The New Zealand share market closed an hour early on Christmas Eve, with the NZX Top 50 up 6 points to 2668 on minuscule turnover of $21 million.
Contact Energy rose 11 cents to $7.02, Air New Zealand 3 cents to $0.88 and Telecom 1 cent to $2.26. Fletcher Building was down 17 cents to $5.80 and the Warehouse 1 cent to $3.47.
In currency markets, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 56.72 US cents, 83.82 Australian cents, 38.39 pence, 51.36 yen and 0.4066 euro. The Trade Weighted Index stood at 55.51.
The Australian sharemarket closed higher on a rebound in resources stocks on Wednesday, notwithstanding thin trading ahead of the Christmas break.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 50.8 points, or 1.44%, to 3582.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 46.8 points, or 1.35%, to 3515.
And Japanese share prices closed down 2.37% on persistent worries about the auto sector, after Toyota slashed forecasts and US carmakers' shares skidded on Wall Street.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei index ended down 206.68 points at 8517.10.
