MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise on school holiday volumes, A2 Milk, Air NZ gain

New Zealand shares edged up on smaller than normal volumes as investors took a "breather", with A2 Milk Co, Air New Zealand and Steel & Tube Holdings gaining.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7.080.32, a record high. Within the index, 27 stocks gained, 18 fell and six were unchanged. Turnover was $120.3 million.

Anthony Halls, portfolio manager at Mint Asset Management, said local investors had taken "a bit of a breather today with no offshore news to push the market around" and school holidays thinning out some trading desks.

A2 Milk was the biggest gainer, up 5.3 percent to $1.98, a four-month high.

Halls said A2 had gotten a bit of support in New Zealand as the kiwi dollar dropped, helping the translation from Australian dollars to New Zealand dollars, but volumes were very light. A large Australian broker also upgraded on ASX-listed stock Bellamy's, a fellow infant formula producer which also gained today, he said.

Air New Zealand rose 2.5 percent to $2.23, Steel & Tube Holdings advanced 2.1 percent to $1.94, and New Zealand Refining Co gained 2 percent to $2.56.

Xero was the worst performer, down 1.5 percent to $17.72.

Orion Health Group fell 1.4 percent to $4.86 and Comvita dropped 1.4 percent to $11.60.

The dual-listed Australian banks gained despite a warning from credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service that they face increased challenges in 2016, which predicted a moderate weakening in asset quality and a slowdown in earnings growth.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group gained 1.7 percent to $26.14 and Westpac Banking Corp rose 1.1 percent to $31.35.

Goodman Property Trust gained 1.5 percent to $1.32. New Zealand's second-biggest listed property investor will sell three of its Auckland offices for $206 million to reduce debt.

Outside the main bourse, Pushpay Holdings gained 0.4 percent to $2.42. The company is planning an ASX listing by the end of the year and is expanding its mobile payment app beyond the religious sector to helping people pay bills for utilities such as water and insurance.

(BusinessDesk)