NZ sharemarket ends week up 0.5%

(Image: Getty)The New Zealand sharemarket ended the month with a 0.5% surge, and the Singaporean owners of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ appear to be shaping up for another full takeover bid.The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded strongly in the afternoon and closed at 13,423.18, up 74.57 points or 0.56%. The index ended the week nearly flat.Volumes were heavy on end-of-the-month portfolio rebalancing with 48 million shares worth $187.9m changing hands. There were 66 gainers and 72 decliners on the main board of 178 stocks. 'A dampener on expectation...