NZ sharemarket starts strongly

File photo

The New Zealand sharemarket started the day strongly following a rebound by stocks in the United States.

Around 10.15am the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 19.03 points to 3457.12, after yesterday losing 17.5 points. It has fallen on seven of the last eight trading days.

Cavalier Corp was up 10c early today to 400, Mainfreight gained 6c to 1027, Fletcher Building added 6c to 870, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 5c to 275, Sky TV lifted 3c to 565, Sky City gained 3c to 360, Contact Energy was up 3c to 538, and Telecom edged up 1c to 246.5c.

Among stocks slipping early, Ebos Group lost 5c to 700, Scott Technology was down 5c to 140, and Nuplex lost 2c to 300.

In the United States, stocks rose from three days of losses, led by banks after news of more favourable capital requirements and optimism over Greece's austerity plan, but investors cautioned against high hopes.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.9 per cent to 12,043.56, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.9 per cent to 1280.10, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.3 per cent to 2688.28.

Jim Awad, managing director at Zephyr Management in New York, said the market was becoming overly optimistic.

"The rally is meaningless and suspect based on premature hopes about Greece," he said.

"It seems certain the Greek situation over time is likely to get worse rather than better."

- NZPA