1 Dec 2009

NZ sharemarket inches up again

11:04 pm on 1 December 2009

The benchmark NZX 50 index closed up 21 points, or 0.67%, on Tuesday to close at 3146 on turnover of $61 million.

Fletcher Building was up 5 cents at $7.89, Telecom increased 1c to $2.47, and Contact Energy rose 4c to $5.90.

Fisher and Paykel Appliances rose 2c to 60c after reporting a loss of $82.4 million in the six months to September on Friday.

Sky City Entertainment was up 8c at $3.50, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare increased 2c to $3.20.

Methven rose 6c to $1.66 after half-year profit fell 15% to $4.2m.

AMP was unchanged at $7.70 and The Warehouse was up 2 cents to $4.18.

Australia's interest rate up

In Australia, the Reserve Bank has raised the cash rate for an unprecedented third month in a row, tightening the screws on retail spending ahead of Christmas, AFP reports.

As expected by most economists, the central bank raised the cash rate on Tuesday afternoon by a further quarter of a percentage point to 3.75%.

The Australian 200 index is up 8 points, or 0.17%, to 4709.

In currency markets, the NZ dollar is at 71.68 US, 78.5 Australian, 43.63 pence, 62.53 yen, 0.4778 euro, and the Trade Weighted Index stands at 63.82.