The New Zealand sharemarket was helped along by a rises in selected leading stocks today but trading was thin with the week in the United States and United Kingdom starting with holidays.
The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 13.479 points, or 0.442 percent, at 3061.225. Turnover was worth $75.67 million. There were 35 rises and 37 falls among the 101 stocks traded.
Telecom closed up 4c to $1.90 and traded as high as $1.91 after falling to a record low last week, and Fletcher Building rose 14c to $8.26.
The biggest percentage risers in the larger listings included Hellaby up 3.95 percent to $1.58 and Guinness Peat Group up 2.57 percent to 69c.
Shares in shower and tapware company Methven ended unchanged after the company reported a 22.2 percent fall in full year net profit to $7.8 million.
TrustPower fell 15c to $7.10 but it is trading ex a 29c a share dividend from today.
Auckland Airport was unchanged at $1.88 on a day it noted the Commerce Commission published draft decisions on information disclosure requirements for airports. Infratil, also an airport owner, was unchanged at $1.62.
SkyCity rose 3c to $2.97. Mainfreight rose 4c to $6.24 and NZX rose 1c to $1.66. Tower rose 1c to $1.90.
Tourism Holdings fell 7c to 75c, Pike River Coal was down 3c at 99c, AMP Office Trust fell 2c to 71c and ING Medical Property Trus was down 3c at $1.20.
NZF Group and Dorchester Pacific were untraded and CER Group closed at 1.3c. All reported earnings today.
Allied Farmers fell 0.8c to 5.1c after disclosing further impairments to the Hanover Finance and United Finance portfolio. Xero eased 5c to $1.40.
In the United States, a fall in stocks on Friday capped their worst month in over a year.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.2 percent to 10,136.63, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.2 percent to 1089.41, and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.9 percent to 2257.04.
For the month, the Dow fell 7.9 percent, the S&P shed 8.2 percent and the Nasdaq lost 8.3 percent. The declines were the worst for the Dow and S&P since February 2009 while the Nasdaq suffered its worst monthly drop since November 2008.
For the week, the Dow edged 0.6 percent lower, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq added 1.3 percent.
