NZ shares up, Ryman and Stride gain while Plexure drops on NZX price enquiry

New Zealand shares gained, led higher by Ryman Healthcare and Stride Property, as Plexure Group dropped following a price enquiry.

The S&P/NZX50 Index rose 18.59 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,443.5. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 19 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover was a light $89 million.

"The market has had a positive start to the year with good leads from offshore," said Greg Easton, adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. "There's quite a lot of optimism coming out of the US - the tax changes, the economy is growing, jobs news has been good."

Ryman Healthcare led the index higher, up 2.5 per cent to $10.91. Stride Property rose 2.3 per cent to $1.79, with Auckland International Airport gaining 1.7 per cent to $6.69.

Synlait Milk was the worst performer, down 2.7 per cent to $6.91, with Air New Zealand falling 1.6 per cent to $3.16 and Sky Network Television dropping 1.4 per cent to $2.80.

Outside the benchmark index, Tower gained 2.3 per cent to 68 cents. A substantial product holder notice filed yesterday shows National Australia Bank ceased to be a substantial shareholder on December 28, when it sold down half its stake in the general insurer, leaving it with 3.7 per cent.

Plexure Group plunged 21 per cent, or 5 cents, to 19 cents. The company today said it continues to comply with NZX disclosure rules after a price enquiry from the stockmarket operator. The NZX enquiry came after Plexure shares jumped 55 per cent, or 8.6 cents, to 24 cents over the course of yesterday.