NZ sharemarket rises early

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The New Zealand sharemarket continued its upward trajectory in early trading, as exchange operator NZX's own shares pushed up to a 17-month high after yesterday's budget confirmed plans to sell stakes in state-owned enterprises.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 4.4 points to 3573.4, having topped 3574 a few minutes earlier, its highest level in three years.

NZX was up 4c to 246, while Ryman Healthcare gained 5c to a four-year high 273 on top of a 6c gain yesterday after the aged care and retirement village operator announced a 17 percent rise in full year underlying profit to $72 million.

Vector was up 2c early to 252, Sky TV lifted 2c to 575, and Auckland Airport added 2c to 232.

Among leading shares, Telecom edged up 1c to 234, Contact Energy lost 2c to 600, and Fletcher Building was unchanged on 911.

OceanaGold lost 5c to 307 after gold and silver prices fell as weak housing and manufacturing data in the United States and uncertainty about the end of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying programme dragged down commodities across the board.

In the US, the biggest internet initial public offering since Google combined with a drop in oil prices to send the broad stock market higher.

Shares of social networking company LinkedIn jumped 109 percent to $US94.25 on the first day they began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The debut is seen as a preview of other social networking sites that are expected to start trading during the next year.

"LinkedIn represents the first opportunity for the average investor to participate in what looks like a lasting, powerful trend of social media," said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

"They're frothy with excitement, and that's being imputed into the share price."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4 per cent to close at 12,605.32, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 1343.60, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.3 per cent to 2823.31.

- NZPA