KEY POINTS:
The sharemarket showed solid signs of recovery today, in line with a pick-up on world markets.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index was up 29.16 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4062.52, an improvement from a flat session yesterday and a 1.5 per cent slump on Monday as the Shanghai jitters came back to haunt markets.
Turnover was strong, totalling $206m, with some $71m in Telecom.
Overnight US stocks soared as lower share prices began to look enticing. The Nasdaq closed up 1.9 per cent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 rose more than 1 per cent.
"People obviously took comfort that there'd been that improvement yesterday," Forsyth Barr broker David Price said.
"Europe's been really struggling, the US obviously had a good night and it followed through today on the Aussie and the Asian markets.
"I still think people will be a little unnerved, I think we're still have a few rough days."
Market leader Telecom was down 4c to 473. The company, which holds 20 per cent of Hutchison Telecommunications, announced it was considering investing up to $231m in Australia as part of Hutchison's re-capitalising plans.
Fletcher Building was up 12c to 1101, and Contact Energy -- which yesterday said it would pay $156m to buy Rockgas from 51 per cent Contact owner Origin -- was up 19c to 899.
Mr Price said "it looked like they paid a relatively full price for Rockgas" but people had perhaps realised it was only a small percentage of Contact's ebitda.
Rakon was one of the strongest performers, jumping nearly 8 per cent or 35c to 475. The stock will join the top 50 index on Monday, replacing Promina, but Mr Price said the promotion was already expected and that did not explain the rise.
Tower was flat at 238, and The Warehouse was flat at 688 ahead of a first half result on Friday.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 4c to 390, given a lift by this month's sharp fall in the New Zealand dollar.
Air NZ, which announced increased routes to China yesterday, was up 3c to 232, while Auckland Airport rose 6c to 237. The airport today put in its submission to the Waitakere City Council opposing expansion plans at Whenuapai airport.
Vector edged up a cent to 278 after finding a replacement for one of the three independent directors who resigned in December.
Other moves included Pyne Gould Guinness, up 10c to 450, Provenco up 2c to 104, and Steel and Tube down 9c to 426. Promina fell 5c to 821 on a strong $57 million turnover.
Rises outweighed falls 77 to 38 on 14 stocks traded.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 157.18 points, or 1.30 per cent, for an unofficial finish at 12,207.59.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 44.46 points, or 1.90 per cent, for an unofficial close at 2385.14.
- NZPA