NZ stocks: Shares open firmer, Telecom up

The sharemarket opened firmer this morning, buoyed by a strong run on Wall Street on Friday.

Shortly after the 10am open today, the benchmark NZSX-50 gross index was up 13.2 points to 3283.98, while the NZSX-All capital index had risen 4.22 points to 1004.3.

Telecom led the way up with a 5c rise to 580.

Takeover target Carter Holt Harvey was unchanged at 250, after its independent directors asked Graeme Hart's Rank group to extend its takeover offer period.

The bid had been due to close on Thursday, but the directors want more time to look at whether the profit downgrade issued last week will affect Carter Holt's valuation.

The local gains follow a rally in the US on Friday, where the Dow average had its biggest one-day point rise since April, rising 172.82 points to end at 10,402.77.

- NZPA