Firm start to week for NZ sharemarket

File photo / Paul Estcourt

The New Zealand sharemarket had a firm start to the week, as leading shares Fletcher Building and Telecom made early gains.

Around 10.20am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 6.05 points to 3261.89, having ended down 6.8 points on Friday.

Fletcher Building shares were up 4c early to $8.39, having ended down 3c on Friday after it was announced that subsidiary Fletcher Construction will manage building repairs for 50,000 houses damaged in the Canterbury earthquake.

Telecom gained 2c early today to $2.09, while another leading stock, Contact Energy, was unchanged on $5.67.

The Warehouse was up 3c to $3.93, Ebos Group gained 3c to $6.98, and NZ Refining lifted 2c to $3.65, while Trustpower lost 2c to $7.30.

***

In the US on Friday, a surging quarter from Google sent the Nasdaq Composite Index up over 1 per cent, while uncertainty surrounding major banks' exposure to foreclosure losses dragged the Dow Jones industrial average lower.

General Electric's poor quarterly revenues underscored the economy's soft spots, and it was the Dow's biggest percentage loser with a 5.1 per cent drop.

The Dow dropped 0.3 per cent to 11,062.78, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 1176.19, and the Nasdaq rose 1.4 per cent to 2468.77.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 added 0.9 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.8 per cent.

- NZPA