The New Zealand sharemarket is almost certain to finish the year in positive territory after gaining more than half a per cent as investors searched out beaten-up stocks.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index climbed steadily after
an early-morning fall and closed at 11,768.68, up 90.25 points or 0.77 per cent.

The top 50 index reached an intraday low of 11,646.18 points and has risen nearly 2.5 per cent for the year, with just a half-day trading session remaining. The All Index is up 3.4 per cent for the year.

There were 90 gainers and 28 decliners over the whole market and trading was again light with 13.1 million shares worth $44.21m changing hands.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said investment money that had been waiting on the sideline was being put to work at the end of the year.

“We are seeing a broader rally with buying activity in mid-range growth stocks that have been left behind during the year. The late rally reflects a swing in market sentiment – from battling the interest rate rises and pricing in risks to putting capital to work as the rates move down,” Solly said.

The rally continued in the United States with investors looking forward to a series of interest rate cuts next year as inflation heads down to the Federal Reserve target of 2 per cent. It is presently at 3.14 per cent.

The S&P 500 was less than 0.5 per cent off its all-time high after gaining 0.14 per cent to 4781.58 points. The S&P 500 has risen 24 per cent this year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 13 per cent with a new peak of 37,656.52 points, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has surged 44 per cent to 15,099.18.

On the broader New Zealand market, the top five gainers this year have been 2 Cheap Cars up nearly 178 per cent, Gentrack 164 per cent, Serko 82 per cent, MHM Automation 79 per cent and Winton Land 69 per cent.

The top decliners have been Pacific Edge down nearly 79 per cent, Me Today nearly 78 per cent, Synlait Milk 73.7 per cent and TradeWindow 65.5 per cent.

In the top 50, the leading gainers have been Gentrack, Serko, Turners Automotive 49 per cent, Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund 41 per cent and Sky TV 27.5 per cent.

The leading decliners have been a2 Milk down nearly 38 per cent, The Warehouse 35.6 per cent, KMD Brands 25.4 per cent, SkyCity 19.4 per cent and Ebos Group more than 17 per cent.

On the main board, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 28c to $23.65; Auckland International Airport gained 20c or 2.33 per cent to $8.79; Mercury Energy added 9.5c to $6.70; Ryman Healthcare collected 9c to $5.84; Port of Tauranga increased 9c to $5.53; and Gentrack was up 17c or 2.64 per cent to $6.62.

Contact Energy gained 8c to $8.02; Chorus was up 7.5c to $7.795; Seeka increased 9c or 3.66 per cent to $2.55; Winton Land added 5c or 1.85 per cent to $2.75; and Mainfreight collected 86c to $69.76.

NZME increased 3c or 3 per cent to $1.03; Sky TV rose 9c or 3.33 per cent to $2.79; Arvida Group improved 5c or 4.85 per cent to $1.08; Restaurant Brands collected 19c or 5.28 per cent to $3.79; and Delegat Group rebounded 20c or 3.23 per cent to $6.40.

Vista Group was up 4c or 2.48 per cent to $1.65; Steel & Tube gained 2c or 1.9 per cent to $1.07; Pacific Edge climbed 1.2c or 12.5 per cent to 10.8c; Accordant Group increased 4c or 4.44 per cent to 94 and Cannasouth was up 0.008c or 6.4 per cent to 13.3c.

In the property sector, Stride gained 4c or 2.84 per cent to $1.45, and Investore was up 2c to $1.19.

The retailers were mixed after payment provider Worldline said Boxing Day spending was down 0.6 per cent to $98.3m. KMD Brands was up 2c or 2.82 per cent to 73c; Briscoe Group added 3c to $4.43; Hallenstein Glasson was down 10c or 1.86 per cent to $5.29; Michael Hill declined 2c or 2 per cent to 98c and The Warehouse shed 2c to $1.59.