NZ shares rise on bullish earnings

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 173.78 points, or 1.5 percent, to 11,835.94. Within the index, 42 stocks rose, four fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was $193.3 million.

A week of earnings results that came out better than investors had expected, combined with the likelihood of the level-3 lockdown ending in Auckland next week, stirred up a buoyant mood among investors. The index is up more than 3 percent this week. 

“There is a little bit of optimism from offshore with the Nasdaq hitting a record high last night and locally a bit of optimism about potentially moving down an alert level next Wednesday,” said Greg Smith, head of research at Fat Prophets.

Skellerup Holdings shares rose 6.4 percent to an all-time high of $2.65 as sales growth in the United States dairy industry helped the rubber goods maker match last year's record profit despite the pandemic knocking its industrial unit.