Mark Lister, investment director with Craigs Investment Partners, said the local market was in positive territory but subdued, as was unsurprising following a strong day on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got four trading days to go for the year, and the index is up about 3.2%,\u201d Lister said. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty modest gain \u2013 not as high as last year but better than the three years before that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe long-term average (for the index) is an increase of 8-9%, so we\u2019ve had a disappointing soft year. At least we are finishing the year in solid shape, and hopefully we can lift our game in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lister said the real takeaway this year has been the under-performance of New Zealand assets across the board \u2013 shares and property.<\/p>\n
He said there had been minimal market reaction to the free-trade agreement with India.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny trade deal with the world\u2019s most populous country is good, but it sounds like dairy commodities are the exports that won\u2019t see the same benefits as others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t see, for instance, any immediate benefits for a2 Milk, and they will continue to focus on other places.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the action was again on Wall Street, with technology stocks connected to artificial intelligence bouncing back. Micron Technology rose 4.01% to US$276.59 (NZ$475.71); Oracle increased 3.17% to US$198.38; and Nvidia was up 1.49% to US$183.69.<\/p>\n
Rocket Lab surged to a new high of US$77.55, up 9.97%, after announcing its largest contract \u2013 building 18 missile-warning\/ tracking satellites for the US Space Development Agency, worth US$816m.<\/p>\n
Over two days of trading, Rocket Lab has risen 27.66%, and in the latest after-hours trading, the stock had slipped 5.65% to US$73.17. The space company, based in New Zealand and the US, has risen 214% over the past year.<\/p>\n
The benchmark S&P 500, which represents 80% of US market capitalisation, had its third consecutive positive day, rising 0.64% to 6,878.49 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.47% to 48,362.68; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.52% to 23,428.83.<\/p>\n
Across the Tasman, Santa Claus came to the S&P\/ASX 200 with the index rising 1.17% to 8,801.6 points at 6pm NZ time.<\/p>\n
Local stocks<\/p>\n
Back home, Chorus increased 19c or 2.05% to $9.48; Freightways added 16c to $14.05; Meridian Energy was up 9c to $5.65; and Turners Automotive picked up 15c or 1.84% to $8.30, and it has risen nearly 57% over the past year.<\/p>\n
The banking groups had a good day, with Westpac rising $1.04, or 2.34%, to $45.45, and ANZ gaining 71c to $42.40.Fletcher Building fell 11c or 2.96% to $3.60; Mainfreight decreased 55c to $68; and SkyCity was down 1.5c to 88.5c.<\/p>\n
Ebos Group bounced around between $27.70 and $28.58 before closing at $27.99, down 7c.<\/p>\n
Hallenstein Glasson decreased 13c to $9.77; T&G Global declined 12c or 5.11% to $2.23; and Fonterra Shareholders\u2019 Fund was down 18c or 2.18% to $8.07 as farmgate milk payment forecasts are revised downwards.<\/p>\n
Other gainers were Michael Hill up 2.5c or 6.58% to 40.5c; Vista Group gaining 5c or 1.98% to $2.58; Colonial Motor increasing 18c or 2.15% to $8.55; Sanford adding 15c or 2.13% to $7.20; and Minerals Exploration rising 3.5c or 17.95% to 23c.<\/p>\n