Market commentaries

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares rose as investors welcomed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement that the economy would reopen over the next 10 days. Sky Network Television led the market higher, joined by retail, entertainment and travel companies.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index advanced 64.7 points, or 0.6%, to 10,760.29. Within the index, 30 stocks rose, 10 fell, and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $140 million.

New Zealand will move out of Alert Level 3 restrictions on Thursday this week, although a phased approach means bars will have to wait another week before opening on May 21.

From Thursday, retail shops, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, playgrounds, gyms and health services will be allowed to open, along with domestic travel around the country.

The local market followed a strong lead from Wall Street on Friday and crept higher in the leadup to Ms Ardern’s muchanticipated announcement.

Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners, said the announcement lived up to expectations and the market held on to early gains in retail and leisure stocks.

‘‘The stocks that are up today are the ones you’d expect to be up as we get one step closer to returning to normality,’’ he said.

Sky TV led the market higher, climbing 20.3% to 38.5 cents. Mr Lister said having the economy back on track was positive for a discretionary spending business like payTV. The resumption of professional sport is likely to boost the struggling company, with Super Rugby Aotearoa to begin on June 13.

Retailer Kathmandu Holdings rose 15.2% to $1.06. ‘‘Anyone in the retail space will be chomping at the bit to be able to open their doors and sell their products to people rather than being limited to online,’’ Mr Lister said.

Vista Group International increased 8% to $1.35. Mr Lister said the international focus of the company meant it was not a direct beneficiary of the announcement, despite movie theatres reopening. The rise was attributable to the ‘‘feelgood factor’’ boosting investor sentiment.

SkyCity Entertainment Group advanced 6% to $2.64, with the casino operator positioned to take advantage of demand for hospitality and entertainment returning to the economy.

Travel stocks also rallied on the move, which would let domestic travel resume. Auckland International Airport rose 5.2% to $5.975 and Air New Zealand increased 3.3% to $1.27.

The Australian sharemarket has closed at its highest level this month, with gains across the board as optimism rose that the coronavirus lockdowns would soon be over.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index finished yesterdayup 70.1 points, or 1.3%, to 5461.2 points, while the All Ordinaries index gained 71.1 points 1.3%, at 5559.1. — AAP