NZ shares gain; Spark dominates in moribund trading

The S&P/NZX index increased 47.14 points, or 0.6 percent, to 8,615.54. Within the index, 25 stocks gained, 16 fell and nine were unchanged, Turnover was $66.3 million, of which Spark accounted for $10.3 million.

Some 15.4 million shares of top 50 stocks were traded today, less than the 90-day average of 25.3 million. Craigs Investment Partners adviser Peter McIntyre described trading as subdued ahead of a busy week for US corporate earnings and a number of local annual meetings. Just two companies had volumes of more than 1 million shares.

"There were really light volumes which suggest there's not a lot of conviction in the market currently," McIntyre said.

Spark was the most traded stock with 2.7 million shares changing hands. It rose 1 percent to $3.87 ahead of its annual meeting on Friday, where shareholders will get an update on how the telecommunications company's new drive to improve margins is tracking.