New Zealand shares posted marginal gains in morning trading, with investors appearing to make minor tweaks to their portfolios ahead of the impending earnings season.

Goodman Fielder rose and Fisher & Paykel Appliances paced decliners.

The NZX 50 Index rose 5.96 points, 0.17 per cent, to 3569.45 as of noon, setting the exchange up for a third day of gains. Turnover was $39.3 million, with 9.9 million shares changing hands.

Across the Tasman, the S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.38 per cent to 4307.90 in early trade.

Goodman Fielder, the food ingredient maker, rose 3.3 per cent to 63c on what appeared to be bets by some investors the stock had been oversold in the wake of a A$200 million non-cash writedown warning.

Michael Hill, the dual-listed jeweller, rose 2.9 per cent to $1.05.

OceanaGold, the operators of the Macraes and Reefton goldfields, rose 2.3 per cent to $2.71.

Guinness Peat Group, the investment holding company, was one of the other big movers on the exchange, with the stock up 1 per cent to 51c, at the top of the 48c to 51c trading band established in mid-July.

Fletcher Building, the construction firm, rose 0.6 per cent to $6.38 on expectations the firm's earnings are set to start benefitting from the Christchurch rebuild.

Property stocks saw increased activity today as investors continued to hunt for yields above bank deposit rates.

Argosy, the listed property investment vehicle, rose 0.6 per cent to 89c. The stock has a gross dividend yield of 6.8 per cent.

AMP NZ Office, the specialist investor in office real estate, rose 0.5 per cent to 99c.

Goodman Property Trust rose 0.5 per cent to $1.01.

F&P Appliances, the whiteware manufacturer, fell 0.9 per cent to 57c from the sale of 170,000 shares. The stock has a high counter correlation to the New Zealand dollar, which dents the appeal of exports when elevated.

PGG Wrightson, the rural services firm, fell 3.1 per cent to 31c. Cavalier, the carpet maker, fell 1.2 per cent to $1.61.

Infratil, the infrastructure investment firm, fell 0.9 per cent to $2.10.

- © Fairfax NZ News