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New Zealand's Top 50 makes debut
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (CNN) -- The New Zealand Stock Exchange's new Top 50 share index has finished its first day just in the black. The Top 50, which gives increased weighting to the market's biggest stock, Telecom New Zealand, closed 0.28 percent higher Monday at 1,886.12. Its base starting point was 1,880.854, last Friday's close for the index it replaces, the Top 40. Telecom finished the day 1.9 percent lower at NZ$4.13 -- its lowest level in 10 years. The NZSE said Monday the new index was designed to better reflect the performance of the share market, by giving greater breadth and investibility, and a better representation of current market performance. It includes dividends and tax imputation credits in its calculations. The index lifts the number of companies covered from 40 to 50, and weights these on their "free-float", or the number of their shares that can be freely traded. One consequence is that Air New Zealand's weighting is cut from 3.67 percent to just 0.45 percent, because 74 percent of its shares are held by the NZ government. Air New Zealand closed 1.92 percent lower Monday at NZ$0.51. Weightings are also cut for Sky Network Television, Independent Newspapers and Ports of Auckland. Telecom liquidityTelecom's weighting goes up from 21 percent in the Top 40 index to 27 percent, because of its liquidity. Among 14 new entries to the Top 50 are foodmaker Goodman Fielder, fund manager Axa, National Property Trust, New Zealand Refining and Tourism Holdings. Traders expect a quiet week as the market awaits the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's quarterly monetary statement on Thursday. The bank is expected to leave the cash rate unchanged at 5.75 percent.
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