(RTTNews) - The New Zealand share market opened modestly higher on Tuesday, following a sharply positive lead from Wall Street, where U.S. investors were encouraged by word from the G-20 Summit that government stimulus measures were expected to remain in place for some time, keeping interest rates low.

The benchmark NZX 50 index added 6.45 points or 0.20% to 3,171.51 shortly after the market opened on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the broader NZX All Capital index collected 5.09 points or 0.16% to be at 3,192.89.

New Zealand’s market moved slightly higher on Monday. The benchmark NZX50 index advanced 4.9 points or 0.2 percent to 3,165.1. The New Zealand Stock Exchange reported trading volume of 49.8 million shares valued at NZ$88.8 million.

Overseas, U.S. stocks staged a substantial rally during trading on Monday, with the major averages seeing some further upside after moving higher over the course of last week. With the upward move, the Dow ended the session at its best closing level in over a year.

The strength in the U.S. markets was partly due to optimism generated by indications from the G20 finance ministers that their economic stimulus measures will remain in place until the global economic recovery is assured.

With no first tier economic data on the day, traders in the United States looked to some corporate news to guide some of their moves.

British chocolate giant Cadbury Plc (CBY) rejected the latest purchase offer from Kraft Foods (KFT), calling the proposal ‘derisory’ and noting it is worse than a previous offer due to the drop in the Kraft share price since September.

Earlier in the day, Dish Network (DISH) reported third quarter net income of $81 million, compared with $92 million in the corresponding period in 2008. Total revenue was $2.892 billion, down 1.5 percent from $2.937 billion in the year-ago quarter. Nonetheless, the stock rose by 5.2 percent, reaching its highest closing level in over a year.

In other news, defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NOC) announced that it has agreed to sell its advisory services business TASC, Inc. to a consortium led by General Atlantic LLC and affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for $1.65 billion in cash. Shares of Northrop Grumman rose 3 percent, also reaching a one-year closing high.

The major U.S. averages continued to perform well going into the close, ending the session at or near their best levels of the day. The Dow rose by 203.52 points or 2 percent to 10,226.94, the Nasdaq gained 41.62 points or 2 percent to close at 2,154.06, and the S&P 500 rose by 23.78 points or 2.2 percent at 1,093.08.

Crude oil prices surged toward $80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, boosted by a weaker dollar and concerns over Hurricane Ida, which is threatening the Gulf Coast. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery moved to $79.43 per ounce, up $2 for the session. Prices reached as high as $80.19.

On the currency front, the New Zealand dollar was buying US74.07c by 8am on Tuesday, compared to US73.58c at 5pm on Monday. The kiwi had peaked at US74.17c during the night, before easing to its level at 8am.

In the economic news for the day, Statistics NZ releases the value of electronic card transactions in New Zealand for the month of October at 21:45 PM GMT.

In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Tuesday, market leader Telecom remained unchanged, while second ranked Contact Energy advanced 0.33% and Fletcher Building, the third best stock, collected 0.50%.

In the retail sector, Hallenstein Glasson added 0.64% and jewelry retailer Michael Hill International surged 1.56%, as Pumpkin Patch and Warehouse remained unchanged. Among energy stocks, TrustPower gained 0.13%, as Vector remained unchanged in the early trading.

Among the dual listed issues, AMP surged 2.70%, Australia and NZ Banking Corp collected 0.79%, and Westpac Bank declined 0.30%, as APN News & Media, Lion Nathan and Telstra remained unchanged in the early trading on Friday morning.

Among other notable stocks, Mainfreight, Methven and Sky Network Television remained unchanged, as Nuplex added 0.78%, Sky City advanced 0.89% and Steel & Tube Holdings collected 0.64%. Meanwhile, Fisher & Paykel Appliances jumped 1.49% and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 0.32%.

The major losers among the shares listed under the NZX 50 index on Tuesday morning included– Auckland International Airport by 2.59%, Ebos Group by 0.178%, Infratil by 1.25%, ING Medical Properties Trust by 0.82% and ING Property Trust by 1.25%.

The major gainers included– Air New Zealand by 0.78%, Cavalier by 0.81%, Freightways by 0.66%, PGG Wrightson by 1.59%, Port of Tauranga by 0.57%, Rakon by 0.85%, Restaurant Brands NZ by 1.36%, Ryman Healthcare by 0.51% and Tower by 1.18%.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, UK, USA.

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