NZ stocks: Sharemarket continues to climb

The sharemarket continued to rise in early trading today, despite a fall in offshore markets overnight.

At 10.10am today the benchmark NZX 50 gross index was up 3.98 points at 3376.86.

Of the 82 stocks on the move in that time, there were 11 falls and 19 rises.

Heavyweights underpinned the market this morning, with top stock Telecom up 1c at 600 and Carter Holt Harvey up 2c at 252. Hallenstein Glasson rose another 1c to 476, after David Wright, founder of women's clothing chain Max Fashions, lifted his stake in the company to 7.11 per cent via the Miromutu Trust.

The rise in the local market contrasted with a depressed US market, where the Dow and the S&P 500 index both logged their biggest percentage declines in nearly a month amid concerns related to the impact of Hurricane Katrina, high oil prices and lacklustre consumer spending.

- NZPA