NZ shares rise as nationwide lockdown ends

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 21.96 points, or 0.2%, to 13321.99 – now up almost 5% this month and down just 0.3% this year. Turnover was $143 million.

Kathmandu led the gains on the index, rallying 4.3% to $1.47, as investors picked retail stocks that would benefit when the national lockdown ends on Tuesday night.

Analysts from Forsyth Barr tried to quantify which stocks were most affected by the changing alert levels, ultimately picking Kathmandu as one of the key beneficiaries. 

The government today agreed to allow some building product manufacturing to resume at level 4, which will likely benefit Fletcher as it does some manufacturing in Auckland.