NZ sharemarket lifts early

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The New Zealand sharemarket lifted in early trade after a strong rise by stocks in the United States.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 9.97 points to 3450.98, having ended up 2.9 points yesterday.

Fletcher Building gained 6c early to 858 having fallen 12c yesterday, with OceanaGold also up 6c, to 316.

Nuplex lifted 4c to 298, Xero was up 3c to 220, NZ Refining Co added 3c to 365, Sky TV gained 3c to 563, Contact Energy was up 2c to 540, and Telecom added 1.5c to 244, while Port of Tauranga lost 2c to 883.

In the US, stocks rose for a second day on optimism that a solution to Greece's debt crisis was near, although low volume indicated underlying nervousness in the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.2 per cent to 12,188.69, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.3 per cent to 1296.67, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.5 per cent to 2729.31.

- NZPA