suffered a massive share price plunge after crucial fundraising talks stalled following the loss of its largest customer

Spark has fallen from being the NZX's largest listed company by market capitalisation, valued at $6.51 billion in February, to the third largest at $5.17 billion.

What would happen if Chinese retail investors got a sudden taste for New Zealand stocks? Until recently that question might have seemed a little preposterous.

Fliway Group shares slipped below their $1.20 offer price yesterday after the freight and logistics operator made its sharemarket debut in the first NZX listing of the year.