MARKET CLOSE NZ shares rise in light holiday trading; Fletcher, Hellaby gain

MARKET CLOSE NZ shares rise in light holiday trading; Fletcher, Hellaby gain
Dec. 27 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand stocks rose in light holiday trading, helped by gains in Fletcher Building, with US fiscal cliff negotiations likely to be the focus through the year end. Hellaby Holdings rose after agreeing to buy a maintenance and industrial cleaning business. The NZX 50 Index rose 7.627 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4065.447. Within the index, 20 stocks rose, 18 fell and 13 were unchanged. Turnover was a lower-than-average $46 million. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index led equity markets higher across the Asia Pacific region, ris...