NZ sharemarket adds early to yesterday's 1pc gain

The New Zealand sharemarket continued to rise in early trading after its 1 per cent gain yesterday.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 11.87 points to 3007.25, having advanced 30.8 points yesterday after three consecutive trading days of decline.

Fletcher Building was up 5c early to $7.74 on top of yesterday's 16c surge, while Contact Energy gained 3c to $5.79 early after rising 8c yesterday.

Port of Tauranga was up 5c to $6.95, Sky TV lifted 3c to $4.79, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare gained 2c to $3.04, NZX lifted 2c to $1.48, Air New Zealand was up 2c to $1.06, Trustpower lifted 2c to $7.17, Nuplex was up 2c to $2.93, and Auckland Airport lifted 2c to $1.95.

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In the United States, stocks rose for a second consecutive day as investors willing to take a risk took advantage of buying opportunities after many stocks opened weaker.

Goldman Sachs Group rose 2.2 per cent as buyers materialised after an early selloff on news the investment bank's quarterly earnings tumbled 82 per cent, steeper than forecast.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.7 per cent to 10,229.96, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 1.1 per cent to 1083.48, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.1 per cent to 2222.49.

Stocks could extend gains for a third straight day as futures rose after Apple reported results that surpassed Wall Street's forecasts.

Some market analysts said late buying during the regular session was driven in part by speculation that the Federal Reserve would take steps to spur lending by eliminating interest paid on excess bank reserves held at the Fed.

- NZPA